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Fix CRITICAL PROCESS DIED – BSOD Error

You are probably here because a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) popped up out of nowhere on your screen. And you were asked to search online for the error “Critical_Process_Died” or “Critical Process Died Windows 10“. Windows. Users are facing this error more frequently than not. BSOD is a nightmare for Windows users because it will only allow you to do something once it happens. Your computer might restart on its own after collecting error information, but again the blue screen appears with the same error, which in this case is a critical process died. The cycle continues until you find a fix and get back to normal.

Blue screen of death like CRITICAL PROCESS DIED blue screen may scare you at first, but it gets easier once you know how to fix them, which you will indeed know today here. Let’s start with our mission to work around and fix critical processes that died in Windows 8 or 10.

Error CodeCRITICAL PROCESS DIED
Error TypeBSOD error
Error MessageYour pc ran into a problem that it couldn’t handle and now it needs to restart. Error Code: CRITICAL PROCESS DIED
Device Type​Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7
Error Causes​Corrupted system files
Driver issues
Hardware problems
System updates or upgrades
Informational box

Reasons for Critical_Process_Died error

Windows Critical_Process_Died Error
Critical_Process_Died Error

From the name of the error, one can make out that one of the many processes required for Windows to run has ended, thus the blue screen. There are plenty of reasons for this CRITICAL PROCESS DIED blue screen. We will list a few of them below.

  • Corrupt Device Drivers
  • Corrupt Windows Registry.
  • Damaged System Files
  • Bad RAM
  • Bad or Faulty Hard disk/SSD

Another reason can be malware/viruses on your system. Conflicts can result in a blue screen.

So now you can be sure that any of the above culprits are responsible for the error Critical Process Died on your Windows 11 or 10 PC.

Ways to fix Critical_Process_Died error

Now that we know the reasons, We will directly jump in and see how we can solve the CRITICAL PROCESS DIED blue screen on our own.

Method 1: Boot your PC in safe mode

I should be able to load Windows in the first place, and this CRITICAL PROCESS DIED blue screen won’t allow me. Relax; you will first boot your PC in SAFE MODE. This will guarantee that no unwanted drivers are loaded while booting. Booting your PC in Safe Mode can solve the issue if you are lucky.

  • Restart your PC and press the Shift + f8 keys while the motherboard is loading. Make sure you hit these keys before the Windows logo appears.
  • If you successfully do this task, you will see Advance Repair Option Screen (After a few unsuccessful attempts to load Windows, you are automatically shown the Advance Repair option).
  • Here click on Troubleshoot > Advance Options > Windows Startup Settings. You will see on your screen something like the below picture.
  • Now enable Safe Mode and start your PC. On the restart, you must not get the Critical_Process_Died BSOD 99% of the time. It should be able to load windows in safe mode.
Windows Boot from safe mode
Boot from safe mode

Method 2: Correcting/updating device drivers

If you can boot your PC without Critical Process Died – blue screen, straight away skip to how to check faulty drivers and update them below. But, if you cannot boot your PC to the start screen, You may wonder, to update device drivers.

Once you are in safe mode, you must check for faulty device drivers. Click Windows + X and click on Device Manager.

If your computer hardware drivers are faulty or conflicting, they should have Yellow Flag on them. All you have to do is expand each category to search for yellow flags on any drivers. If you don’t find anything, you can be sure that drivers are not the culprits.

But if you find any drivers with a yellow flag or a yellow triangle, then Right click on it and update them if an update is available. Alternatively, you can download the drivers from the manufacturer’s website too.

If the drivers are up to date, disable them and then again enable them if that helps. If it doesn’t, uninstall those drivers by right-clicking on them. You might be prompted with a warning message but do it.

Now click on Action from the menu bar and click on Scan for Hardware Changes. This will install the drivers again and solve the issue too. Now reboot your PC to see if you are still getting a critical process died BSOD error.

Method 3: Scan and fix damaged system files

System file checker is one handy tool that Windows OS provides. It will scan for corrupt or faulty system files and restore or fix the CRITICAL PROCESS DIED blue screen

  1.  First of all, you will have to open Command Prompt as admin. Press Windows + X or right-click on the Start button to Click on Command Prompt (Admin).
  2.  Now Type “sfc /scannow” and hit enter.
  3.  This will take 15-20 minutes to complete, so sit back tight.
  4.  Once finished, you will be able to see if any issue was found in system files and, if found, whether they were solved or not.

That is it, now reboot your PC, and you should not see BSOD with the error Critical_Process_Died if corrupt system files were the reason.

Method 4: Using a restore point

Restore Point proves to be very useful in situations like this. This method is only useful if you already have a restore point created when your PC is running smoothly as butter.

If you don’t know about restoring points, please skip this method, But learn about restoring points later and create one immediately after this blue screen of death is solved.

For those who already have a restore point created, You know what to do, right? Correct, do it and see if this resolves the Critical Process Died Issue.

Method 5: Refresh or reinstall Windows

If nothing works from the abovementioned things, you might be forced to Refresh or Reinstall Windows. 

Refreshing Windows will keep your data, but your base operating system will be reinstalled.

Reinstalling Windows will remove everything from your system drive, which is a C drive in most cases. So you better take a backup of anything present in your C drive. This option guarantees to solve Critical_Process_Died Error.

To refresh your PC, mouse hover on the right corner of your screen, Click on Settings > Change PC Settings > Update and Recovery > Recovery. Now click get started below “Refresh your PC without affecting your files.”

To reinstall Windows, insert your Windows OS DVD and get started. Don’t forget to Format your C drive before installing to fix the CRITICAL PROCESS DIED blue screen.

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