The most common Windows Installer error message you get is the Windows Installer could not be accessed, or its missing or its damaged/corrupted. The others are when Windows Installer tries to update protected Windows system file, could not set a shortcut file, etc… for these errors the software publisher needs to fix the Windows installer. For common errors which are not from the buggy installer, this article talks about how you can go about fixing it yourself. The Windows Installer error I am going to talk about are as follows,

Windows Installer error 1601, 1603, 1719 and 1721.

Windows Installer error 1601

This error is same as Windows Installer Error 1719, and the resolving methods are same as well, but I will list the top ones here.

To fix Windows Installer error 1601, make sure the Windows Installer Service is enabled, and is registered and is updated to the latest version.

1.To check whether the Windows Installer service is Disabled.

1. Click Start, type services.msc in the start search box and press enter.
2. In the Services (Local) list, right-click Windows Installer, and then click Properties.
3. If the Startup type drop-down list is set to a value of Disable, select the Manual option from the Startup type drop-down list.
4. Click on Start button below the heading service status and click OK.

2.Re-register the windows installer

1. Click Start, open the run box (windows key +R)
2. Type msiexec.exe /unreg and click ok.
3. If you receive a confirmation message, click OK again.
4. Click Start, open the run box (windows key +R)
5. Type msiexec /regserver and click ok.
6. If you receive a confirmation message, click OK again.
7. Try to install the application and see if the issue persists.
8. If you still get the error then try next method.

3. Update your Windows Installer.

Download the latest version of windows installer and install It on your computer.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/942288

4. Run a Registry Repair Tool to Fix Windows Installer Registry entries.

Windows Installer Registry Fix Tool

Windows Installer error 1603

After Error 1603 throws up, the installation rolls back ie. reverses its process and deletes all file that are copied and reverts back all the changes made. Thus the installation aborts with a roll back.

To fix this error 1603, follow the steps to resolve the individual causes of error 1603,

1. The folder you may be trying to install to is  encrypted. It means that the folder that is accessible is protected so that it cannot be easily accessed. Try to install on the folder that is not encrypted.
2. The drive that holds the folder that you are trying to install to is accessed as a substitute drive. Try using the Windows that is installed on the regular partition on your hard drive.
3. Make you sure the user has administrative privileges to perform installation. Administrators will always have full control permissions and will rarely if ever see this error pop up. It is important that the installation process be granted full control permission. You can do this by going to Properties and then Security tab and clicking on the Full Control option at the Permissions section.
4. Windows Installer is  corrupted. To fix that, run a Windows Installer fix tool.

Windows Installer error 1719

See this article: Windows Installer Error 1719. Also read “The Windows Installer service could not be accessed” error message when installing Office.

Windows Installer error 1721

“Error 1721. There is a problem with this Windows Installer package. A program required for this install to complete could not be run. Contact your support personnel or package vendor”

The reason for this error is when installation process is missing administrator privileges.

To resolve error 1721, Run the installer with Administrator privileges.

1. Click on Vista Start button.
2. In the Start Search box, type in Command Prompt or Cmd.
3. Right click on the Cmd or Command Prompt that appears in the search result listing.
4. In the right click menu, click on Run as Administrator menu item.

Now type msiexec /i application.msi, you will type msiexec /i Javasetup.msi if you are trying to install Javasetup.msi.
Command syntax to uninstall a program with its .msi: msiexec /x application.msi

Those are command line (Run as administrator) installation and uninstallation for Windows Installer.

"Error 1719. The Windows Installer Service Could Not Be Accessed. This can occur if you are running Windows in safe mode, or if the Windows Installer is not correctly installed. Contact your support personnel for assistance."

This can occur if you are running Windows in safe mode, or if the Windows Installer is not currently installed.

The causes of this error are the Windows Installer files are either corrupt or missing.

How to Resolve Installer Error 1719

To resolve this problem, you must register the Windows Installer Service.

If you are using Windows Xp:

1. Click Start

2. Click Run

3. Enter the following command (as shown in the image below) and then click OK.

msiexec /regserver

If the command above produces a path not found error, enter the following command:

 C:Windows\system32\msiexec.exe /regserver

If you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7

1. click Start and then type CMD in the Start Search box.
   Right-click the cmd.exe in the program list that is displayed, and click “Run as Administrator”.
2.  Type the following commands in the Command Prompt window one by one and press Enter to execute them:
   > msiexec /unregister
   > msiexec /regserver
   > net stop msiserver
   > net start msiserver

The last 2 commands stops the Windows Installer and then restarts it. The first 2 resets the registry of Windows Installer Package in the Windows registry.ie. Stop the msi server and then start it again. Unregister msi executable and register it again. You can avoid the last 2 entries, if you reboot your computer after the execution of first 2 commands.

In Windows 7 64 bit, you might want to do the following,

1. Start, then Run, then type regedit
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CURRENT CONTROL SET\SERVICES\MSIserver\WOW64
3. Right click on WOW64, then select Modify
4. Set Value Data to 0 (if is set to 1) and Base should be Hexadecimal
5. Close the Registry Editor
6. Start, type CMD in the search bar.
7. In the Command Prompt, Type net stop msiserver Enter and Type net start msiserver and then Enter. To execute both the command.

If that did not work, you want to register it first,

1. click Start, click Run, type C:\Windows\Syswow64\Msiexec /regserver in the Open box, and then click OK.

Note: Or you can restart the PC for changes to take effect without doing steps 6 and 7.

If doing that in normal mode did not resolve the problem, try doing that in safe mode. Read this article on how to start windows in safe mode, if you are not sure.

If Registering the Windows Installer Service did not help.

1. Make sure that the Windows Installer service is set to run manually on your computer.

1. On Windows Xp, click Start, click Run, type Services.msc and press Enter. On Windows Vista and Windows 7, click Start, type Services in the Start Search box and press Enter.
2. In the Services window, scroll down and check the Startup type of Windows Installer service.
3. If startup type is not Manual, right-click on Windows Installer and select Properties.
4. Here, change the Startup type to Manual and click OK.
5. Close the Windows Service Utility.
6. Restart your computer.

2.Install latest version of Windows Installer.

If registering it again did not help. Search for the latest version of Windows Installer and download it. Version 4.5 is available at the moment for Windows Xp and Windows Vista here.

3. If you can’t install the latest version.

You need to rename the core Windows Installer files (msiexec.exe,msi.dll and msihnd.dll) as they are corrupted and preventing the overwrite of them. We are changing the attributes of them and renaming them, so the new version can install the updated version of the files.

1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd in the Open  box, and then click OK.
2. Type cd C:\Windows\system32, and then press ENTER.
3. Type attrib -r -s -h dllcache, and then press ENTER.
4. Type ren msi.dll msi.bak, and then press ENTER.
5. Type ren msiexec.exe msiexec.bak, and then press ENTER.
6. Type ren msihnd.dll msihnd.bak, and then press ENTER.
7. Type exit, and then press ENTER.
8. Restart your computer.
9. Download and install the latest version of the Windows Installer.

4.Make sure that the location of the Msiexec.exe file in Registry Editor is correct. If not change it to start it with /V switch.

To do this, follow these steps below:

1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. Expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, expand SYSTEM, expand CurrentControlSet, expand Services, and then click MSIServer. (To expand click on [+])
3. In the right pane, right-click ImagePath, and then click Modify.
4. In the Value data  box, type the location of the Msiexec.exe file, followed by the value of /V, and then click OK.
   C:\WINDOWS\System32\msiexec.exe /V
5. Click OK to close that box.
6. Close the Registry Editor.
7. Reboot the computer.

Its a troubleshooting/diagnosis option in Windows that starts your computer in a limited state with only the essential drivers, services and files needed to boot Windows. Network and Video drivers are not loaded in safe mode. That’s the reason you see a low desktop resolution in safe mode.

There are  3 ways to start Safe Mode:

1. Safe Mode (The default one with no internet)
2. Safe Mode with Networking (the one with internet)
3. Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

People usually get rid off their Spywares in this mode. So this manual troubleshooting and fixing is the option for manual eradication of spyware as only the bare minimum files are loaded in this mode and lets you delete files easily which are unable to delete in the normal mode.

How to start Windows Xp in Safe mode?

1. Press F8 before the Windows Xp Splash screen(see image below) shows up.

2. The Windows Advanced Options Menu is loaded.

3. Use keyboard arrow keys to select the type of Safe mode you want – default or with networking or just the command prompt. Click Enter.

4. Now the Windows Xp will start in Safe mode.

How to start Windows Vista in Safe mode?

1. Start pressing F8 as soon the computer starts, to open the Advanced Options Menu.

2. Use keyboard arrow keys to select the type of Safe mode you want – default or with networking or just the command prompt. Click Enter.

3. Now the Windows Vista will start in Safe mode.

How to start Windows 7 in Safe mode?

1. Start pressing F8 as soon the computer starts, to open the Advanced Options Menu.

2. The first option is “Repair your computer”, “Safe Mode” is from the second option. Use keyboard arrow keys to select the type of Safe mode you want – default or with networking or just the command prompt. Click Enter.

3. Now the Windows 7 will start in Safe mode.

Note: When you have Multiple Windows to boot, select the Windows version you want to enter into using the arrow keys on the “Boot Loader Menu” and start pressing F8 key to open the Advanced Options Menu.

Using the System Configuration Utility for Windows Xp

1. Click Start, Run and type MSCONFIG in the open box and click OK
2. The System Configuration Utility opens up, On the BOOT.INI tab, Check the “/SAFEBOOT” option, and then click OK and Restart your computer when prompted.
3. The computer restarts in Safe mode.
4. Perform the troubleshooting steps for which you are using Safe Mode.
5. When you are finished with troubleshooting in Safe mode, open MSCONFIG again, on the BOOT.INI tab,  uncheck “/SAFEBOOT” and click OK to restart your computer in normal mode.

Using the System Configuration Utility for Windows Vista/Windows 7

1. Open up start menu > run, and type in msconfig and hit the enter key.
2. Select the Boot tab, and then check the box for “Safe boot” and make sure the radio button below is set to “Minimal”. Minimal is equivalent of the default safe mode in Advanced Options Menu.
   
3. After you press the OK button, you’ll be asked if you want to Restart now or wait until later. Press Restart now to restart your computer in safe mode immediately, or press wait until later, the next boot will take you into safe mode.
4. After starting into the safe mode, the “safe mode” text is placed corners of the screen,it also opens up the safe mode page from the help file in Windows 7 or Vista.

Note:  To Turn Safe Mode Back Off

Once you are done troubleshooting whatever you were working on, to turn safe mode off and go back to normal mode. Just open up msconfig the same way as above, and then on the Boot tab and uncheck the “Safe boot” checkbox.

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]]> After the Windows Update has completed downloading and installing patches from Microsoft site, usually at midnight. It prompts you to restart. You get this prompt anytime. Even when you are busy working – like burning a disc, have 8 – 10 application windows open etc…

The annoying thing about this is You always keep clicking “Restart Later” as the progress bar shows the progression of how soon your computer will be restarted. Though you have about 5 minutes, if you are away from the computer, you might loose some unsaved work.

Even more annoying is even if you click “Restart Later” is comes again Nagging you every 10 minutes. So This article talks about how to stop windows update tool to prompt a restart.

How to Stop Automatic Updates from Restarting your PC

To do this,

1. Click Start, Run, type CMD, to open the command prompt.

 If you are in Vista,

Click Start, in the search box, type cmd

2. In the Command Prompt window, Type net stop wuauserv and Enter.

That’s it.

You can also do this process very simply.

Very Simple way to Execute net stop wuauserv

Step 1

Your first step is to open Notepad. (Start > Run > Notepad > OK)

Step 2

Type net stop wuauserv and Save it as netstop.bat

What we doing here, is creating a Windows batch file, saving it as .bat. I am saving this in the Desktop. You can save it the location you like. Double clicking to open the batch file, executes whatever in there, as if we are typing it in the command prompt. And remember to save .bat files, as All Files in the Save as type: You can create a batch file in this way to execute anything that you would type in a command prompt. This is simple, you don’t need to open command prompt every time and type the command to execute it. Just double-click opening it will execute the command.

Step 3

Next step is to double-click on the netstop.bat that we created in the Step 2 to open. Open will execute the command. Let’s do that now, to execute the command net stop wuauserv

When ever Automatic Updates prompts you to restart, you can just double-click and it executes and exits. And Exits the Automatic Updates as well. But don’t disable the automatic update permanently. To turn it back on, you need to enable it again. Let’s Microsoft find updates for us, when ever it can. I recommend to leave the Automatic Updates  on. It helps save you a lot of trouble in the future. Like a problem arises just because you don’t have an hotfix or a patch. Automatic Updates gets you this as soon as they release it.

Let’s get to work, and stop these ‘midnight windows patches” restart nag, disappear with a double-click!

You can log into your Google accounts, use Google bookmarks, have your search history… everything as if the Google Toolbar is still working.

How to use Google Toolbar on Firefox 6 and Firefox 7.

1. Step one, is going to the Application Data folder where all applications you use, stores its data. To do that,

• Go to C:\Documents and Settings, Folder
• If you don’t see a folder with a name of your logon id, it is hidden. To show Hidden files, Follow the steps below,
  From the folder window, click Tools and then Folder Options, as shown in the image below,
  
• In the Folder Options Windows, Go to View Tab, and in the list, below “Hidden Files and Folders”, check the radio button to “Show Hidden Files and Folders” as shown in the image below,
  
• Click Apply and then click OK to save this setting.
• Now you will see your Logon Username Folder in the C:\Documents and settings\ Folder.
• Double click on that. Open Application Data Folder.

2. Step 2, is Navigating to the folder within the Firefox profile folder, Google Toolbar Uses, to do that, follow the steps below.

• In the Application data folder, double click, Mozilla > Firefox > Profiles.
• Open your profile Folder, mine looks like fvuthy4g.default
• Open the extensions Folder.
• Then Look for the folders that Google Toolbar addon uses, For me its, {3112ca9c-de6d-4884-a869-9855de68056c}. You can open that folder, and then in libraries folder, if you see googletoolbar-ff4.dll Then this the right folder, the one Google Toolbar Addon uses.

3. Step 3, is while on the Google Toolbar extension folder {3112ca9c-de6d-4884-a869-9855de68056c} Making tweaks to some files, so Google Toolbar works on Firefox 6 and Firefox 7.

• Open the install.rdf in the notepad or the text editor of your choice. Change this line from
  <em:maxVersion>4.0.*</em:maxVersion> to,
  <em:maxVersion>7.0.*</em:maxVersion>, you can change it to any number greater than 6. This denotes the Firefox Version. Save the file
• Then, Open the folder lib, open toolbar.js in notepad or the text editor of your choice. Do a Find and Replace of
  www.google.com/accounts To
  accounts.google.com
  Save the file.

4. Restart Firefox, now boom! you see the Google Toolbar is working fine again!

WeatherBug is a weather reporting program that provides you weather data, alerting from the system tray. It’s only available for US and it provides data based on your Zipcode. International users can  get city weather datas either via Email or Rss. The publisher of WeatherBug is AWS Convergence Technologies Inc. It is created by the founder of Earth Networks company. WeatherBug is formally known as the AWS – Automated Weather Source. The weather data that is reported are the city weather conditions, local weather report, storm alert etc…It collects this data from 8500+ partnered weather stations. It has 1000+ outdoor weather webcams, and a community for people to share local weather information. It is a paid utility although it has a free version that promotes the paid version (WeatherBug Plus for $19.95). To support the free version, it has popup ads and banner ads. It also comes with AOL instant Messenger. It has an app for Android, iPhone, Windows Phone, Symbian and Blackberry.

Is WeatherBug a spyware?

WeatherBug doesn’t monitor or collect data or Spy your activities on the program or outside the program. So it’s not a spyware. Since its free version is ad-supported, its an adware!They let you uninstall itself from their program, onwards of Version 6.

Free Alternatives without Ads

You can get their paid version – WeatherBug Plus for weather data. As well as there are many free alternatives. The ones Cnet recommended was free and great, but got downgraded in performance and started showing Ads. Currently people are happy with Weather Exchange. You can download this from their website. You can checkout its review on Cnet here.

How to remove WeatherBug?

1. First Kill the Weather.exe process from the task manager.

To do that, press Ctrl + Alt + Del, to open up the Task Manager, locate weather.exe and terminate the process.

2. Next step is to uninstall Weather Bug from the Add/Remove program. To do that,

1. Click START.
2. Select SETTINGS and CONTROL PANEL.
3. Double click ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS.
4. Select “WeatherBug” from the list of applications.
5. Click ADD/REMOVE and follow the instructions on the Uninstallation Wizard.
6. Once uninstalled, restart the Computer.

3. Next step is to delete the registry keys.

Click Start menu, and Click Run.

In the open box, type REGEDIT to open the Windows Registry Editor.

From the registry editor, delete these keys.

For example to delete the first entry, Expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER on the left panel, and then expand everything  between the “\” backslash. ie, Expand Software, Microsoft, Windows, CurrentVersion, Run. In the Run directory, search for Weather=C:\Program Files\AWS\WeatherBug\weather.exe, right click and delete this key. Similarly do the remaining entries.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\Weather=C:\Program Files\AWS\WeatherBug\weather.exe
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\Weather=C:\Program Files\AWS\WeatherBug\weather.exe
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AWS
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{014DA6C7-189F-421A-88CD-07CFE51CFF10}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\IE4\DependantComponents\WeatherBug
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\WeatherBug

4. Next step is to delete the directory -> C:\Program Files\AWS\WeatherBug

5. The last step is to run an Anti-Malware Scan. To do that, Download Malware Bytes and run a scan.

Webfetti is an addon (MyWeb search bar), connecting to their web server, that has a list of smileys, cursors, animations, layouts etc… to make your social profile on myspace, facebook and even webpages colorful. This is just another addon like the smiley central. Webfetti itself is an addon along with smiley central, popular screensaver, cursor mania and zwinky. All these are addon for MyWeb search bar owned by InterActiveCorp. The addons are part of Fun Web Products suite. These are not spywares. But they use cookies to track your usage of their program though they claim to not use them. This is fishy. Regardless of that, having an additional, redundant toolbar on your browser slows down its performance. I’d say to remove it, unless you really want them and you are in this page out of some curiosity.

Webfetti on the MyWeb Search bar (Also known as MyWay Searchbar, MyWay Speedbar, MyWay Search Assistant, MyWebSearch, MyAllSearch, and MyWeb Searchbar), looks like the one shown below,

If you have the toolbar you can sure that you either have webfetti or other addons that install MyWeb Search bar.

How to remove Webfetti?

1. Click on Start > Settings > Control panel.

2. Click on Add/Remove.

3. Find MyWebSearch (Webfetti) in the list. Click on the Change/Remove. Then uninstall it.

4. Restart your computer.

5. Next, go to C:\Program Files\ folder

6. Delete the folder, FunWebProducts and MyWebSearch.

7. Webfetti is now uninstalled completely.

8. Run a registry scan to remove the left overs.

iexplorer.exe is the Internet Explorer browser’s executable file. Double-clicking on it opens Internet Explorer. Shortcuts available on your desktop and quick launch bar points to this file. When Internet Explorer is running, you can open the Taskmanger (By clicking Ctrl + Alt + del) and see the iexplorer.exe in the process list. The virus with the same name of this legitimate file exists on the taskmanager even when the Internet Explorer is not running. If there is this virus on your computer, you will see multiple instances of iexplorer.exe on the taskmanager.

What is iexplorer.exe virus?

iexplorer.exe virus is a backdoor. Backdoor is a program that gets an unauthorized remote access by itself by connecting to your compromised system instead of getting authenticated by the normal way a legitimate remote access program does. Backdoor runs in the background silently hiding from the user. Backdoor lets the malicious person who controls it, manage files on your computer, add/delete files, take a screenshot, shutdown the system and more… everything that is possible with a remote access! The backdoor that infects iexplorer.exe is located in C:\Windows\iexplore.exe.

Symptoms of iexplorer.exe backdoor infection.

These symptoms are from the stage the backdoor tries to infect your computer to compromise it, to the stage where it gets installed completely into your system, and finally to the stage where it remotely connects with the malicious person who controls it to control your system.

1. Your Internet explorer or any browser doesn’t start.

2. Browser homepage or a page which you are redirected to has too many pop ups that tries to install a malicious program to compromise your computer. This is browser hijack. Or when you are just browsing, occasionally it pops up to install some “bogus” anti-virus or anti-spyware tool.

3. Your homepage is changed to some other malicious webpage.

4. You get blue screen errors.

5. If your anti-virus detects it, it will prompt the threat detected message. 

6. You have multiple instances of iexplorer.exe or iexplorer.exe running in the taskmanager even when Internet explorer is not running.

7. It has a different location than the legitimate iexplorer.exe, like C:\Windows\iexplore.exe

These are some of the symptoms to let you know that your computer is infected with iexplorer.exe virus.

Steps to remove this infection.

1. Run an Anti-Malware scan. I use Malware Bytes. Install that, and make sure its real time protection is turned on. Do not off it. Update it periodically and schedule to run the full system scan atleast once in a week.

2. Download Hijack This. Hijack this, run a in-depth scan of your computer for changed registry and file settings and it reports all the settings to see if anything has been changed by the malware. It also displays a list of settings that might have infected. Don’t do anything if you aren’t sure what you are doing. If you are unsure, save the log file. Contact us to analyze it, or post it in the popular forums, just search for, “post hijack this logfile”. You can get help from people from those forums you have just discovered.

3. Make sure the firewall is turned on. If your firewall prompts that some program is trying to access the internet, and you are not sure what that is, or looks fishy, do not allow it.

4. Click Start > Run, type Services.msn. This opens the Windows Service tool, from there Disable services that you don’t use on your computer such as FTP server, Web server, and Telnet because they open up your system to malicious attacks.

Mdm.exe, is an executable file where MDM denotes – Machine Debug Manager. This utility provides debugging interface for Internet Explorer browser with its scripting tools. This is not a system file and its located in the directory – C:\Program Files\Common Files (C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\VS7Debug\MDM.EXE). It’s 264 – 490 kb in size. Mdm.exe is the subject of this article because its on the task manager, and it starts up on the windows start up automatically. Its one of the files that is on the Windows Start up list. So Unless you use it for the debugging purpose, you don’t need this file and can disable it from the MSCONFIG utility. Let’s talk about that.

How to disable Mdm.exe?

You can either turn it off from the Internet Explorer or from the MSCONFIG or Registry Windows Start up entry.

From the Internet Explorer:

1. Open Internet Explorer, go to Tools and click Internet Options.
2. Click the Advanced tab.
3. Check Disable script debugging.
4. Click OK.
5. Close the Internet Explorer.

That’s it. You can uncheck  Disable script debugging to enable it.

From the MSCONFIG

1. Click Start Menu, Click Run.
2. In the open box, type MSCONFIG and click Enter.
3. Go to the Startup tab.
4. Uncheck the MDM.
5. Click ok to save.
6. Exit MSCONFIG.

From the Windows registry

1. Click Start Menu, Click Run.
2. In the open box, type “REGEDIT” and click enter.
3. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices
4. Right click MDM7, you may see MDM6 or any number after MDM. Delete it.
5. Check in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run as well.
6. Close the Registry Editor.
7. Restart the computer.

Virus disguising in the name of MDM.exe

Any file that is not in the location -> C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\VS7Debug\MDM.EXE and not in the size 264 – 490 KB is suspicious.

Some known location of a trojan horse (Agent-EMT Trojan) – C:\Windows\System32\MDM.exe

or at C:\Windows\MDM.exe

If it’s suspicious Run a Malware Bytes, Anti-Malware Scan.

Win32k.sys is a Windows driver that is responsible for windowing and graphics. It is a part of Windows and should not be deleted.

How to fix Win32k.Sys BSOD using Windows debugger?

If you look at the bottom of the BSOD you will  see a line that says “Begining dump of physical memory”. Windows debugger can be used to analyze this crash dump and find out what caused your computer to prompt a blue screen.

Download Windows debugger tool.  For debugger to work, you need something called the “symbols”. Symbols are Operating System specific. For Windows Xp you need to download Symbols for Xp. For Vista you need to download Symbols for Vista and so on… You can let the Windows debugger download the Symbols online, since its the easy way. To do that, follow the steps below,

To use the Microsoft Symbol Server

1. Make sure you have installed the latest version of Debugging Tools for Windows.
2. Start a debugging session.
3. Decide where to store the downloaded symbols (the “downstream store”). This can be a local drive or a UNC path.
4. Set the debugger symbol path as follows, substituting your downstream store path for DownstreamStore.

   SRV*DownstreamStore*http://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols

For example, to download symbols to c:\mssymbols, you would add the following to your symbol path:
SRV*c:\mssymbols*http://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols

The next step is to analyze the crash dump file, that is located on the C:\windows\MEMORY.DMP. This is what you see on the bottom of the blue screen. To open the crash dump from the Windows debugger, click file > open crash dump and select the location of C:\windows\MEMORY.DMP

It will take a moment to load this file. After it loads, you get a prompt to type !analyze to analyze the crash dump. Type !analyze. Now the Windows debugger analyzes the crash dump. After its done. Open the crash dump in the notepad. Find the line, PROCESS_NAME:

The process you find, is the one that is responsible for the blue screen. Most of the time, its some mouse driver that is causing the problem. You need to uninstall that, and reinstall to the working version if you need one.

That’s how you analyze the crash dumps generated upon a blue screen error to find the process that is causing the problem. You can search more about that process and find a solution.

Note: Most of the Blue Screen errors are caused by the outdated, missing or corrupt Drivers. Update your system drivers now!