Blue screen of deathThe Blue Screen of Death (BSoD), Blue screen error, Blue Screen, fatal error, or bugcheck, and officially known as a Stop error, is a critical error screen displayed by the Microsoft Windows and ReactOS operating systems in the event of a fatal system error. The Blue Screen of Death indicates a system crash, in which the operating system has reached a critical condition where it can no longer operate safely. Possible issues include hardware failure, an issue with or without a device driver, or unexpected termination of a crucial process or thread.
Hang (computing)In computing, a hang or freeze occurs when either a process or system ceases to respond to inputs. A typical example is when computer's graphical user interface (such as Microsoft Windows) no longer responds to the user typing on the keyboard or moving the mouse. The term covers a wide range of behaviors in both clients and servers, and is not limited to graphical user interface issues.
Control-Alt-DeleteControl-Alt-Delete (often abbreviated to Ctrl+Alt+Del and sometimes called the "three-finger salute" or "Security Keys") is a computer keyboard command on IBM PC compatible computers, invoked by pressing the Delete key while holding the Control and Alt keys: . The function of the key combination differs depending on the context but it generally interrupts or facilitates interrupting a function. For instance, in pre-boot environment (before an operating system starts) or in MS-DOS, Windows 3.
Kernel panicA kernel panic (sometimes abbreviated as KP) is a safety measure taken by an operating system's kernel upon detecting an internal fatal error in which either it is unable to safely recover or continuing to run the system would have a higher risk of major data loss. The term is largely specific to Unix and Unix-like systems. The equivalent on Microsoft Windows operating systems is a stop error, often called a "blue screen of death".
Crash (computing)In computing, a crash, or system crash, occurs when a computer program such as a software application or an operating system stops functioning properly and exits. On some operating systems or individual applications, a crash reporting service will report the crash and any details relating to it (or give the user the option to do so), usually to the developer(s) of the application. If the program is a critical part of the operating system, the entire system may crash or hang, often resulting in a kernel panic or fatal system error.
