BSOD freak out

Not a capture of my BSOD {Google Images}, but this is the exact message I got - well, the codes may be different

Had a really bad start to the morning.  I crawled out of bed {have sore throat and possibly the beginnings of a head cold} and thought I'd go online and check things out, do a bit of recreational Photoshop-ping for some Kate/Curran wallpapers I've been doodling, and what do I get - the dreaded Blue Screen of Death (BSOD)!  Talk about freaking out.  I've never been so panicked about any of my other computer crashes in the 14 years I've owned a PC/laptop.  All I could think of was "OMG... did it wipe out the external drive?!!?"

After trying to restart in Safe Mode 3 times I thought my laptop had gone to silicone heaven.  I jumped on my smart phone and did a quick search and after reading a few good guides I decided to try again - after pulling out the battery (giving it a quick wipe down just in case) and putting it back in again.  This seems to have done the trick and I could now get through the start up screens and onto the desktop.   So while my diagnosis program runs in the background I thought I'd post this just in case.  Not the best way to start a Sunday morning.

Oh, and the external drive was a-ok ;-D