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

8 min read

Blue screen with a stop code? Here's how to read BSOD error codes, find the cause in Event Viewer, and fix the most common stop errors including MEMORY_MANAGEMENT, DRIVER_IRQL, and CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED.

A blue screen means Windows hit a critical error it couldn't recover from. The stop code tells you exactly what went wrong — if you know how to read it.

Read the Stop Code

When a BSOD occurs, Windows shows a stop code like MEMORY_MANAGEMENT or DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL. Write it down or photograph the screen.

If it rebooted too fast to read:

Get-EventLog -LogName System -EntryType Error -Newest 10 | Where-Object {$_.Source -eq "BugCheck"}

Or check Event Viewer: Win + R → eventvwr.msc → Windows Logs → System → filter by Critical.

Find the Crash Dump File

Windows saves crash details to a minidump file:

Get-ChildItem C:\Windows\Minidump\ | Sort-Object LastWriteTime -Descending | Select-Object -First 5

To read minidumps, use WinDbg or the free tool WhoCrashed — it reads the dump and tells you which driver caused the crash in plain English.

Most Common BSODs and How to Fix Them

MEMORY_MANAGEMENT

Points to RAM problems.

  1. Run Windows Memory Diagnostic: Win + R → mdsched.exe → Restart now and check for problems
  2. If errors found — test sticks individually to find the bad one
  3. Reseat RAM modules (remove and reinsert)
# Check RAM in use
Get-WmiObject Win32_PhysicalMemory | Select-Object Capacity, Speed, Manufacturer

DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

A driver tried to access memory it shouldn't. Usually caused by a recently installed or updated driver.

Check which driver: the BSOD screen often shows a .sys filename (e.g. nvlddmkm.sys = NVIDIA driver).

# Find recently installed drivers
Get-WinEvent -LogName System | Where-Object {$_.Id -eq 7045} | Select-Object -First 10 TimeCreated, Message

Roll back the driver: Device Manager → find the device → Properties → Driver → Roll Back Driver.

CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED

A core Windows process crashed. Usually caused by corrupted system files or a bad update.

sfc /scannow
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

If that doesn't help, try System Restore to a point before the BSODs started.

KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE

Often caused by incompatible drivers or RAM issues. Run memory diagnostic first, then check for driver updates.

Also check disk health:

chkdsk C: /f /r

Requires a restart to run on the system drive.

PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA

Windows tried to access a memory page that doesn't exist. Causes: bad RAM, failing SSD/HDD, or corrupt drivers.

Check disk:

Get-PhysicalDisk | Select-Object FriendlyName, OperationalStatus, HealthStatus

Check SMART status:

wmic diskdrive get status

If status is anything other than OK — back up immediately, the drive is failing.

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Similar to DRIVER_IRQL — usually a driver or hardware issue. Run Driver Verifier to identify the problematic driver:

verifier /standard /all

Restart. If a BSOD occurs, it will name the offending driver. Then disable Driver Verifier:

verifier /reset

General Fixes for Any BSOD

1. Update all drivers — especially GPU, chipset, and network drivers. Don't use Windows Update for this — download directly from manufacturer websites.

2. Check for Windows Updates — sometimes a patch fixes a known BSOD-causing bug.

3. Uninstall recent software — if BSODs started after installing something, uninstall it.

4. Test RAM — use MemTest86 for thorough testing (runs outside Windows, more reliable than mdsched).

5. Check temperatures — overheating causes BSODs.

# Check CPU temp (requires OpenHardwareMonitor or similar)
Get-WmiObject MSAcpi_ThermalZoneTemperature -Namespace "root/wmi" |
  Select-Object @{n='Temp(C)';e={($_.CurrentTemperature - 2732) / 10}}

6. Run SFC and DISM — corrupted Windows files cause many BSODs (see CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED section above).

If BSODs Happen in a Loop (Can't Boot)

Boot into Safe Mode: hold Shift while clicking Restart → Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Startup Settings → Restart → press F4.

In Safe Mode, uninstall recently added drivers or run SFC.

If Safe Mode also crashes: boot from Windows installation USB → Repair your computer → Startup Repair or System Restore.

Summary

  1. Note the stop code
  2. Check minidumps with WhoCrashed
  3. Fix based on the specific error (use the table above)
  4. If unsure: run SFC + DISM, update drivers, test RAM

Most BSODs are caused by three things: bad drivers, failing RAM, or corrupted system files.

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