Windows to macs? And the BSoD?

Question

Ok hey, i just had another "Blue screen of death attack (BSoD)" and my friend was bragging how his computer doesnt get viruses , spyware and worms. he has a mac, i have a dell windows xp home. and i am getting mad i want a new computer but... i cant.. so is there a way to heal the BSoD? if not is it true that Macs are hack prof. and do they ever get the BSoD? thanks

Ok sorry for the loonng time of pause. Right now im in safe mode, it worked for a while then came back, ok to be quick. the problem is : 0x0000008E (0xc0000005,0xef6f35b3 0xee8d0a28,0x00000000) ok thanks see if that helps and if not.. humm.. lets just hope it does !

Answer 1

Macs don't get blue screens, per se, but they do get similar errors. They supposedly don't get them as often, but many would posit that this is because Mac users don't toy around with system settings as much, if at all.

Macs are by no means hack-proof - they just don't get viruses, which Windows users do get if they're careless about security.

As for the BSOD you're getting, the possible causes are too numerous to give you any idea as to what to do, so you'd need to include the error code that it's giving. If you can get your computer to boot up, go into Start -> Run, type "compmgmt.msc" (without the quotes), double-click "Event Viewer," then double-click on "System." Look for those that are type "Error" (not "Information"), and write down the Event ID, description, and anything else that looks like it might be relevant.

From there, do some internet searches, post back here or in another forum, or contact me and I'll do what I can to figure it out for you.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

BSoD is pretty much a thing of the past. If you are doing ALL Microsoft updates, and your applications are fairly standard and not home-grown freeware, you shouldn't get them at all. I am using my computer many hours every day, and I haven't got one in over a year. Bad drivers will also cause this.

I know its drastic, but in your case it might be worth it: Make a backup of all your data files. Get the free Belarc Advisor, and print your results. Download the latest drivers for all hardware in your computer and burn to CD. Format (NTFS) and reload windows. Install all drivers. Do ALL updates. Install AntiMalware applications. Install production applications (keys will be on Belarc printout). Restore data.

Make sure everything is updated, and you should be fine from now on.

The next time your friend brags about his mac, tell him that he is just as vulnerable, its just that no one cares to write malware that will only infect a few machines worldwide. That should shut him up...