Jacob Alcantara
Coursework guide 2026 Drafted by me; Claude used for source checks and figure layout; final text mine.

Repeated blue screens on a Windows PC

Brief

The final project for PRW-466 Technical Writing at Grand Canyon University: a complete user guide for a reader I chose and researched over the term. The reader is someone who built or upgraded their own Windows PC, has seated RAM and changed BIOS settings, and has never opened a crash dump. Microsoft's first steps have already failed them. The guide had to get them from a recurring stop screen to a diagnosis and a repair with free tools, with every warning where it belongs and every figure legible without the text around it.

Role

Sole author. I chose the audience, researched the sources, wrote the text, drew the cover and the flowchart, and took the screenshots. A classmate's peer review shaped the final draft: the cover, the full-page flowchart and the red warnings came from her notes.

The work

Repeated blue screens on a Windows PC: finding and fixing common causes

A troubleshooting guide for Windows 10 and 11

Figure 1. The stop screen on a recent Windows 11 build (illustration). Older builds show it in blue. Both print the stop code at the bottom.
Figure 1. The stop screen on a recent Windows 11 build (illustration). Older builds show it in blue. Both print the stop code at the bottom.

Who this guide is for

You built or upgraded your own Windows 10 or 11 PC, so you have seated RAM, mounted a graphics card and changed BIOS settings. You have probably never opened a crash dump. Now your PC stops on the same error screen often enough that restarting no longer helps.

This guide assumes you have already tried Microsoft's first steps (installing updates, removing new hardware, System Restore) without success. It skips the hardware you know and teaches crash logs and dump files from the beginning.

The steps run in order; if you already know your stop code, start at Step 3.

Scope

This guide covers stop codes that keep recurring on a PC that still starts Windows, normally or in Safe Mode. It ends at a diagnosis and a repair you can make with free tools.

It stops at three points: a CPU or motherboard that fails at default settings on the latest BIOS (a warranty claim), a PC that switches off with no error screen (usually the power supply), and recovering lost files.

What you need

How long it takes

Step Time
1. Record the stop code 10 minutes
2. Make sure Windows saves a dump 5 minutes, then wait for the next crash
3. Read the dump 30 minutes
4. Repair (one branch) 15 minutes to overnight
5. Confirm the fix Twice your longest crash-free gap

Figure 2 maps the whole route.

Figure 2. The diagnostic route. Boxes match the numbered steps; the four branches match Table 1.
Figure 2. The diagnostic route. Boxes match the numbered steps; the four branches match Table 1.

Step 1: Record the stop code

If you catch the stop screen, photograph its bottom two lines (Figure 1) as a backup.

  1. Press Windows + R, type eventvwr.msc and press Enter.
  2. In the left pane, open Windows Logs > System.
  3. In the right pane, select Filter Current Log.
  4. Type 1001 in the Event IDs box and select OK.
  5. Open each event whose source is BugCheck. The stop code follows "The bugcheck was:", for example 0x0000007e.
  6. Write down each code with its date and time.
Figure 3. Event Viewer filtered to Event ID 1001. The stop code (boxed in red) follows "The bugcheck was:".
Figure 3. Event Viewer filtered to Event ID 1001. The stop code (boxed in red) follows "The bugcheck was:".

If the log shows no BugCheck events, see Troubleshooting.

Step 2: Make sure Windows saves a dump

  1. Open File Explorer and go to C:\Windows\Minidump. If it holds .dmp files dated to your crashes, skip to Step 3.
  2. If the folder is empty or missing, type Advanced system settings in the taskbar search box and press Enter.
  3. On the Advanced tab, under Startup and Recovery, select Settings.
  4. Under Write debugging information, choose Automatic memory dump.
  5. Select OK and restart.
  6. Use the PC normally until it crashes again.
Figure 4. Startup and Recovery (UK English title shown), with Automatic memory dump selected.
Figure 4. Startup and Recovery (UK English title shown), with Automatic memory dump selected.

Step 3: Read the dump

  1. Right-click Start, select Terminal (Admin), type winget install Microsoft.WinDbg and press Enter.
  2. Right-click WinDbg in the Start menu and select Run as administrator.
  3. Select File > Start debugging > Open dump file and open the newest file in C:\Windows\Minidump.
  4. Wait until the command box at the bottom accepts input. The first dump takes several minutes while symbols download.
  5. Type !analyze -v and press Enter.
  6. Scroll to the end of the output and write down the IMAGE_NAME value.
  7. Type lm and press Enter to list every driver that was loaded. Note any path outside \SystemRoot\; those drivers came from other companies.
Figure 5. WinDbg's Start debugging page. Open dump file (boxed) loads the crash dump for analysis.
Figure 5. WinDbg's Start debugging page. Open dump file (boxed) loads the crash dump for analysis.

Match what you found to a branch in Table 1, which groups Microsoft's stop codes by cause. When two rows fit, take the driver branch first: Microsoft attributes 70% of stop errors to third-party drivers and 10% to hardware.

Table 1. Where your stop code points

What you see Go to
IMAGE_NAME is a .sys file from another company 4A Driver
0x1A MEMORY_MANAGEMENT, or IMAGE_NAME memory_corruption 4B Memory
0x7A KERNEL_DATA_INPAGE_ERROR or 0x24 NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM 4C Storage
0x124 WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR 4D Firmware
0x50 PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA 4A, then 4C
A different code on almost every crash 4B, then 4D

Step 4A: Driver

  1. Find the driver's path in the lm list. The folder names the software that installed it.
  2. If you don't need that software, uninstall it in Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
  3. If you need it, download its current version from the maker's own website.
  4. Go to Step 5.

Worked example. One test machine crashed with 0x7E five times in 22 minutes, each 3 to 6 minutes after a game launcher opened. The dumps named no driver, but lm showed one non-Microsoft driver in all five: C:\Program Files\Riot Vanguard\vgk.sys, the game's anti-cheat. Uninstalling the game removed it, and the crashes stopped.

Step 4B: Memory

WARNING: Photograph or note your BIOS memory settings before changing them. MemTest86 erases the USB drive.

  1. In the BIOS, turn off XMP (or EXPO on AMD boards) and save. If the crashes stop, the memory profile was the cause; stay at default speed.
  2. If they continue, download MemTest86 Free from memtest86.com and write it to the USB drive.
  3. Boot from the USB drive and let the default 4 passes run. Expect about 2 hours; with a lot of RAM, run it overnight.
  4. Treat any error as real, including one that appears only once.
  5. Remove modules or swap two between slots, testing after each change, until one module fails on its own. Replace it.

Step 4C: Storage

WARNING: Back up your files before step 3. Repairs can lose data stored in damaged areas.

  1. In Terminal (Admin), run chkdsk C: /scan.
  2. Install your SSD maker's utility and apply any firmware update.
  3. If chkdsk reported errors, run chkdsk C: /f /r, type Y and restart. The repair runs before Windows loads and can take over an hour.

Step 4D: Firmware

WARNING: Never switch off the PC during a BIOS update.

  1. In the BIOS, load default settings to remove any overclock or undervolt.
  2. Download the latest BIOS from your motherboard maker's support page and follow its update instructions exactly.
  3. If 0x124 returns at default settings on the latest BIOS, the CPU or motherboard is faulty. Contact the maker about a warranty claim.

Step 5: Confirm the fix

  1. Find the longest gap between two crashes in your Step 1 log.
  2. Use the PC normally for twice that long.
  3. Repeat Step 1. If a new BugCheck event appears, return to Step 3 with the new dump and check whether the code has changed.

Troubleshooting

Problem Likely cause What to do
No .dmp files after a crash Dumps turned off, or the page file is off Repeat Step 2; set the page file to System managed size
WinDbg can't load symbols No internet when the dump opened Reconnect, type .reload, then run !analyze -v again
Event ID 41 (Kernel-Power) with no BugCheck event The PC lost power without a stop error Outside this guide: check the power supply and its cables
Crash before the desktop appears A driver that loads at startup Hold Shift and select Restart > Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart, then press 4 for Safe Mode

Sources

Microsoft Learn: "Advanced Troubleshooting for Stop Code Errors" (02/12/2026), "Analyze a Kernel-Mode Dump File by Using WinDbg," "Bug Check Code Reference," "Install WinDbg." Microsoft Support: "Troubleshooting Windows Unexpected Restarts and Stop Code Errors." PassMark Software: "MemTest86 - Execution Time," "Troubleshooting Memory Errors." The submitted version carries full MLA citations.

What I'd measure

Whether a reader who starts at Step 1 reaches a branch of Table 1 without asking anyone, and how many stop at Step 3, where WinDbg is the first unfamiliar tool. The guide's own test is Step 5: twice the longest crash-free gap with no new BugCheck event.