How to fix Critical Process Died Error

One of the most dreaded of the 500 BSOD error codes is the "blue screen of death", i.e. the Critical Process Died Stop Code.

It has to be mentioned that on Windows 10 BSODs are a lot less common than they were in the previous versions of the OS. That being said, they are still very annoying when they happen.

Here, in this article, we are going to look at the causes of this error and find out how we can fix Critical Process Died Error.

What is "Critical Process Died" Stop Code

The majority of the BSODs occur due to a critical process unexpectedly stopping and you will know if you are the victim when you see the error code 0x000000EF on the blue crash screen.

The cause is simple at the basic level. Mostly a background process that Windows relies on has become corrupted. Either its data has been modified incorrectly or it could have stopped entirely.

It becomes a lot tougher to pinpoint the precise issue as we dig deeper. The culprits could be the iffy drivers or the memory errors. To make matters worse, there are a number of scenarios where the BSOD could arise.

How to fix "Critical Process Died" Error

As there are various possible causes of the BSOD error, you have to go through many BSOD troubleshooting steps to solve the problem.

1. Work with the Hardware and Device Troubleshooting Tool

Let's begin with the easiest solution before we move on to the more complicated ones.

Many troubleshooting tools are now included on Windows and one of them is designed specifically for the hardware and device issues.

But, this is not visible in the Settings menu anymore. Now you have to initiate it from the command line. For this,

1. You just have to open Command Prompt and type msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic and press the Enter key.
2. Click Next on the window that pops up and for the next few minutes, your system will spend scanning for the problems. Then it will report back with the findings.

2. Work with the Deployment Imaging and Servicing Management Tool

It is time to move on to the Deployment Imaging and Servicing Management, i.e. DISM tool if you are still encountering errors. This will repair the corrupted system image.

There are three switches in this tool.

1. /ScanHealth,
2. /CheckHealth
3. /RestoreHealth

The last one is the one that interests us. You can just open the Command Prompt as an administrator to use DISM.

After opening the app type DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth and press the Enter key.

Generally, this process will take between 10 minutes and half an hour. If the progress bar stops at 20 percent or 30 percent for some time, do not be alarmed as that is expected behavior.

Restart your machine after the scan is finished.

3. Run the System File Checker

The System File Checker tool is our next option. A wide variety of Windows ailments can be solved by repairing corrupted or incorrectly modified system files using this tool.

It is a critical troubleshooting step in case of the 0x000000EF error code.

You will need to open the Command Prompt as an admin to run the checker. You can just run a search for cmd, then right-click on the result, and select Run as administrator.

Type sfc/scannow after opening the Command Prompt and then press the Enter key.

You will see an on-screen list of any problems after the scan is finished and the steps that the scan tool to remedy them would also be mentioned.

then you should ensure that you restart your computer before continuing the work.

4. Run an Antivirus Scan

Malware on your screen could also be the reason for the stop code as they can alter the system files and processes and make them unusable.

In this case, you can use any antivirus of your choice or the Windows Defender. You just have to make sure that you run a deep full system scan.

5. Update Your Drivers

One of the most common causes of stop code error is bad drivers. So you need to make sure that none of them has pending updates.

The status of your drivers could be checked by right-clicking the Start button, then selecting Device Manager, and then you can scan through the list and check if any device has a yellow exclamation point alongside them.

On the device with the exclamation mark, right-click and choose Update Driver Software from the context menu.

6. Uninstall Recent Windows Updates

A recent Windows update could have been the reason for the error. It is pretty easy to uninstall the recent Windows updates.

For uninstalling an update, just open the Settings app and move to Update and Security, then Windows Update, then Update History and then Uninstall Updates. Then just highlight the update that you want to remove and press the Uninstall button.

7. Perform a Clean Boot

A start-up mode that uses the bare minimum number of drivers, programs and processes is called clean boot. You can start to load the missing processes once your computer is running.

Follow the given steps to clean boot your computer:

1. In the Start menu search bar, type System Configuration and select the Best Match.
2. Then, click on the Services tab
3. Then, just unmark the checkbox next to Hide all Microsoft Services
4. Click on the Disable All button
5. Select the Startup tab
6. Click on Open Task Manager
7. Click on the Startup tab again in the new window.
8. Now just disable the items in the list.
9. Restart your computer

8. Restore Your System

You can use the System restore option and roll back your computer to a previous state. You can do this only if you have enabled the creation of restore points prior to the occurrence of the error.

For using the System Restore option,

1. Just go to Settings,
2. Then Update and Security,
3. Then Recovery,
4. Then Reset this PC,
5. Then Get Started,
6. And finally Keep files and follow the on-screen instructions.

9. Update the BIOS

Finally, you can try to update your computer's BIOS.

Updating the BIOS does not have a standardized method so you can refer to your computer manufacturer's guide for reference.

10. Finally, Reset or Reinstall.

It is probably time to throw your computer and get a new one if none of the above steps was able to fix your problem.

Or you could also try to reinstall Windows afresh.