the feared blue screens of deathIn general, they usually have their origin in hardware-related failures, and not so much due to a possible virus or malware infection as many users may think. And it is that Windows, as a security measure when detecting any failure or unauthorized modification of any process, prevents drivers and other applications from accessing certain parts of the system. It can also block system files automatically to prevent damage and with the consequent appearance of this error code, warning that a critical process has died.
The main reasons that can lead to the operating system showing the error message CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED They are usually related to a failure in the device drivers (graphics card, Wi-Fi, scanner, etc.), that the chipsets or other hardware devices have not been installed, a RAM memory failure or, simply, Windows errors . It may also have stopped completely because of a background process or because its data was changed incorrectly.
This means that this specific error refers to elements and components of great importance in our computer. Therefore, we should not ignore them, even if just restarting the computer temporarily disappears. In the event that we do not identify and solve this serious error that appears in Windows and that is related to the computer’s hardware, sooner or later it will appear again. Therefore, and so that it does not become irreversible, we should try to fix it at that precise moment.
On some occasions, after the error occurs, the system will reboot and start again with seemingly no problems, but at this point, the error will most likely appear again in the future. However, in others, the system may not boot correctly and we enter a cycle of continuous reboots, so it will be necessary to boot it in safe or failsafe mode to identify the cause of the problem and remedy even a frustrating situation. . That is why we are going to see how we can solve the appearance of this error in Windows.
How to fix this error
Most of the critical failures that we find in the Microsoft operating system can bring a significant headache. This is precisely the case in which we find ourselves at the moment, especially if we take into account the wide range of possibilities for which this failure can occur. However, Windows itself has some built-in functions and tools that can help us solve all this without using external programs, as we will see.
Next, we are going to show some actions that we can carry out, to try to solve the problem of the appearance of the blue screen with the CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED error. We already told you before that these types of problems in the Microsoft system do not usually solve themselves, although sometimes it seems so. Therefore, before it becomes an irreversible or more serious error, let’s see different methods to solve it as soon as possible.
Try again
If, suddenly, our computer shows the blue screen of death, we should not run to the internet to look for what may be the origin of the problem to find a solution that, sometimes, can be a sporadic Windows problem that it has not correctly interpreted the instructions of an application and that it has ended up crashing. Once the computer has restarted, we must continue using the same applications as when the error occurred.
If this is repeated, the first thing we should do is update the application we are using to the latest version to rule out that this is the source of the problem. But, if the problem is not caused by using an old version of an application, then we will have to continue trying the rabbits that we show you below in order to find the origin of the blue screen problem and solve it.
Using the Hardware and Device Troubleshooting Tool
Windows has various tools that are specialized in solving problems. One of them is “Hardware and devices”, which cannot be accessed from the “Settings” menu, so it is necessary to launch it from a command line. To do this, just press the keyboard shortcut “Windows + R” and the “Run” command will be launched. Later we write the following command and press Enter.
msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic
In the new window that will appear, click on the “Next” button and the system will take care of looking for possible problems for a few minutes and once finished it will inform us about it. We must bear in mind that this useful functionality integrated into the system will be extremely useful when it comes to solving problems with most of the computer’s hardware components. Obviously at the same time it will be of enormous help to us with this windows crash that we are telling you in these lines.
Check power options
The reasons why a blue screen is displayed in Windows never allow us to know the reason that caused it, since there are many that can affect the performance of the computer. This screen used to be displayed when a device connected to the computer had operating problems, that is, it did not work correctly and affected the other components of the computer. Over the years, this screen has come to contemplate a greater number of errors and today it is difficult to know what the causes are.
The CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED error can be related to your computer’s power options. It does not matter if we use a laptop or desktop. Within the power options, we can not only manage how we want the equipment to work when it is connected to the network or using the battery, but we can also modify what we want the equipment to do after a certain time: suspend, turn off screen, turn off hard drives and so on. Yes, we usually see this window every time we resume activity on our computer after a period of activity, and not while we are using it, the problem is most likely related to the management of the computer.
Solving this problem through these options is really complicated, and the only thing we can do is try different power combinations while we suspend the computer and check if when trying to log in again, the error is still displayed or, on the contrary, the blue screen of death has stopped working. If after trying all the possible combinations, the problem still persists, it is likely that reformatting the computer and reinstalling the system from scratch will solve it.
Run the DISM utility
If the problem persists, we can use DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management), a command line tool that will allow us to repair windows imagesso that we can solve any problem derived from a bad system image without having to reinstall it.
For this we write cmd in the Start menu search box and run the “Command Prompt” with administrator rights. Once the application is open we must write the following command and press Enter.
DISM / Online / Cleanup-Image / RestoreHealth
Once this is done, the process will take place and usually takes quite a while to complete, usually between ten and thirty minutes. Later, at the end of the scan, we proceed to restart the computer.
Use System File Checker (SFC)
We can also choose to run the System File Checker. This is a utility that can cure a wide variety of Windows based problems. To do this, it is responsible for repairing system files that are corrupt or that are incorrectly modified. To execute it, we must write cmd in the Start menu search box to bring up the Command Prompt tool, which we launched as “Run as administrator.”
Once open, we will write the following command and press Enter:
sfc/scannow
Once this is done, the tool will try to scan the system for errors, so the process may take a while to complete. Subsequently, a list will appear with the problems and steps that the analysis followed to solve them. Finally, we restart the system and check if the problem has been fixed.
Run CHKDSK and fix file system errors
In the event that the hard drive contains a file system error, the computer may get a CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED error when starting the PC. To fix this issue, we can first start the PC in safe mode and then follow the steps below to run the CHKDSK command.
To do this we type cmd in the Start menu search box and open the Command Prompt with administrator rights. Next, we type the following command and press Enter.
diskpart chkdsk c: /f /r /x
In this case we can replace c: with the drive letter of our system.
Uninstall the recent Windows update
Sometimes Microsoft operating system users, especially the latest Windows 10 and Windows 11 users, may encounter a critical process dead error on their computers. And the best way out is to uninstall the recent Windows update.
To do this, in Windows 10 click on Settings, and then access Update and security and Windows Update. Later we click on View update history in Windows Update and click on uninstall updates. We select the updates to uninstall and click Uninstall.
If we use Windows, we must access the Settings menu and click on Windows Update. Later we click on Update history and Uninstall updates. On the next screen, right-click on the update that we want to delete and click on Uninstall.
Then all you need is to follow the instructions on the screen to complete the process. After this, you can restart the PC to see if the error has been removed.
Update corrupt drivers
Some controllers or bad drivers are one of the most common causes of the CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED error. Therefore, we must verify that none of them require updates. In order to verify it, we must access the Device Manager, pressing the keyboard shortcut “Windows + X”.
Next, we need to scan the list of drivers to see if any devices have a yellow exclamation mark next to them. In this case it means that there is a problem with that driver and its update is necessary. To do this, click on it…