How to Fix a Blue Screen (BSOD) in Windows 11 and 10

If your PC keeps crashing to a screen that says your device ran into a problem and needs to restart, start by writing down the stop code. Next, undo the last thing that changed (a driver, an update, new hardware). Then run DISM and SFC from an administrator Command Prompt; if Windows won’t boot, use Safe Mode with Networking or the recovery environment’s own repair tools. The order below works for Windows 11 and Windows 10.

Read the crash screen first

A blue screen, also called a BSOD or stop error, is Windows shutting itself down because something went wrong that it couldn’t safely recover from. Microsoft’s blue screen troubleshooting page notes that the color and wording vary by version: Windows 11 version 24H2 and later show a black screen, while Windows 10 and older Windows 11 versions show the familiar blue one. The fixes are the same either way.

Two pieces of text on that screen matter:

• Stop code: a name in capitals such as MEMORY_MANAGEMENT or CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED. It points you toward a category of problem.
• What failed: sometimes shown below the stop code, a file name ending in .sys, such as nvlddmkm.sys. A .sys file is usually a driver, and searching the file name tells you which device it belongs to (that example is an NVIDIA graphics driver file).

Take a photo of the screen with your phone. If the PC restarts before you can read it, turn off the automatic restart once Windows is running: open System Properties (search for “View advanced system settings”), go to the Advanced tab, click Settings under Startup and Recovery, and clear Automatically restart. The next crash screen will stay up until you restart by hand.

Common stop codes and where to start

Stop code	Usual cause	Start with
CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED	A core Windows process stopped, often from damaged system files	DISM, then SFC
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL	A driver touching memory it shouldn’t	Roll back or update the named driver
MEMORY_MANAGEMENT	Faulty RAM or a driver	Windows Memory Diagnostic
PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA	RAM, a driver or security software	Memory test, then recent drivers and apps
SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION	A driver or system service	Safe Mode, remove recent software; see fixing SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION in Windows 11
VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE	Graphics driver stopped responding	Clean reinstall of the graphics driver from the chip maker
NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM	File system or disk errors	chkdsk /f /r
INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE	Windows can’t read the boot drive	Startup Repair, storage settings in firmware, bootrec
WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR	Hardware fault, heat or overclocking	Remove overclocks, check temperatures

Treat the table as a starting point, not a diagnosis. The same stop code can come from several causes, so if the first fix doesn’t help, keep going down the list below.

Undo whatever changed last

Most crashes start right after something new: a driver, a Windows update, an app that installs its own driver (antivirus, VPN, RGB lighting and game overlay tools are frequent examples), or a new device. Reversing that change is the quickest fix and the least risky one.

Unplug new hardware

Disconnect anything you added recently, including USB drives, docks, external displays and printers. On a desktop, remove a newly installed card or RAM stick. Restart and use the PC normally. If the crashes stop, the device or its driver is the cause; look for an updated driver from its maker before plugging it back in.

Roll back or update a driver

1. Right-click the Start button and choose Device Manager.
2. Look for a device with a yellow exclamation mark, or the device named by the “What failed” file.
3. Right-click it, choose Properties, open the Driver tab and click Roll Back Driver if a recent update installed a new version.
4. If there’s nothing to roll back, choose Update driver, or Uninstall device and restart so Windows reinstalls it.

Get graphics drivers from NVIDIA, AMD or Intel, and chipset, storage and network drivers from your PC or motherboard maker’s support page. Windows Update also delivers many drivers. Skip “driver updater” utilities, which often install mismatched versions. The options are compared in updating drivers in Windows 11.

Remove a recent Windows update

In Windows 11, open Settings > Windows Update > Update history, then choose Uninstall updates near the bottom. In Windows 10, the path is Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > View update history > Uninstall updates. Remove the newest quality update, restart, and watch whether the crashes return. If Windows won’t start, the recovery environment has the same option (covered below).

The opposite can be true too: a missing fix can be the cause. If you haven’t updated in a while, go to Settings > Windows Update and select Check for updates, which Microsoft lists as one of its basic steps.

Go back with System Restore

If you can’t tell what changed, a restore point from before the crashes undoes recent drivers, updates and app installs without touching your documents. Search for Create a restore point, click System Restore and pick a date before the trouble began. Getting to System Restore in Windows 10 shows each screen, and the steps are nearly identical in Windows 11. Restore points only exist if System Protection was turned on, so you may find none.

Repair Windows from Command Prompt

When undoing changes doesn’t help, the next suspect is damaged Windows files or disk errors. Three built-in commands handle these, and they don’t remove personal files.

Open an administrator Command Prompt

Type cmd in the Start menu search, right-click Command Prompt and choose Run as administrator. Click Yes at the prompt. Windows Terminal opened as administrator works the same way. If the PC crashes too often to stay signed in, start in Safe Mode first (see the next section).

Run DISM, then SFC

1. Type this and press Enter:

   DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

   DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) repairs the Windows component store, the stash of clean files that SFC copies from. It uses Windows Update for replacements, so stay connected to the internet. It can take a while and may sit at one percentage for minutes; let it finish.

2. When DISM reports that the operation completed, run:

   sfc /scannow

   System File Checker scans protected Windows files and replaces corrupt ones with the healthy copies DISM just restored.

   

3. Restart the PC, even if SFC found nothing.

Microsoft’s System File Checker instructions give the same order: DISM first, then SFC. If SFC says it found corrupt files but couldn’t fix some of them, restart and run DISM and SFC once more; if the message repeats, move on to the recovery steps below. If SFC says it could not perform the requested operation, run it from Safe Mode. The SFC result messages are explained in running an SFC scan in Windows 10.

Check the disk with chkdsk

chkdsk C: /f /r

The /f switch fixes file system errors and /r also looks for bad sectors and recovers readable data. Because Windows is using drive C, you’ll be asked whether to schedule the check for the next restart. Type Y, press Enter and restart. The scan runs before Windows loads and can take from minutes on a small SSD to hours on a large hard drive. If you suspect the drive is failing (clicking sounds, very slow file copies), back up important files before running /r. More options are in using CHKDSK to fix disk errors.

When Windows won’t start

If the crash happens during startup, use the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE), a separate set of repair tools that runs outside your normal Windows installation. There are three ways in:

• Automatic: after two or three failed starts in a row, Windows usually opens Automatic Repair on its own. Choose Advanced options.
• From the sign-in screen: hold Shift while you select Power > Restart.
• From Settings, if Windows runs long enough: Settings > System > Recovery, then Restart now next to Advanced startup. In Windows 10 it’s under Settings > Update & Security > Recovery.

Then choose Troubleshoot > Advanced options. If BitLocker device encryption is on, you may be asked for the recovery key, so have it ready from your Microsoft account before you start. From Advanced options, work through these in order.

Startup Repair

Select Startup Repair and let it scan. It fixes common boot problems automatically, which makes it the safest first try for INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE and crashes that hit before the sign-in screen. Running Startup Repair in Windows 11 explains what to do if it reports it couldn’t repair the PC.

Uninstall Updates and System Restore

Advanced options also lists Uninstall Updates, where you can remove the latest quality or feature update, and System Restore, which works as it does inside Windows. Try these before anything heavier if the crashes started right after an update.

Safe Mode

Safe Mode starts Windows with only basic drivers, which often keeps a faulty driver from loading so you can remove it. Choose Startup Settings > Restart, then press 4 for Safe Mode, 5 for Safe Mode with Networking or 6 for Safe Mode with Command Prompt. In Safe Mode, roll back or uninstall the suspect driver in Device Manager, uninstall recently added software and run SFC. Choose Safe Mode with Networking (5) if you also need to run DISM, because it downloads repair files from Windows Update. Every route in is covered in booting into Safe Mode on Windows 10 and booting into Safe Mode on Windows 11.

If you can reach a Command Prompt but not the Startup Settings menu, this forces Safe Mode on the next boot:

bcdedit /set {default} safeboot minimal

Use safeboot network instead of minimal if you need internet access. Safe Mode then sticks on every restart until you turn it off, so run this when you’re done:

bcdedit /deletevalue {default} safeboot

Repair commands from the recovery Command Prompt

Choose Command Prompt from Advanced options. In WinRE the Windows drive often has a different letter than C. Find it by typing dir C:, dir D: and so on until one shows the Windows, Program Files and Users folders, or run:

bcdedit | find "osdevice"

The examples below use D. Replace it with the letter you found.

• Offline SFC checks the installed Windows from outside it: sfc /scannow /offbootdir=D:\ /offwindir=D:\Windows
• Disk check: chkdsk D: /f /r runs immediately here, because the drive isn’t in use.
• Boot records, if the crash mentions boot or INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE and Startup Repair failed: bootrec /fixmbr, bootrec /fixboot and bootrec /rebuildbcd. If any bootrec command reports an error, rely on Startup Repair instead.
• System Restore: rstrui.exe opens the restore wizard.

The online DISM command shown earlier is meant for a running Windows, so use offline SFC here rather than DISM /Online.

Test memory, heat and the rest of the hardware

If crashes continue after software repairs, especially with different stop codes each time, hardware is the next suspect.

Windows Memory Diagnostic

1. Save your work, press Windows + R, type mdsched.exe and press Enter.
2. Choose Restart now and check for problems.
3. Let the test run; it takes several minutes and the PC restarts into Windows when it finishes.

Results appear as a notification after you sign in, and checking memory diagnostic results in Windows 10 shows where to find them in Event Viewer if you miss it. Any reported error usually means a RAM stick needs replacing. On a desktop with two sticks, testing one at a time narrows down which one.

Heat, overclocking and firmware

• Clean dust from vents and fans, and don’t run a laptop on a bed or couch where the intake is blocked. Crashes that happen only in games or heavy work often point to heat or the power supply.
• Remove any CPU, GPU or memory overclock, including XMP or EXPO memory profiles if crashes started after enabling them. Turning off overclocking covers each type.
• If you changed firmware settings, restore defaults; resetting the BIOS in Windows 11 shows the usual routes. Microsoft also recommends installing BIOS or UEFI firmware updates from your PC maker.
• On a desktop, reseat RAM and storage cables.

Free disk space

Microsoft suggests keeping about 10 to 15 percent of the system drive free. A nearly full drive leaves Windows no room for updates, virtual memory and crash dumps. Check in Settings > System > Storage and clear space if needed.

Scan for malware

Malware that hooks into the system can cause crashes too. Open Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Scan options, select Microsoft Defender Antivirus (offline scan) and click Scan now, as described in Microsoft’s steps to remove malware from your Windows PC. It restarts the PC and scans before Windows loads, which catches threats a normal scan can miss. If you use another antivirus product, its own driver can also be the cause; try uninstalling it temporarily (Microsoft Defender takes over automatically).

Reset this PC as the last step

When nothing else stops the crashes, reinstalling Windows clears out every software cause at once. In Windows 11, go to Settings > System > Recovery > Reset PC; in Windows 10, Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > Get started under Reset this PC. From WinRE, choose Troubleshoot > Reset this PC.

Choose Keep my files to keep documents while removing apps and settings, or Remove everything for a clean start. Either way, back up your files first and make sure you have your BitLocker recovery key and the sign-in for your Microsoft account. If blue screens continue on a freshly reset PC with no extra apps, the cause is almost certainly hardware, and a repair shop or the PC maker’s support is the next stop.

A note for Windows 10: it reached end of support on October 14, 2025, and consumer Extended Security Updates run until October 12, 2027. Every fix here still works on Windows 10, but crashes caused by old drivers are less likely to get fixes from device makers over time.

Find crash details after the fact

If you missed the stop code, Windows keeps records. Search for Reliability Monitor to see a timeline of crashes with the error details, or look for BugCheck entries in Event Viewer under Windows Logs > System. Small crash dump files are saved in C:\Windows\Minidump. Reading those records is covered in checking blue screen logs in Windows 10 and 11.

Blue screen questions

Is one blue screen something to worry about?

Usually not. A single crash after an update or a new device can be a one-off. Repeated crashes, especially with the same stop code or the same “What failed” file, need attention.

Will these commands delete my files?

No. DISM, SFC and chkdsk repair Windows and the file system without removing personal files, though chkdsk can’t always recover data from damaged sectors. A crash during a save can damage the open file, so keep a backup while you troubleshoot.

Why does DISM fail with a source error?

DISM needs a working connection to Windows Update for replacement files. Check the internet connection and try again. If it still fails, run Windows Update first; Microsoft’s SFC page also describes pointing DISM at other repair sources.

Can a blue screen be caused by a failing SSD or hard drive?

Yes. Stop codes such as NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM and INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE often trace back to storage. If chkdsk keeps finding bad sectors, copy your files off the drive and plan to replace it.

Start with the stop code and the most recent change, and most crashes are solved before you ever reach the reset step.