For your PC to show you a BSOD is usually a bad thing, it’s also something that isn’t working as it should, and it’s something we always try to avoid at all costs. However, it can also be used to find out what is not working exactly as it should, because after a blue screen the PC creates a log (called a crash dump) which is used to find out what was happening on the PC when the failure occurred, and what caused it.
Triggering a BSOD on purpose can also help developers; If they create a program and it crashes without knowing why, if the program was writing to disk at the time of the crash, data can be corrupted, so by manually triggering a BSOD, developers can ensure that their programs are not planted. corrupt behind these locks.
How to configure BSODs in Windows 10
Before causing the BSOD, we must first configure how we want this “controlled explosion” to happen. To do this, you need to access the system registry (WIN + R -> write regedit and click OK), or click Start and type “Registry Editor”. Make sure to run it as administrator or with an account with administrative privileges.
Now we need to manually create some registry keys, and which ones and where to create depends on the type of keyboard you have on your PC.
If your keyboard is PS / 2, you should go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESystemCurrentControlSetServicesi8042prtParameters
If the keyboard is USB, go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESystemCurrentControlSetServiceskbdhidParameters
Finally, if you are using a virtual machine through Hyper-V, you will need to access:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESystemCurrentControlSetServiceshyperkbdParameters
Once you are in the directory that you need based on your keyboard, you need to create a registry key. To do this, right-click an empty space on the right and select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value.
You will be asked for the name of the key, so you need to call it: CrashOnCtrlScroll. Once created, double click on it to edit it and change the value that appears to 1.
Once done, close the registry editor and restart your PC. Don’t worry, it won’t give you the blue screen yet.
How to cause a BSOD manually
Now that you’ve configured how to cause a BSOD, it’s time to activate it. To do this, you need to hold down two keyboard keys that you probably don’t use much (at least together): the right CTRL key and scroll lock. First hold down the CTRL key on the right side of the keyboard (the one on the left side does not) and, without releasing it, press the key Despl Blog (located next to the print screen) two consecutive times.
If you’re doing this on a laptop that doesn’t have this key or dedicated it, don’t worry, you’ll just have to find where its alternate activation is (usually C, K, S, or F6) and also press the Fn key to activate it.
If you have done this correctly, you will see the screen flicker momentarily and then a BSOD will occur. You will see that there is a substantial difference from a spontaneous BSOD as the error code will show “MANUALLY_INITIATED_CRASH”, confirming that the blue screen was caused manually.
