My PC was working normally when I left town in late June. When I returned on July 5, it began producing a DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE blue screen, usually within 3–5 minutes of startup. System Restore has failed every time I tried it. The computer stays stable in Safe Mode or Selective Startup, but networking is unavailable in those modes. Whenever a network connection is active, the system eventually crashes. I have not been able to identify which driver or startup component is responsible. I also collected several recent minidump files for analysis.
2 Answers
Before changing too many things, check the health of the system drive with a tool such as CrystalDiskInfo. A failing drive can cause driver errors and failed System Restore operations, although the network-specific pattern still makes the adapter driver more likely. Also check Event Viewer for errors immediately before the blue screen and compare the timestamps with the minidump analysis. If the drive reports warnings, back up important files before continuing.
A 0x9F usually points to a driver failing during a power or device-state transition. Since the crash only occurs when networking is active and Safe Mode is stable, the network adapter driver is a strong suspect. In Device Manager, uninstall the wireless or Ethernet adapter and choose the option to remove its driver if available, then reboot and install a fresh driver downloaded from the PC or motherboard manufacturer using another device. You can also temporarily disable the adapter to confirm whether the crashes stop. The minidumps should help identify the exact driver, so several dumps are more useful than a single file.
That matches what I have been noticing: the system is stable until network activity starts. I will try removing and reinstalling the adapter driver, then check whether the crashes continue.
The storage check is worth doing, especially because every System Restore attempt failed. Still, the fact that networking triggers the crash makes the network driver or related power-management setting the first thing I would test.