3 Things You Need to Do ASAP When You See a Blue Screen of Death
Blue screens of death look a little friendlier than they used to, but that doesn’t make them any less aggravating. Now they come with nicely worded messages and maybe a progress bar, which beats out the impenetrable blank blue they used to be or the tightly packed streams of Courier text. The next time you see one, don’t just read the screen and wait. Immediately start on these three tasks:
1. Take a picture of the screen.
If nothing else, the friendlier versions of the blue screens of death at least tend to have a bit more information. Depending on the type of error causing the forced stop, the screen might tell you a bit about what the problem is. Whatever wording or specific name the screen shows for the event is precisely what you need to search for to fix the problem.
Take a picture of the screen so you can refer to it later. If you’re panicking about the hours of work you just lost, you won’t remember the details.
2. Search for the best scanning program.
Having a phone in front of you is one of your strongest advantages when it comes to blue screens. As your computer sluggishly gets itself back together, you have time to research solutions on an uncompromised machine.
Spend the next several minutes looking for the best scanning program you can find. Then find the most reputable site to download it from. Email that link to yourself or make sure you have a search term that leads you straight to it. There’s no guarantee your computer won’t crash again.
3. Link a file sharing program to your computer.
Just like with the previous step, you’re operating on an uncertain timeline. If your computer blue screens once, it’ll do it again. There’s also no guarantee that the next time your computer turns on won’t be the last time it cooperates. So make sure you have a plan ready so you can file share or migrate all of the work you haven’t backed up.
For more blue screen tips, go to PC Geeks.