A kernel bug is a flaw in some critical code for Windows. If you’ve ever encountered a Blue Screen of Death (BSoD), then you’ve seen a kernel error. Windows is actually multiple layers of programs created to work together. You can think of Windows as your body, with many pieces working together to form a whole, and like your body, some parts of Windows are more important than others.

The kernel is the most important part of Windows. It includes critical programs to handle things like memory management and device drivers for the graphics card. These programs are like the heart and brain of a body. If something in the kernel goes wrong, it will often cause all of Windows to crash.

Software bugs

Because there are many programs in the kernel, there are many opportunities for errors to appear. Although Microsoft does extensive testing to get rid of errors, its test installations cannot run all the combinations that billions of computers use with Windows when some errors are detected.

However, many of the kernel flaws are found in device drivers written by companies that make hardware, not Microsoft. Your graphics card, for example, probably uses a driver created by the video company. These companies often work with Microsoft to test their drivers, but having the companies work together adds an additional layer of complexity.

Hardware failures

A hardware failure can cause a kernel error. If your graphics card fails, it can send bad data to the graphics device driver, which then hangs and creates a kernel error. If your hard drive fails, it can corrupt the files used by Windows and cause programs that use those files to crash.

Registration failures

Registry failures can cause kernel errors. The registry is a database of information that Windows uses to store information about programs. If the registry becomes corrupted, the programs that use it can cause kernel errors.

Registry corruption can come from software or hardware failures. Software corruption can come from an error in one of the programs that writes information to the registry. Or if you shut down your computer without doing a complete shutdown, the log files may not be fully written to disk. Hardware corruption can occur when the hard drive fails, causing parts of the log files to be lost. It’s a good idea to do a little research for kernel errors and other registry problems.