I recently encountered Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) errors on my Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 15ARH7. At first, I thought it was a problem with Windows, so I decided to do a clean installation. However, the installer froze halfway through, leaving me without an operating system. I tried resetting the BIOS to default settings and performed a memory test with Memtest86+, which came back normal, so I don't think memory is the issue. Even when I booted a live Linux environment, it lagged at boot and dropped to the initramfs command prompt. Eventually, I installed Windows 11 23H2 on the SSD using a different laptop without any issues. But when I put the drive back into my original laptop, it logged in fine, but after about a minute, it crashed again with BSOD. I'm at a loss for what could be causing this problem. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
5 Answers
Just as a side note – be careful with BIOS changes; they can sometimes lead to data loss if not handled correctly. Always have your data backed up!
Keep in mind that you shouldn't just transfer the SSD between laptops after installing Windows. They need to have very similar hardware configurations. If they don't match, it could very well cause BSOD issues when you try to boot it in the other laptop. Did you try wiping the SSD and performing a fresh installation directly in your laptop? That might solve the problem.
Before you move on, don't forget to oil the hinges of your laptop. I neglected mine, and it broke before I could fix it. Just a little maintenance goes a long way!
You might want to check for dump files to help diagnose the BSODs. If you can boot into Windows normally or even Safe Mode, check in C:WindowsMinidump for any dump files. Zip the folder and upload it to a file-sharing site like Catbox or MediaFire. Having multiple dump files can be useful for analysis, and make sure to set the dump type to Small Memory Dump if you need more.
Thanks for the tip! I'll try to find those dump files and upload them for analysis.
Definitely follow the advice about dump files. They can provide insights into what’s causing the BSODs. I had a similar situation, and looking at those helped me pinpoint a driver issue.
I tried doing a fresh install, but the installer BSODs before completing. I'm worried there's a deeper issue with the hardware.