How to fix Blue screen after Windows 10 rollback?

Microsoft did well to offer a free upgrade to Windows to users with computers running genuine copies of Windows 8.1 and Windows 7. Well, understandably, many people took advantage of the largesse and got their PCs to run the latest version of Windows, and unsurprisingly, Windows 10 managed to become the most popular desktop operating system.

Not every user was pleased with the new operating system, though. Some people, for reasons exclusive or best known to them, realized that they would prefer to continue to use the older operating system. Fortunately, a rollback option that allows users to revert to whatever OS version they came from is often available in the first month after the upgrade to Windows 10.

At this point, we have to assume you ended up on this page because you started seeing blue screens of death not long after you downgraded back to Windows 7. Therefore, in this guide, we will show you how to fix blue screens on a Windows 7 laptop or computer.

Moreover, some reports also indicate that certain users were unable to bring back their previous iteration of Windows due to issues they encountered during the downgrade process. If you are one of them, then we have to tell you that some solutions here might help you fix the Windows 10 blue screen loop you struggled with earlier.

How to fix the blue screens of death that appear after a rollback from Windows 10 to Windows 7 and similar problems?

We implore you to go through the solutions in the order they have been listed here. This way, you get to work your way from the procedure most likely to bring the result you want to others that are less likely to apply to your condition or case. Whatever happens, you will eventually end up using a fix that works well for you.

1. Check your antivirus:

If we decide to rule out the general causes of blue screens of death and assume all is well with the drivers on your PC or its hardware components, then security programs like your antivirus are likely to be in play as being responsible for the problem at hand.

Your antivirus is a robust program in terms of the capabilities or powers it possesses to carry out operations. Therefore, there is a good chance it is manipulating other applications or interfering with their processes, and the blue screen of death you encountered is merely the result of such events.

Considering the volume of changes that occurred after you upgraded to Windows 10, then downgraded back to Windows 7, it is fair to say that your antivirus has gone through a lot. For this reason and others, your antivirus might be struggling to do its work as it should.

Since getting rid of the blue screen of death is your priority for now, you have to move against your antivirus. You have to get it to stop working. This way (since it is inactive), it will not cause you further problems.

These instructions will guide you to carry out the necessary operations:

• Open your antivirus app. Navigate through its screens or options and enter its settings menu. There, you must work on the configuration in use to disable your antivirus or stop it from functioning. If you are lucky, you might find a switch you can use to get the result you need precisely.

Otherwise, you might have to switch off all every feature or functionality your antivirus needs to function. This way, you severely reduce its powers or capabilities and render it unable to operate.

• Once you are done putting your antivirus in its place, you must restart your system to see what effect the work you did has on your problem. If the blue screen of death issue reappears or if you suspect your antivirus is still functioning somehow, then you must continue with the instructions below:
• Click on the Windows Start icon always visible on your desktop screen. You should see some programs and options from which you must select Control Panel
• The Control Panel window should be up by now. From the options or tools available, you have to click on the Uninstall a program link (usually under the Programs). If this link is missing from your screen, then you must perform a search by inputting the required keywords into the text field present
• Now, your system should display all the programs currently installed on your PC (the ones that got installed through Windows Installer). Go through the list
• Once you locate your antivirus, you must click on it to highlight it, then click on the Uninstall button close to the top of the window. A dialog box will come up to ask you if you genuinely want to get rid of the selected program
• Click on the Yes button and Windows will see this as confirmation. Your system will proceed with the operation to uninstall your antivirus. Follow any instruction that comes up to ensure the process goes smoothly
• Once the uninstallation is complete, you will see a message stating that your antivirus app was successfully removed from your computer. At this point, you must move on to restart your PC.

If everything goes well, your computer will stop blue screening (or you will no longer be able to trigger the BSOD). You still have to address the security issue now affecting your PC, though. After all, since you got rid of your antivirus, the Windows on your computer is now running without any form of credible protection.

You will do well to introduce a new security app. Given the problem you just struggled with, the program must be one that is capable of providing top-level protection for Windows without it having to trigger the blue screen of death errors. Auslogics Anti-Malware is an excellent choice in this regards.

2. Download and install Windows updates:

You might have downgraded to Windows 7 successfully, but there is a good chance that the build or version you are running lacks some critical Windows updates. Nevertheless, we are not trying to claim the missing Windows updates are directly responsible for the blue screen of death you encountered.

What we do mean, however, is that your PC might stop blue screening after you download and install some Windows updates. After all, Windows updates are known to contain essential patches and critical bug fixes that go a long way in improving the security and stability of the Windows operating system environment.

Perhaps, a specific patch will eliminate the bug that is causing the blue screen of death or fix to the flaw in your Windows build might arrive. You never can tell until you try finding out. Follow these instructions:

• First, you must click on the Windows Start menu icon, then select Control Panel from the programs or apps available. Once the Control Panel program window comes up, you will see some options or menus from which you must select Windows Update.

If the required option or menu is missing from the list displayed, then you must perform a search for it by inputting the necessary keywords into the text field available

• In the Windows Update menu, you will see some links displayed on the left section of the window. Click on the Check for updates link. Your system will now contact Microsoft servers to request the updates available for your device.

If Windows finds something, it will inform you about it. In that case, you have to click on the Install updates button and let your computer do its thing. After your system finishes installing all the available updates, you must restart your PC (or allow Windows to do so for you), and finally, the blue screen of deaths might no longer come up to disturb you.

3. Check your drivers:

A large number of operations or processes were involved in the upgrade procedure to Windows 10 and the downgrade to Windows 7 event. Therefore, if you are still struggling with a blue screen of death at this stage, we cannot help but think some of your drivers have become corrupted or incompatible with your system.

Drivers are more or less programs that control and manage the operations of hardware devices or components that make up your PC. Maybe, your system is not using the drivers compatible with your PC due to the events that have occurred, and the blue screen of death is simply a consequence of incompatibility issues and related problems.

To solve the problem affecting your drivers in this case, you have to identify the incompatible or corrupted drivers and replace them with excellent versions. In either case, an update of the problematic driver will do just fine.

The task before you is difficult in that you first have to identify the faulty drivers before you can begin searching for replacements for them. Given the volume of work involved in going through a large number of drivers active in your computer, we can safely claim the identification process is an impractical first step.

You are better off updating all device drivers. This way, you get to install excellent replacements for all problematic drivers without you having to waste valuable time or effort on the identification process. In that case, you might want to check out Auslogics Driver Updater.

The recommended app (after you run it) works performing a scan on your computer to identify the corrupted, incompatible or outdated drivers. Furthermore, you will get to use it to download and install the latest recommended versions of the malfunctioning drivers in a stress-free way, and this task is the most important of the lot.

After you finish installing all the necessary driver software, you will do well to restart your system to allow the changes resulting from the driver upgrades to become effective. With the new drivers operating as they should, your computer should finally get a reprieve from the blue screen of death errors.

4. Run the Startup Repair tool:

The Startup Repair utility is one of the most useful tools in Windows 7 as regards dealing with severe crashes that result in blue screen of death errors. Startup Repair works by identifying missing or damaged Windows operating system files and replacing them with good copies.

To use the tool in view, you have to boot your system from a Windows 7 installation medium. Your Windows 7 CD will do fine. Follow these instructions once you are ready to work:

• Insert the Windows 7 bootable medium into your device and ensure your computer boots from it. If you do everything correctly, you should end up on the installation screen for Windows 7.
• You have to select your Region, Time and currency format, Language, and so on to continue to the required menu. Click on the Next button once you have made the right selections.
• On the next screen, you have to click on the Repair your computer link (on the bottom right corner of your screen).
• Your system will initiate the required operations by searching your hard disk drive to locate the Windows 7 on your PC and begin its work. Some patience is needed; we believe the process here should not take more than a few minutes
• After the tool finishes that round of operation, you will get to choose the Windows 7 installation you intend to work on using the Startup Repair tool. Select it and click on the Next button

(You need not worry about the inaccuracy of the letter for the drive partition that contains your Windows 7 installation)

• A list of useful diagnostic and repair utilities should come up now. Select Startup Repair (usually the first item there). The tool will now move to perform searches for files that are essential to the proper function of the Windows 7 running on your device.

If the utility detects an issue affecting an important system file, it will inform you about it. Furthermore, the tool might offer a solution to solve the problem and ask you to confirm its use. Otherwise, it might solve the problem automatically without any input from you.

In general, we advise you to do whatever the instructions tell you and continue until you are done.

• After Startup Repair completes its operations, you must click on the Finish button (usually on the Restart your computer to complete the process screen). Your system should reboot normally now, and things should be fine.

5. Fix issues affecting your Master Boot Record:

The Master Boot Record (often abbreviated as MBR) consists of the information (typically stored on hard drives) that helps computers identify the operating system installed or running on them. Your computer cannot even boot without a Master Boot Record.

If your Master Boot Record becomes corrupted or if it suffers a loss of its data, then Windows will struggle to start up and run normally. Blue screen of death errors are hardly the only issues you are going to have to deal with here.

Perhaps, the problem affecting the MBR is a result of operations from the upgrade to Windows 10 or the downgrade to Windows 7 process. You will have to fix the issue either way. Follow these instructions:

• Follow the same steps above (for the previous fix) to see the list of useful diagnostic and repair utilities. This time, you are going to select Command Prompt.
• After the Command Prompt window comes up on your screen, you must input the following commands and hit the Enter key after each you finish typing each line of code:

bootrec /fixmbr

bootrec /fixboot

bootrec /scanos

bootrec /rebuildbcd

• Once you have executed all the required codes successfully, you are free to exit the Command Prompt window and restart your PC. After the reboot, you must check if the problem with the blue screen of death error continues to bother you.

6. Restore your system:

If the Startup Repair tool and other standard utilities fail to do enough to resolve your problem, then it is time you got help from System Restore. We want to assume that some faulty files or configuration data are present on your device, and these items have something to do with your computer going down with a blue screen of death error.

If you backed up your system as Microsoft often recommends, then the System Restore tool should be available for use. You are free to try it out anyway (even if you cannot remember backing up your data on Windows).

The tool in view here will work to revert your system to an earlier state. The Windows on your device will literally go back in time (the moment the backup was created). Follow these instructions to use the System Restore tool:

• You need to insert the Windows installation medium, navigate through the required menus or options to get to the screen where you see some useful utilities. You have done performed this task in the two previous fixes so you should have no issues repeating it.
• As expected, you have to click on the System Restore tool to select it this time. Click on the Next button. We have taken you as far as we need to here. All you have to do is follow the instructions you see on your screen, and you should be able to complete the process.

If everything goes well, then your PC will end up in a state where the blue screen of death errors can no longer be triggered so they will stop appearing.

Other things you could do to remove blue screens that occur after a rollback from Windows 10 to Windows 7

7. Safe Mode:

If you struggled to use the fixes we provided in details because you could not get your computer to run in a stable Windows environment, then you will do well to boot into Safe Mode. There, you should be able to work without complications or problems (like the blue screen of death you are trying to get rid of) bothering you.

8. Deactivate Intel Turbo memory:

This procedure is a specific fix for people who use the stated utility. A reasonable number of users have confirmed that Intel Turbo Memory caused their PCs to blue screen after their Windows 10 rollback. All they had to do was launch Intel Turbo Memory console, navigate through the necessary options or menu, then untick the checkboxes for Enable Windows ReadyBoot and Enable Windows ReadyDrive.

9. Disconnect external hardware devices:

You will do well to unplug any peripheral or hardware device currently connected to your system given the blue screen of death problem you have been trying to resolve. USB drives, printers, cameras, gamepads, and so on are some of the devices we are referring to here. Only the most essential components (keyboard, for example) of your PC should be connected. Observe the changes that occur.

10. Check for and uninstall problematic applications:

There is a good chance that an app that got damaged during the upgrade or downgrade process is responsible for the blue screen of death problem. Perhaps, its files or registry entries became corrupted, or they were altered by the operations that took place. You will do well to identify any problematic app (like the one we described) and uninstall it correctly to stop seeing the BSOD.

11. Do a Clean Boot:

Perhaps, we have missed out on an important driver, app, utility or tool that would have been key in resolving the blue screen of death puzzle. It does not matter anymore. With a Clean Boot, you can rule out external influences, isolate the source of the problem, and finally resolve the issue that has long eluded you.

12. Reinstall Windows 7:

If all else fails, then you know what to do.