Microsoft Outage: How to Fix the Blue Screen of Death

Microsoft Outage: How to Fix the Blue Screen of Death

Introduction

Recently, many users have experienced the infamous Blue Screen of Death due to an update in CrowdStrike's Falcon Sensor application. This security software update, intended to enhance system protection, inadvertently caused significant disruptions. Here's a straightforward manual fix to get your systems back on track.

Entering Safe Mode

To address the issue, you'll first need to boot your Windows system into Safe Mode or the Windows Recovery Environment (winRE). This mode allows you to resolve issues without loading unnecessary drivers or software.

1. Power Cycle: Start your machine until the manufacturer's logo appears, then press and hold the power button for ten seconds to turn it off. Repeat this once more.

2. Access winRE: Power up the machine again, and it should boot into winRE. If not, repeat the power cycle.

3. Navigate to Safe Mode: In winRE, select `Troubleshoot` > `Advanced Options` > `Startup Settings` > `Restart`. Choose option 5 or press F5 to boot into Safe Mode with Networking.

Deleting the Faulty Files

Once in Safe Mode, you can locate and remove the files causing the Blue Screen of Death.

1. Open File Manager: Go to `C:\Windows\System32\drivers\CrowdStrike`.

2. Remove Specific Files: Delete any files that match the pattern `C-00000291*.sys`, as these are linked to the problematic update.

Reboot and Verify Functionality

After removing the problematic files, restart your machine normally to ensure the issue is resolved.

1. Reboot Normally: Exit Safe Mode and reboot your system.

2. Check Stability: Verify that your machine operates without encountering the Blue Screen of Death.

Preventive Measures

This incident highlights the importance of rigorous testing before deploying software updates. Implementing a staging step in your update management process, where updates are tested in a controlled environment before wide deployment, can prevent similar issues and ensure system stability.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you can quickly resolve the Blue Screen of Death issue caused by CrowdStrike's recent update and minimize downtime. 

Source:  Tom's Hardware - How to fix CrowdStrike Blue Screen of Death in three minutes — fix requires manual changes, but they are simple

Image:  Microsoft