This particular problem is extremely irritating. It gives no clues whatsoever and presents you with a completely blank screen. This particular error(s) is usually caused by video card drivers (most notably ATI).

Most noticed after a Windows Update carried an ATI driver last year, it also occurs when some users obtain an updated driver from the ATI website.

Solution:

• Boot into safe mode
• Uninstall the ATI Catalyst software and drivers in the 'Programs and Features' panel
• Go to the device manager
• Right click the ATI card under 'Display Adapters' and select 'Properties'
• Under this window, click the drivers tab and select 'Roll back driver'

This seems to cure the problem 99% of the time. A few more steps can be found in this neowin forums post if the above is insufficient. If this happens soon after a driver update, system restore can also roll back to a previous driver, stopping the error.