I've been battling with my computer crashing a lot over the past year. I keep getting blue screen errors (BSOD) with mostly the codes CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED (0xef) and KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED (0x1e). It often boots straight into the BIOS after a crash, and I have to restart several times for it to eventually get into Windows. My BIOS detects my other SSD but doesn't recognize my boot drive. I've checked some dump files but can't make sense of them. I'm considering reinstalling Windows to see if that helps. Any advice would be awesome!
3 Answers
First off, you'll want to gather those crash dump files if you haven't already. They really help in figuring out what's causing these BSODs. If you can get into Windows or Safe Mode, check the C:WindowsMinidump folder for any dumps. Zip those files and upload them to a file sharing site like mediafire or catbox.moe. If you only have one dump file, follow a guide to set up Small Memory Dumps so you have more to work with during analysis.
Consider running a chkdsk on your OS disk to check for bad sectors. Just open Command Prompt as admin and type `chkdsk /f C:`. This checks for file system errors. If you've been dealing with crashes for over a year, replacing the SSD might be worth doing. If it's a desktop, you might also want to try using a different SATA port or checking the SATA cable for issues—sometimes it’s a simple fix!
It might just be a loose connection, but if you're suspecting your SSD is failing, it’s better to replace it before reinstalling Windows. You don’t want to end up reinstalling on a faulty drive!
I tried running it as admin, but it says access is denied. Then my PC crashed again, haha. I'm thinking of just reinstalling the system first and if that doesn't work, I’ll grab a new SSD tomorrow.