Did Your Windows Pc Crash? 6 Solutions I Can Always Rely On To Fix My Computer

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Black Screen of Death is incredibly annoying, but often easy diagnosed.
• The astir communal culprits are outdated package aliases faulty drivers. 
• With a fewer speedy fixes and basal maintenance, you tin reconstruct your machine and debar costly repairs.

Why is it that your machine ever decides to clang astatine nan worst imaginable time? You could beryllium successful nan mediate of a productive activity convention erstwhile abruptly nan Black Screen of Death rears its disfigured caput (or Blue Screen, if you're still moving an older OS than Windows 11). Even nan astir well-maintained isn't immune. 

Also: How overmuch RAM do you request successful 2025? My master proposal for Windows and Mac users

Usually, these problems are caused by thing simple, for illustration moving excessively galore processes successful nan background, causing your machine to run retired of RAM and crashing nether nan dense duress. 

Restarting your machine and closing other apps is often nan easiest solution, but sometimes, you'll request to return a much hands-on attack pinch your Windows PC. 

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

It's captious that you study really to place and reside these issues early. Doing truthful will thief widen your device's lifespan, boost performance, and, astir importantly, prevention you money. This guideline marks nan opening of a caller bid successful which I show you nan champion ways to troubleshoot communal PC problems. For this first entry, I'm going to explicate really to flooded slowdowns, what to do erstwhile you brushwood nan Blue Screen of Death, arsenic good arsenic a fewer different speedy fixes.

Squashing sluggish performance

Let's opportunity you're still dealing pinch a capacity dip, moreover aft closing each nan other apps and browser tabs connected Chrome. Your PC still feels arsenic slow arsenic molasses. The champion point to do present is to instal nan latest Windows 11 spot from nan Windows Update conception of nan Settings menu. Microsoft regularly rolls retired respective fixes each 2nd Tuesday of each month. On apical of addressing information vulnerabilities, they besides travel pinch capacity improvements.

However, you whitethorn want to clasp disconnected connected installing. Recent reports authorities nan October 2025 patch has been known to origin a "serious betterment mode glitch". A workaround is available, though I wouldn't blasted you if you skip it.

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

Outside of downloading nan astir caller Windows update, I urge disabling unnecessary startup programs to free up strategy resources. Follow this path: unfastened Task Manager from nan Start menu, caput to nan "Startup Apps" tab arsenic indicated by nan throttle icon, and right-click a program. Click "Disable" to move disconnected immoderate you don't want launching. It's a mini tweak that tin make your PC noticeably faster.

Just beryllium observant not to get excessively zealous. I urge closing retired processes you recognize. If you're not judge what thing is, a speedy Google hunt tin usually springiness you an idea.

Also: I tested nan champion antivirus package for Windows

I besides propose moving an antivirus to clear retired immoderate malware lingering successful your files. Windows Security is simply a highly tin first-party anti-virus program. Under nan Virus & Threat Protection tab, deed Quick Scan to quickly cheque "folders successful your strategy wherever threats are commonly found". Scan Options provides entree to further scan tools.

If you for illustration a third-party app pinch much robust features, cheque retired ZDNET's database of nan best antivirus package for Windows. Malwarebytes stands arsenic nan champion Windows 11 antivirus, but location are different awesome options.

Cesar Cadenas/ZDNET

Blue aliases Black Screen?

With nan merchandise of update KB5062660 for Windows 11, Microsoft replaced nan Blue Screen of Death pinch nan Black Screen of Death (BSOD), and it's conscionable arsenic unsettling. This correction surface appears whenever immoderate benignant of captious strategy nonaccomplishment occurs; location isn't a azygous culprit that is solely responsible for nan BSOD.

Also: I ditched Linux for Windows 11 for 1 week - and recovered 9 large problems

The first point you should do erstwhile a clang occurs is return statement of nan correction codification displayed astatine nan bottommost halfway of nan screen. These codes constituent to what could beryllium nan origin of nan crash, but not nan nonstop culprit. Dell has a short database of common correction codes connected its website, specified arsenic DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION, which indicates that your drivers are either retired of day aliases incompatible pinch your computer.

Because these codes are inherently vague, it's difficult to supply solutions to these problems without knowing precisely nan cause. For this instance, I'm going to attraction connected nan DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION code. It's a solution that usually solves nan BSOD.

Microsoft

First, you'll request to footwear your PC into Safe Mode, which is simply a stripped-down type of Windows 11 that only loads basal files and services. It besides makes nan Black Screen of Death little apt to appear. Upon launching nan Settings menu, spell to System > Recovery > Advanced Startup > Restart Now. If your PC crashes earlier you tin get to this menu, clasp down nan Shift cardinal while restarting to participate Advanced Startup mode.

From there, travel this path: Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Startup Settings > Restart, past deed F5
to reboot Windows 11 successful Safe Mode.

Alyson Windsor/ZDNET

While successful Safe Mode, unfastened nan Device Manager > grow "Display adapters" > right-click nan introduction > Update Drivers > "Search automatically for drivers." Restart your machine aft nan update finishes to exit Safe Mode.

If nan BSOD persists, nan culprit mightiness beryllium different hardware driver, truthful proceed updating different components. You tin besides region immoderate precocious installed drivers by expanding nan aforesaid hardware constituent introduction and going to Properties > Driver > Roll Back Driver. It tin return a spot of proceedings and error; however, successful astir cases, performing these steps will resoluteness nan Black Screen of Death without needing a afloat strategy reinstall.

Easy fixes for BSOD

Here are a fewer different fixes that you tin execute successful conscionable a fewer minutes to resoluteness nan Black Screen of Death.

• Sometimes, a recently installed app tin trigger nan BSOD. Perhaps thing went incorrect during installation. You tin effort uninstalling nan programme directly, but if your Windows PC crashes earlier you make immoderate leeway, footwear into Safe Mode first, past region nan app.
• Corrupted strategy files are different predominant culprit of BSOD. Open nan Command Prompt arsenic an administrator. Type successful "chkdsk" and property Enter to tally a scan. If nan scan detects immoderate errors, travel up pinch "chkdsk /r" to repair damaged files.
• Heat is nan machine killer. Excessive temperatures lead to capacity throttling and imaginable beingness damage. Check retired my guideline connected how to decently cleanable your PC. To make a agelong communicative short, drawback a tin of compressed aerial and rustle distant nan particulate collecting successful vents.

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