Fix Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) Errors in Windows Vista

This guide shows you how to fix blue screen of death errors (or BSoD errors) for Windows Vista.

If you see a blue screen error, but Windows Vista restarts immediately and you can’t read the error text, follow these instructions to disable the Automatically restart option:

1. Right-click on My Computer
2. Go to Properties
3. Go to the Advanced tab
4. At the Startup and Recovery section, click the Settings button
5. At the System failure section, make sure the “Automatically restart” option is unchecked
6. Click OK

If you can’t boot into Windows, try booting into Safe Mode, follow the instructions above and then restart your computer again. To boot Windows Vista in Safe Mode, follow these steps:

1. Restart your computer
2. Press F8 before the Windows logo appears
3. Use the arrow keys and select “Safe Mode” from the boot menu
4. Press Enter

General fixes

Most Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) errors in Windows Vista can be fixed by following any of the below methods.

Method #1: Install Windows updates

If Windows Updates aren’t installed automatically in your Windows Vista system, you need to update the system manually:

1. Go to Control Panel
2. Click Windows Update (or System and Maintenance and then Windows Update)
3. Click Install. If the Windows Update window says that Windows is up to date, go to the next method below.

Method #2: Check installed drivers

Many BSoDs errors are caused by misconfigured or damaged device drivers installed. To fix a BSoD error caused by incompatible drivers, you need to remove the installed driver and restart the computer or make sure you have the latest available driver for your computer.

Search on your computer’s manufacturer website for the latest drivers available.

Method #3: Startup Repair

The Startup Repair utility of Windows Vista can potentially fix blue screen errors as it automatically scan and tries to fix your computer.

To run Startup Repair, follow these steps:

• If you have the Windows Vista installation disk:
  1. Insert the disk and restart your computer
  2. Press any key to start Windows from the installation disk
  3. Choose your language
  4. Click Next
  5. Click Repair your computer
  6. At the System Recovery Options screen, click Startup Repair
• If you don’t have the Windows Vista installation disk:
  1. Remove any inserted floppy diskettes, CDs, DVDs or USB drives
  2. Restart your computer
  3. Press F8 before the Windows logo appears
  4. At the Advanced Boot Options screen, select Repair your computer

     

  5. Hit Enter
  6. Select a keyboard layout and then click Next
  7. At the System Recovery Options window, select Startup Repair

If “Repair your computer” doesn’t appear in the Advanced Boot Options screen, it means that your computer doesn’t have the necessary recovery files to perform this procedure.

Method #3: System Restore

For a full guide on how to restore Windows Vista, follow our guide Restore Windows Vista from here.

Method #4: Reinstall Windows Vista

Reinstalling your Windows Vista may fix the blue screen errors your computer has, but it’s recommended to try any of the methods listed earlier before you proceed with reinstalling the operating system.

If the blue screen error is from an installed device drivers, then it’s possible to have the same error appear again in the fresh installed Windows Vista if you use the same driver.

0x000000ED (UNMOUNTABLE BOOT VOLUME)

The 0x000000ED blue screen error code is also called UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME.

For situations where the UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME error is caused by incorrect or outdated information regarding the Windows partition in the boot configuration files (BOOT.INI or the BCD) for NTLDR or BootMGR, Easy Recovery Essentials can normally recreate the boot configuration with the correct settings and parameters to allow for Windows to boot correctly:

1. Download Easy Recovery Essentials from here. Choose your Windows version (XP, Vista, 7 or 8) before you go to download
2. Burn the image. Follow these instructions on how to burn the bootable ISO image very carefully, as making a bootable CD can be tricky!
3. Boot into Easy Recovery Essentials
4. Choose Automated Repair option and click Continue

   

5. Choose your Windows installation drive’s letter (usually C:\) and click Automated Repair
6. Wait for Easy Recovery Essentials to complete the process

   

7. Once the process is complete, click Restart

We covered how to fix the UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME blue screen error for Windows Vista here.

0x0000007B (INACCESSIBLE BOOT DEVICE)

The 0x0000007B blue screen error is also named “INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE”. The cause for this error is usually data corruption.

To fix this, try any of the following methods explained below. Make sure you have all the hard disk cables connected properly before doing so.

Method #1: Run the chkdsk utility

You can use the chkdsk tool to check (and sometimes repair) your hard drive for data corruption.

1. Insert the Windows Vista installation disk and restart your computer
2. Boot from the disk
3. Click Repair your computer
4. Choose your operating system and click Next
5. Choose Command Prompt
6. Enter the following command and hit Enter afterwards:

   chkdsk /f /r

Method #2: Rebuild the BCD

With the Bootrec.exe (ships with Windows) you can repair the boot configuration data.

You can access Bootrec.exe with your Windows Vista installation disk:

If you don’t have the installation disk, use Easy Recovery Essentials to rebuild the BCD.

1. Insert the disk and boot from it (press any key, when prompted, to boot from it)
2. Choose Repair your computer
3. Select your operating system from the list and click Next
4. Select Command Prompt and enter this command:

   bootrec /rebuildbcd

5. Press Enter

0x00000024 (NTFS FILE SYSTEM)

The cause for the Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) error 0x00000024 or NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM can be disk data corruption.

Try running the chkdsk utility tool to fix this error. Your hard disk might be damaged, so consider replacing it.

If the chkdsk utility software doesn’t work, remove any new hardware you added and uninstall any new software or device drivers you installed.

To uninstall software or drivers, boot Windows Vista into Safe Mode.

How to run the chkdsk utility:

1. Insert the Windows Vista installation DVD
2. Restart your computer
3. Press any key to boot from the installation DVD
4. Click Repair your computer
5. Choose your operating system, then click Next
6. Choose Command Prompt, enter the following command and then hit Enter:

   chkdsk /f /r

More information about this error is available in the “Fix 0x00000024” guide.

0x0000007E (SYSTEM THREAD EXCEPTION NOT HANDLED)

On Windows Vista systems, to fix the Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) error with the code 0x0000007E or name SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED, try any of the following tips:

• Enough hard disk space available
• BIOS updated to the latest available version and compatible with your system
• Your device drivers are compatible with Windows Vista and your system

0x0000008E (KERNEL MODE EXCEPTION NOT HANDLED)

To fix the 0x0000008E or KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED blue screen error, in Windows Vista, following these tips:

• Your BIOS up to date. Your computer’s manufacturer website should have the information you need on how to update the BIOS

Before you update BIOS or if BIOS isn’t causing the 0x0000008E error, make sure the cause for this error isn’t a newly installed device driver or software.

If so, boot your system into Safe Mode and uninstall anything you recently installed, including any drivers.

0x00000050 (PAGE FAULT IN NONPAGED AREA)

To fix the 0x00000050 or PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA blue screen error in Windows Vista, try these tips:

• Check if the hard disk cables are connected properly
• Boot Windows Vista into Last Known Good Configuration
• Remove new installed drivers or software

To boot Windows Vista into the Last Known Good Configuration mode:

1. Restart your computer/li>
2. Press F8 repeatedly before the Windows Vista logo appears/li>
3. Choose “Last Known Good Configuration (Advanced)” from the boot options menu and press Enter

0x000000D1 (DRIVER IRQL NOT LESS THAN OR EQUAL TO)

To fix the 0x000000D1 or DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_THAN_OR_EQUAL_TO blue screen error in Windows Vista, boot your system into Safe Mode and remove any new installed device driver.

This error is usually caused by an incompatible driver, uninstalling it should fix the issue.

To boot Windows Vista into Safe Mode, follow these steps:

1. Restart your computer
2. Press F8 repeatedly before the Windows Vista logo appears
3. Choose the Safe Mode option from the boot options menu and press Enter

0x000000EA (THREAD STUCK IN DEVICE DRIVER)

To fix the 0x000000EA or THREAD_STUCK_IN_DEVICE_DRIVER blue screen error in Windows Vista, make sure you have the latest video adapter driver installed on your system.

0x000000EA is usually caused by a faulty video driver. Removing it or updating it to the latest available version should fix the issue.

If this doesn’t work, consider updating BIOS to the latest version or changing the video card entirely.

More Information

Linked Entries

• chkdsk
• bootrec
• System Recovery Options in Windows Vista
• Safe Mode
• Boot into Last Known Good Configuration

Support Links

• Easy Recovery Essentials for Windows – our repair and recovery disk.
  
  It’s an easy-to-use and automated diagnostics disk. It’s available for Windows 8, Windows 7 and Windows Vista. It’s also available for Windows XP and Windows Server.

  Read more at Windows Recovery Disks.

• The NeoSmart Support Forums, member-to-member technical support and troubleshooting.
• Get a discounted price on replacement setup and installation discs: Windows Vista.

Applicable Systems

This Windows-related knowledgebase article applies to the following operating systems:

• Windows Vista (all editions)

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