Troubleshooting - blue screens

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Jack
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A Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) is an error message from Windows that indicates a critical system failure. While it can seem alarming, it's the operating system's way of shutting down to protect itself. This guide will help you understand the common causes and how to find a solution.

Initial Steps: Reinstall the Anti-Cheat

If you are experiencing blue screens, the first step is to try reinstalling the FACEIT Anti-cheat. This is the most common cause of blue screens related to our software and can often be fixed with a fresh installation.

Common Causes of Blue Screens

A blue screen error can be caused by various issues, including:

  • Failing hardware (such as a faulty RAM stick or hard drive)

  • Unstable overclocks on your CPU or GPU

  • Faulty or outdated software drivers

  • Overheating

  • Malware or rootkit infections

General Troubleshooting Steps

If reinstalling the Anti-cheat doesn't work, follow these steps to check for common hardware and software issues.

1. Disable IOMMU (If You Can't Boot to Windows)

If a blue screen is preventing you from reaching your desktop, you may have a conflict with an outdated hardware driver. This is a more advanced step, but it's a good place to start if you're stuck in a boot loop.

Steps to Enter BIOS/UEFI and Disable IOMMU:

  1. Restart your computer. As it boots up, press the designated key to enter your BIOS/UEFI setup (common keys include Del, F2, F10, F12, or Esc).

  2. Once in the BIOS, navigate to Advanced Settings.

  3. Look for a section related to CPU, peripherals, or virtualization, such as CPU Configuration or North Bridge Configuration.

  4. Find the IOMMU setting, which may also be named AMD-V, Intel VT-d, or Virtualization Technology.

  5. Disable this setting, then save and exit the BIOS.

If this fixes the blue screen, it's highly likely a driver issue. Please contact our support team and report the issue.

2. Remove the FACEIT Anti-cheat Driver in Safe Mode

If the blue screen is preventing your system from starting, you can try removing the FACEIT Anti-cheat driver.

Steps to Enter Safe Mode:

  1. Restart your computer. As it reboots, press the designated key to enter the recovery environment (often F11 or a similar function key, or by navigating through Windows' advanced startup options).

  2. Navigate to Troubleshoot -> Advanced Options -> Startup Settings.

  3. Click Restart.

  4. After the computer reboots, a list of startup options will appear. Press 4 on your keyboard to select Enable Safe Mode.

Steps to Remove the Driver in Safe Mode:

  1. Once you're in Safe Mode, open File Explorer.

  2. Navigate to the following path: C:\Program Files\FACEIT AC

  3. Locate the file named FACEIT_AC.sys and delete it.

  4. Restart your computer normally.

This should allow your system to boot without the blue screen.

3. Test Your Hardware

If you can access your desktop, you should check your hardware for errors.

  • CPU: Use a program like Prime95 to test your CPU. Run the "Blend" test for at least one hour or until you see an error.

  • RAM: Use Memtest86 to test your RAM. It's a free tool that runs a comprehensive check on your system memory.

Note: There are known issues with some Intel 13th/14th Gen CPUs that can cause crashes not always detected by these tools. For more information, please refer to this news article.

4. Check for Malware

In rare cases, a rootkit or other malware can conflict with the Anti-cheat and cause a blue screen. Use a dedicated anti-rootkit scanner like Malwarebytes Anti-Rootkit to scan your system.

5. Disable Overclocking

If your PC is overclocked, please restore your CPU, RAM, and GPU to their default settings. An unstable overclock is a very common cause of system crashes.

Submitting a Support Ticket

If none of these steps solve your issue, we will need a crash dump file to investigate further. This file contains crucial information about what caused the crash.

How to Find the Crash Dump File

By default, Windows creates a small dump file called a Minidump after a blue screen.

  1. Navigate to C:\Windows\Minidump\.

  2. Look for the .dmp file with the most recent modified date.

  3. Attach this file directly to your support ticket.

In some cases, we may also ask for a full memory dump. This file is much larger and needs to be compressed before sharing.

To Compress a Full Memory Dump:

  1. Locate the MEMORY.dmp file in C:\Windows\.

  2. Right-click on the file and select Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder.

  3. Upload the zipped file to a file-sharing service (like Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox) and share the download link with our support agent.

Once you have the necessary files, please submit a support ticket.

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