Microsoft Hosts Outage

Did you get a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) on your computer? Try this.

Computers around the world are being hit by the dreaded Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) due to an outage caused by services provided by the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. This issue is widespread globally, but fortunately, CrowdStrike has identified the update causing the problem and has rolled it back.

If the issue on your device has not been resolved automatically, please follow the detailed steps below on how to fix it manually. If you encounter any problems, please contact the IT Service Centre - +61 2 9385 1333 / ITServiceCentre@unsw.edu.au or visit one of our IT Walk-in Service Centres
 

Key steps (details on each step are below)

For UNSW Canberra, please visit the ICTS front counter ( Also open Sunday 21 July 9am-5pm).

  1. Attempt an automatic fix
  2. Boot into Safe Mode
  3. Enter Recovery Key
  4. Sign in to device your usual login details
  5. Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\CrowdStrike
  6. Delete all files that start with C-00000291*.sys (there may be multiple files)
  7. Reboot

Detailed Process for Customers
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Boot into Safe Mode

  1. Reboot your computer to attempt an automatic download of the CrowdStrike fix. For faster internet connectivity, connect to a wired network (Ethernet) instead of Wi-Fi before rebooting. If this works, you will return to your familiar Windows login screen.

    If you still see a blue screen after rebooting, follow the steps below
     
  2. You will now see the Recovery screen appear. Select See Advanced repair options.

A blue screen with white text Description automatically generated

  1. Choose an option screen, select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart.

Choose an option screen in the Windows Recovery Environment.

Troubleshoot screen in the Windows Recovery Environment.

Advanced options screen in the Windows Recovery Environment.

Startup Settings screen in the Windows Recovery Environment.
  1. After your device restarts, at the BitLocker screen press Enter.

Enter Recovery Key

  1. At the BitLocker recovery screen enter your BitLocker recovery key. To obtain your BitLocker recovery key follow the steps outlined below.

 
To obtain your BitLocker recovery key you will now need to access another computer or your mobile device to visit https://myaccount.microsoft.com/.

Log in with your zID@ad.unsw.edu.au and your usual password. On the right-hand side, select Devices or select the Devices tile.

                 

The names of all devices currently assigned to you will be listed under Devices.

You may have multiple devices assigned to you. The device name will consist of its serial number. You can typically find the serial number on a sticker under the laptop.

Click the row with Device you need the recovery key for, and it will expand.

  

Click View BitLocker Keys. A list of BitLocker keys will be displayed on the right of the screen. There may be more than one. If there is more than one be sure to match the Key ID with the one displayed on the BitLocker recovery screen on your laptop.

Once you have found your matching Key ID click Show recovery key.

Your BitLocker recovery key will now be displayed. Copy the key

Paste or type the BitLocker recovery key into your laptop and press Enter.

Note: Please ensure the key entered is correct; otherwise, you will be prompted to re-enter the key.

  1. At the Startup Settings screen, you'll see a list of options. Press 5 for Enable Safe Mode with Networking. Your device will restart.

  1. The device will now boot into Safe Mode. Sign into the device with an account that has admin rights. This should be your normal ZID if the device is assigned to you. If your account does not have admin rights, please contact IT Service Centre for assistance.
     
  2. After signing in. Open a File Explorer window. You can open one using the shortcut on your task bar.

     
  3. Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\CrowdStrike

 

 

 


        The address bar should appear as:


 

  1. Sort the files by name, by clicking the Name column header.

  1. Scroll down until you see any file starting with C-00000291. It does not matter what they end with as long as they start with C-00000291. There may be multiple. In this case one file is found C-00000291-00000000-00000031.sys. Here -00000000-00000031.sys could be different on your device.
     

  1. Select the file/files and right click, then click delete.

  1. Restart your laptop and it will boot into your familiar Windows logins screen for use.

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