Are you really pss…ed by this error ? Just like my earlier post on Windows 8 and 8.1 slow boot issues, I’m not going to propose unforeseen solutions to “Windows 8.1 blue screen” problem. From the earliest days of Windows 98 release we saw that BSOD errors are common with Microsoft operating systems.

The Windows 8.1 ‘Blue’ is not much different ! If you are in the middle of a Skype call talking to someone, this can go awkward on the other side. Also a profile picture identifies you better, when you are on a LAN or WAN.

You might have already searched the net for this problem and may have found solution to this kind of error on several forums, blogs and microsoft sister sites. But what I’m going to present here is a summary of different solutions that were accepted by forum users facing a similar problem.

Resolution for Windows 8.1 BSOD problems

As I scrolled through different posts on several forms, I found the primary cause for ‘Blue Screen of Death‘ problems is either due to software or hardware. Ya, this is like a quick-fix to your problem and you can stop reading all the articles on those errors.

Fix Windows 8.1 BSOD Errors (Updated on 8th May, 2016)

The causes and solutions for BSOD problems are similar to Windows 8. If you can note down the error that is displayed, there are solutions available that can resolve it. But before you analyze the error deep, it is better to try some abstract solutions. These are like quick fixes and you are on the lucky chart if that fixes your problem. Otherwise, you have to troubleshoot them based on error.

Simple Fixes

  1. You can try a System restore, if you have created a restoring point.
  2. You can install the latest updates from Microsoft for Windows 8.1 (like security updates etc).
  3. You can try the solutions for BSOD errors on Windows 7 or 8.
  4. You can remove any new software or hardware that is installed, just before the BSOD error.
Related :  Fix Windows 8.1 Stuck on Checking for Updates

Causes of Windows 8.1 BSOD Errors

Some of the likely causes are –

  1. INACCESSIBLE BOOT DEVICE
  2. NTFS FILE SYSTEM
  3. SYSTEM THREAD EXCEPTION NOT HANDLED
  4. KERNEL MODE EXCEPTION NOT HANDLED
  5. PAGE FAULT IN NONPAGED AREA
  6. DRIVER IRQL NOT LESS THAN OR EQUAL TO
  7. THREAD STUCK IN DEVICE DRIVER

Windows 8.1 Bsod Error Cause And

General Solutions

  • You can run the chkdsk command
  • You can reconfigure BCD
  • You can use third-party software to rebuild the BCD
  • Check for faulty RAM module or hardware
  • Check the cables
  • Reinstall Windows or replace the hard disk
  • You can reboot in SAFE MODE and uninstall the current graphics driver and install the latest driver from the vendor
  • Update BIOS
  • Check RAM and hardware cables
  • Uninstall any new drivers
  • Sometimes a faulty driver can be a problem. In that case, identify it and install the latest or update it.
  • You can also update the latest video driver.

For complete solutions and troubleshoot each kind of error, you can get a tutorial kind of explanation at NeoSmart.

———————————update (May, 2016) complete——————————–

Blue Screen on Login Screen – Solution

If your password or pin text box is not showing up, instead, if its presented with a BSOD error, you need to use your Recovery Drive. or Windows 8.1 Installation media. You need to create one using another laptop or computer and use “Troubleshoot” to get to Advanced options.

Windows 81 Recovery Drive Advanced Options

You can try “System Restore” or “Automatic Repair“.

BSOD due to Graphics Card Drivers and PSU

Sometimes you upgrade your graphics card whose PSU (power supply unit) consumes less to a more powerful one. This change can also bring a ‘blue screen of death’ on your Windows 8.1 computer. The solution is to provide a more bigger PSU with higher wattage.

Also its important that you first uninstall your old graphics card driver, display drivers first and then install the new one.  This forum post talks about a typical problem scenario.

so i just upgraded my graphics card form a nvidia gtx 650 ti boost to a msi r9 270x gaming
first i plugged in my card and uninstalled all nvidia drivers and software, and then i installed the newest beta amd drivers ( catalyst 14.1 ) , after playing battlefield 4 for 10 min i got a bsod
when i restarted my pc i tried playing the titanfall beta and again, after only 1 minut i got a bsod again…

His problems were resolved when he updated from 450 Watt PSU to a 650 one.

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Bad Hard Disk can cause BSOD

Sometimes due to a bricked hard-drive also you can have a problem. If you don’t have an alternative hard-disk, its better trying changing the SATA ports. Also a SSD drive is more better, if you are thinking to buy a new one.

Ok so my computer’s hard drive has been giving me some problems and the last time I booted it up it had some problem to do with the hard drive, and it wouldn’t boot up. Before the hard drive was working, but I noticed it would get really hot to the touch and occasionally it would stress at 100% usage and Windows would go slower.

Now it boots up and I can access the motherboard’s BIOS, but after that it boots to a blank blue screen. I can’t see the mouse cursor, but both the mouse and keyboard work in the BIOS.

Bad RAM can cause “Blue Screen” Error at Startup

This comes under the hardware cause. Sometimes just removing the RAM from the motherboard and placing it back, can resolve the problems. But if you have 2 or more RAMs, its better to check each one individually if you are having the BSOD error.

Remove one by one and check. Otherwise, you can replace an existing one with a new one.  The following errors are typically displayed if you are having RAM problem.

NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM 
SYSTEM_THREAD_ERROR
SYSTEM_THREAD EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED
KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILED
SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION
KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED

Blue Screen with “0xa00001” Error

The cause can be due to less power supply to your graphics card. You can create a dump file of your BSOD error and post it on forums, whose moderators will try to resolve the problem. Other than that, Chrome browser using the hardware acceleration feature of the graphics card can also be the problem.

In such cases, you just turn off hard-ware acceleration.  This mostly happens when you play 3D games. Also a third-party Chrome extension like “Arcade Game” can also have adverse effects, which may not be true in all cases.

Other Causes and Solutions

Another user complained about the catalyst software suite causing the problem.  The solution to this kind of issue (which pertains to Windows 8.1 only) is boot the system in safe mode and open device manager and uninstall display and monitor adapter. Then reboot and just install the driver because catalyst doesn’t have compatible drivers, but the generic driver has.

Related :  Comparison of Windows 8.1 vs Windows 11 in Different Benchmarks

Another user of Windows 8.1 Pro complains random BSOD due to driver incompatibility. He is not sure what the problem is and like to go back to Windows 7. But the best solution resolved is not to install Microsoft drivers for your hardware like GPU, but to install the manufacturer drivers.

One user having a Fujitsu LH772 laptop tried to disable the Intel GPU in the device manager. The BIOS was still working but there were several problems including a Blue Screen. He couldn’t boot the installation disk, couldn’t recovery mode as the start-up times were too fast and couldn’t connect a HDMI cable.  The best advice in this case is DON’T DISABLE Intel HD Graphics. But the solution in this case, is to recover Windows 8 from the BIOS, whose serial is embedded in the firmware, following this Recovery Quick Guide from Fujitsu.  

My Ending Words

The web is full of case-studies of Blue Screen Error on Windows 8.1 which is a generic problem and each one is different from other. So writing all the possible solutions is like Google’s idea of caching all the website data on Earth. But, I will try to update this article whenever I find new solutions and a new cause pertaining to this problem.

But in broad context, it’s always the hardware, software or drivers compatibility which is universal issue for such kind of problem. So as a generic solution to the BSOD error on Start-up, its best to check your memory “what was the last thing you have done” to create such a problem.

Then search the net or Google on that issue, if basic solutions like the above couldn’t resolve your problem.

Please subscribe to this website, to get new updates and also share this article on the net for better exposure. I almost spent a day writing this article, so, a small tweet or +1 would boost my feeling.. Thanks for reading!  Cheers 🙂

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10 Comments

  1. I agreed with Palla on the fact that updating drivers doesn’t work most time and its not efficient way to solve error of blue screen on startup. I recommend going through this post in case you encounter any of this problem. Great article to say!

    1. @Baxter. You could solve Windows BSOD error many times, if you find the root cause. Sometimes, the bootloader options get mixed up when you have multiple boot OS. You can use a tool like EasyBCD in such scenario. Also using the Windows installation disc for repairing, could help sometimes.

  2. Great tutorial here. I have been looking for things like this. i ran into a problem like this few days ago and my system isn’t in anyway faulty. Does admin know what caused it? Waiting for your positive response! Thanks Palla!

  3. I bought my system few days ago and ran into this problem though i got it fixed from your tutorial but i want to ask you a question. is the problem only attached to window 10 because i never encounter such with window 7 or 8. So irritating on window 10.

    anyway, your tutorial is great.

  4. Try system restore.
    Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search. (If you’re using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down, and then click Search.)
    2.Enter Control Panel in the search box, and tap or click Control Panel.
    3.Enter Recovery in the Control Panel search box, and then tap or click Recovery.
    4.Tap or click Open System Restore, and then follow the instructions.

  5. Hello i run a windows 8.1 and on startup it gives me the bad screen of death with bad system config info. it waits a while and restart again. f8 button doesn’t help

  6. My Hewlett-Packard Pavilion 23 gets the BSOD when it tries to boot. It shows a black screen with the little white dots moving in a circular pattern, then it shows a blue screen that says “Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart. We’re just collecting some error info, and then we’ll restart for you. If you’d like to know more, you can search online later for this later: INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE” It doesn’t even restart. It just shuts off. I have to press the power button again and then it does the same thing, again. I can enter some sort of screen if I press esc before the little white dots appear, but every option I have tried just leads me back to the BSOD. I have even tried making a media disc from a separate computer, and it won’t even recognize (that I know of) that I put a disc in the computer. It makes sounds like it’s reading, but then it’s quiet. Every option that I choose in the recovery page leads me to choose a windows 10 operating system, but none of them work. I don’t know what to do.

  7. my problem is that first my laptop wa updating then after that nothing happened then after a few minutes the laptop restarted again and it showed me the bluescreen of death but the problem comes after that it restarted but it never ended and it was all black until it got to the point of where it was showing a screen with a please wait and loading and it never loaded anything or finish the process of loading up the laptop and well i’ve been trying to fix it do you have any way to solve this because that laptop is really important. Thank you.

  8. My laptop screen is goes blue after starting on, right or left key is not working. Please inform me any solution.