Create your own BSOD in Windows XP

by Greg Shultz | May 18, 2005 7:00:00 AM

Tags: Greg Shultz, BSOD, blue screen of death, Microsoft Windows XP, Registry Editor, Microsoft Windows, Windows XP Tips Newsletter

Takeaway: As puzzling as it may sound, it can be quite useful to create your own Blue Screen Of Death in Windows XP. From troubleshooting your Startup And Recovery settings to demonstrating to end users what to do if they encounter a BSOD, this tip will come in handy.

While it may seem odd to think about purposefully causing a Blue Screen Of Death (BSOD), Microsoft includes such a provision in Windows XP. This might come in handy for testing and troubleshooting your Startup And Recovery settings, Event logging, and for demonstration purposes.

Here's how to create a BSOD:

1. Launch the Registry Editor (Regedit.exe).
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\i8042prt\Parameters.
3. Go to Edit, select New | DWORD Value and name the new value CrashOnCtrlScroll.
4. Double-click the CrashOnCtrlScroll DWORD Value, type 1 in the Value Data textbox, and click OK.
5. Close the Registry Editor and restart Windows XP.

When you want to cause a BSOD, press and hold down the [Ctrl] key on the right side of your keyboard, and then tap the [ScrollLock] key twice. Now you should see the BSOD.

If your system reboots instead of displaying the BSOD, you'll have to disable the Automatically Restart setting in the System Properties dialog box. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Press [Windows]-Break.
2. Select the Advanced tab.
3. Click the Settings button in the Startup And Recovery panel.
4. Clear the Automatically Restart check box in the System Failure panel.
5. Click OK twice.

Here's how you remove the BSOD configuration:

1. Launch the Registry Editor (Regedit.exe).
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\i8042prt\Parameters.
3. Select the CrashOnCtrlScroll value, pull down the Edit menu, and select the Delete command.
4. Close the Registry Editor and restart Windows XP.

Note: Editing the registry is risky, so make sure you have a verified backup before making any changes.

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Print/View all Posts Comments on this article

How to force BSOD MauriceM | 05/18/05

Looks like fun radiic | 05/18/05

Red Screen of Death. deepsand | 05/23/05

But it isn't available in IA-64 ExEC135CrewDog | 05/19/05

Servers jbaker@... | 05/19/05

Why?? graciad@... | 05/19/05

not for desktop. jbaker@... | 05/19/05

Editing message?? graciad@... | 05/19/05

Don't know of a way Greg Shultz | 05/19/05

User actions TechInfo | 05/19/05

What does this do for me? rick@... | 05/19/05

Good for testing and training Greg Shultz | 05/19/05

Can I customize BSOD screen? turtle-sf | 05/19/05

No rfarmer768@... | 05/20/05

So Edit the Kernel CP44 | 03/13/06

The Title... Greg Shultz | 05/20/05

Firefox and others pcguy@... | 05/20/05

More stringent testing is required vasanthraj@... | 05/20/05

No Scroll Lock on Notebook hughw44@... | 03/29/06

Sure there is Jeffykins | 09/28/06

I forgot about this one... waltonob | 05/18/05

BSOD article ddecorso@... | 05/19/05

Ads jclambert | 05/19/05

Just Copy Text jmcservice@... | 05/19/05

The Microsoft Ad Huntsman.ks | 05/19/05

They should read this site Ron@... | 06/01/05

no text covered jbaker@... | 05/19/05

Print Option GSteve | 05/20/05

To see behind ads hughw44@... | 03/29/06

Hide Ads ... chaz15 | 04/01/06

Can this be done with USB Keyboards? DrumDude614 | 09/28/06