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The user will only see the blue screen if the system is not configured to automatically restart (which became the default setting in
Windows XP SP2). Otherwise, it appears as though the system simply rebooted (though a blue screen may be visible briefly). In Windows, bug checks are only supported by
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If the user has enabled it, the system will also write an entry to the system event log. The log entry contains information about the bug check (including the bug check code and its parameters) as well as a link that will report the bug and provide the user with prescriptive suggestions if the cause
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Next, if a kernel debugger is connected and active when the bug check occurs, the system will break into the debugger where the cause of the crash can be investigated. If no debugger is attached, then a blue text screen is displayed that contains information about why the error occurred, which is
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When a bug check is issued, a crash dump file will be created if the system is configured to create them. This file contains a "snapshot" of useful low-level information about the system that can be used to debug the root cause of the problem and possibly other things in the background.
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documentation both have reference information about most bug checks. The WinDbg package is available as a free download and can be installed by most users. The
Windows DDK is larger and more complicated to install.
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function. However, this should only be done as a last option when a critical driver is corrupted and is impossible to recover. This design parallels that in
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where critical data could be lost or the system damaged in other ways).
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can be deliberately caused from a kernel-mode driver with either the
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64:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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220:of the check is definitive and well-known.
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124:Learn how and when to remove this message
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16:Error that stops the operating system
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62:adding citations to reliable sources
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591:List of SMTP server return codes
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586:List of FTP server return codes
290:"KeBugCheckEx function (wdm.h)"
49:needs additional citations for
1:
348:Debugging Tools for Windows
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23:. For the short film, see
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617:2024 CrowdStrike incident
581:List of HTTP status codes
207:concept is very similar.
545:Bad command or file name
354:Bug Check Code Reference
318:"Kernel-Mode Dump Files"
487:Device and data errors
238:SHELL_SYSMODAL_Message
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27:. For other uses, see
473:Fatal exception error
228:or bug check screen.
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242:blue screen of death
224:commonly known as a
73:"Fatal system error"
58:improve this article
612:Windows wait cursor
550:Halt and Catch Fire
540:Abort, Retry, Fail?
461:Application failure
478:Segmentation fault
410:Fatal system error
356:at Microsoft Learn
350:at Microsoft Learn
326:. 28 December 2023
298:. 25 February 2022
186:fatal system error
151:fatal system error
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21:Fatal System Error
19:For the book, see
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607:Spinning pinwheel
430:Red Ring of Death
425:Linux kernel oops
182:Microsoft Windows
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75: –
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69:Find sources:
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420:Kernel panic
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328:. Retrieved
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114:January 2011
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56:Please help
51:verification
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25:System Error
514:lp0 on fire
249:Windows DDK
226:blue screen
29:Fatal error
277:References
211:In Windows
190:KeBugCheck
159:stop error
142:Linux 3.8
84:newspapers
405:Bomb icon
167:bug check
632:Category
555:HTTP 418
509:HTTP 500
504:HTTP 404
499:HTTP 403
494:HTTP 402
260:See also
251:and the
600:Related
435:Sad Mac
198:OpenVMS
98:scholar
253:WinDbg
234:kernel
200:. The
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574:Lists
533:Other
468:ABEND
450:Black
330:1 May
302:1 May
165:, or
105:JSTOR
91:books
445:Blue
332:2024
304:2024
247:The
202:Unix
184:, a
175:i.e.
77:news
192:or
180:In
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