Windows 11 Blue Screen: Read the Stop Code and Fix the Cause

A Windows 11 blue screen means Windows hit a problem serious enough that it stopped to protect your data, showing “Your device ran into a problem and needs to restart” and a stop code. Microsoft also calls this a stop code error, a bug check or a kernel error. One crash is rarely a disaster; repeated crashes with the same code are a pattern you can trace. This guide shows how to read the clues and fix the usual causes, in order.

Blue, black, and what the screen tells you

On Windows 11 version 24H2 and later, Microsoft’s support article shows the stop error as a black screen, while version 23H2 and older showed the familiar blue one. Microsoft now refers to these as blue screen or black screen errors. Do not confuse this with a plain black screen with no text or just a mouse pointer, which is a different problem covered in Windows 11 black screen with cursor.

Whatever the colour, look for two things:

• The stop code, written in capitals with underscores, such as PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA, MEMORY_MANAGEMENT or DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION.
• What failed, if shown: often a file name ending in .sys, which is a driver. For example, a graphics driver file points at your GPU driver.

Take a phone photo of the screen, because it disappears when the PC restarts.

What usually causes stop errors

Microsoft’s own analysis of crash root causes found that about 70 percent were caused by third-party driver code, 10 percent by hardware, 5 percent by Microsoft code, and 15 percent had unknown causes. So the most productive questions are:

• Did you install or update a driver, especially graphics, network, storage or audio?
• Did Windows install an update just before the crashes began?
• Did you add new hardware, including RAM, a drive or a USB device?

Stop code	Common direction to look
VIDEO_TDR_TIMEOUT_DETECTED	Graphics driver
DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL	A driver, often network
PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA	Driver, memory or disk
NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM	Disk or file system errors
DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION	A driver not finishing its work in time
MEMORY_MANAGEMENT	RAM or a driver

Treat the table as a starting point, not a diagnosis. For graphics-related codes, see our Windows 11 graphics drivers guide.

Basic fixes Microsoft recommends

Try these in order, testing after each:

1. Remove new hardware. Shut down, disconnect anything you added before the crashes started, and test.
2. Check Device Manager. Right-click Start, select Device Manager and look for devices with a warning symbol. Right-click and select Update driver. If that does not help, try disabling or uninstalling the device.
3. Check free space. Microsoft suggests keeping 10 to 15 percent of the drive free.
4. Install the latest updates. Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates. Many driver and stability fixes arrive this way.

Roll back a recent driver or update

If crashes started right after a change, undo it.

Roll back a driver:

1. Right-click Start and open Device Manager.
2. Expand the category (for example Display adapters), right-click the device and select Properties.
3. On the Driver tab, select Roll Back Driver if it is available, then follow the prompts.

Uninstall a recent Windows update:

1. Go to Settings > Windows Update > Update history.
2. Under Related settings, select Uninstall updates.
3. Select the update and choose Uninstall, then restart.

Some updates cannot be uninstalled. Microsoft also suggests trying Fix problems using Windows Update in Settings > System > Recovery before removing a security update.

Use System Restore if you have a restore point from before the problem: press Windows key + R, type rstrui.exe and follow the wizard. It rolls back system files, settings and programs without touching your personal files. It only works if restore points were being created before the problem began.

Use safe mode when crashes block you

If the PC crashes too soon after sign-in to fix anything, start in safe mode, where only basic drivers load. From the sign-in screen, hold Shift and select Power > Restart, then choose Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart and press 4 or F4. Our Windows 11 safe mode guide covers every route in.

If the crashes stop in safe mode, a driver or startup program is almost certainly responsible. Remove recently installed software or roll back drivers from there. If the PC cannot start at all, Windows opens the Recovery Environment after repeated failed starts, where Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Uninstall Updates is available. Have your BitLocker recovery key ready if encryption is on.

Find patterns with Reliability Monitor

Reliability Monitor gives a day-by-day timeline of crashes, app failures and installs. Open it by searching for “reliability” in Start and selecting View reliability history, or by running perfmon /rel.

Red circles mark critical events. Select a day to see what failed, and look at the information icons on the same or previous day for updates and driver installs. If “Windows stopped working” or “Shut down unexpectedly” follows a particular driver update every time, you have found your suspect. Select View technical details to see the stop code (shown as a bug check value) for each crash.

Test memory and storage

Random crashes with different stop codes often point to hardware.

• Memory: search Start for Windows Memory Diagnostic, select Restart now and check for problems. The PC restarts and tests RAM, then shows the result after you sign in. If it reports errors, reseat or replace memory, or contact the PC maker.
• Storage: for NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM or disk-related codes, open File Explorer, right-click the drive, select Properties > Tools > Check. You can also run your drive maker’s diagnostic tool.
• System files: run DISM RestoreHealth and then sfc /scannow to rule out corrupted Windows files.

For advanced users: crash dumps

Windows saves crash data: small dumps in %SystemRoot%\Minidump and larger dumps in %SystemRoot%\MEMORY.DMP. Microsoft’s Learn article explains how to open these in WinDbg and run !analyze -v to find the faulting module. It is detailed work, but it can name the exact driver when the screen does not.

If none of this stops the crashes, work up the Windows 11 troubleshooting ladder to a reinstall, and suspect hardware if crashes survive a clean Reset this PC.