# Off-Topic Discussion > The Lounge > Tech Talk >  >  Just Got A Blue Screen, only once though. Should I Be Concerned?

## Slick

About 7 hours ago with my HP Solution Printer, I tried to print a picture, but then I get a error notice saying "Document Failed."

So I hold down the power button on my printer to try to restart, then out of nowhere, my PC just shuts down and a Blue Screen error pops in front of me. *sighs* Tough Luck.

Should I be worried? The Blue screen hasn't been reappearing on me again ever since I restarted my PC.

But just in case...can anyone give me some tips on backing up my programs before reformatting?

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## ClouD

What did the blue screen error say?

It should display a "file name" of some sort.

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## bobthemonkey

Ok first up, one BSOD is by no means cause for a complete re-format. It might justify a full backup if you're paranoid or a partial backup if you have important files that you don't want to lose just in case further problems develop.

If the fact that it happened when you powered off the printer after it failed to print wasn't a coincidence, it could be the result of the printer driver failing in which case uninstalling and reinstalling updated printer drivers would probably fix your problem.

Regardless of what caused it, personally I wouldn't worry about doing anything about it unless it happens again. Just make sure you follow standard procedure when working on important things such as saving regularly and keeping a backup either online somewhere or on removable storage such as a USB key (or both for the extremely paranoid, you never know, you could lose your usb).

So in short: "Just Got A Blue Screen, only once though. Should I Be Concerned?"

No, you shouldn't. If it happens again, consider doing something about it. But try to fix the problem properly before you decide to reformat.

EDIT: Also, tips on backups before reformatting: just copy everything you need into a folder and burn it to a CD/DVD/External hard drive. No point doing an image backup with something like Norton Ghost if you've got a driver problem.

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## Slick

> What did the blue screen error say?
> 
> It should display a "file name" of some sort.



I didn't bother to read to it, I was too anxious at the time.  :Sad: 





> Ok first up, one BSOD is by no means cause for a complete re-format. It might justify a full backup if you're paranoid or a partial backup if you have important files that you don't want to lose just in case further problems develop.
> 
> If the fact that it happened when you powered off the printer after it failed to print wasn't a coincidence, it could be the result of the printer driver failing in which case uninstalling and reinstalling updated printer drivers would probably fix your problem.
> 
> Regardless of what caused it, personally I wouldn't worry about doing anything about it unless it happens again. Just make sure you follow standard procedure when working on important things such as saving regularly and keeping a backup either online somewhere or on removable storage such as a USB key (or both for the extremely paranoid, you never know, you could lose your usb).
> 
> So in short: "Just Got A Blue Screen, only once though. Should I Be Concerned?"
> 
> No, you shouldn't. If it happens again, consider doing something about it. But try to fix the problem properly before you decide to reformat.
> ...



Thanks for the feedback, I feel a little better now I guess. I hope my printer doesn't do this to me again. I really don't why it doesn't wanna work sometimes, considering it's pretty new.

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## ninja9578

No, I get the BSOD all the time, it's nothing to worry about.

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## Keresztanya

> I didn't bother to read to it, I was too anxious at the time.



If it happens again, take the time to write down what it says, or take a picture. You can google the errors and try to find a solution to it.

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## Ynot

chances are, the only info you pull off of a blue screen will just be hexadecimal memory locations
which are no use at all, unless you have a dump of the memory

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## Marvo

This is most likely due to the printer doing something it shouldn't be doing. If you want to do anything, you can try updating the firmware on the printer, and update your computer's printer drivers.

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## bobthemonkey

> No, I get the BSOD all the time, it's nothing to worry about.



If it happens all the time it's probably a concern. :p Losing work due to a crash is no fun. Especially if the auto restore thing in Office doesn't work for some reason. XD

It's not like it's unavoidable with Windows. I've been running XP, Vista and 7 on different computers for all of this year and between them I've had one BSOD because I messed up a driver install.

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