I've been facing an ongoing issue with persistent and random Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) errors on my Windows 11 system for the past few weeks. The BSODs occur randomly, sometimes after just a couple of hours and other times after a full day of use. The key error messages I see are either UNEXPECTED_STORE_EXCEPTION or CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED. When these crashes happen, the progress percentage gets stuck at 0%, making it impossible to complete the memory dumps.
I've checked Event Viewer and keep finding Event 161, which states: 'Dump file creation failed due to an error during dump creation. Bugcheck progress was 0x00020005.'
To try to resolve the issue, I've done quite a bit:
- Performed a clean reinstall of Windows 11
- Set BIOS to UEFI mode (not CSM)
- Switched SATA cables and ports
- Disabled sleep, hibernation, and link power management
- Tested the SSD with CrystalDiskInfo showing 100% health and no errors
- Ensured I have no RAID setup
- Built the system new in April
- Updated all drivers, but the storage is using Microsoft's default storahci.sys
- Passed memory diagnostics
- Checked PSU voltages, but can't completely rule out potential power delivery issues.
The system works fine for varying amounts of time before crashing. After several BSODs, stability declines, forcing me to reinstall Windows, making it a frustrating cycle. After noticing a slight bend in my SATA cable near the SSD connection, I replaced it, but the crashes continued. I'm beginning to suspect there might be an issue with how Windows is handling AHCI or even a deeper compatibility problem with my hardware.
Here are my specs:
- AMD Ryzen 3 3200G with Vega 8
- 8GB DDR4 3200MHz RAM
- MSI A520M-A PRO motherboard
- 480GB Western Digital Green SATA SSD
- Clean install of Windows 11 Home
- No additional drives or third-party antivirus
- No overclocking done
I'm really keen on staying with Windows 11, but right now, I just need a stable system. Has anyone dealt with BSODs related to storahci.sys in Windows 11? Would moving to an NVMe drive with updated storage drivers help alleviate this issue? Any advice would be highly appreciated.
2 Answers
It sounds like you've done a lot already! Given that your SSD is healthy and you've changed cables, it might be worth switching to an NVMe SSD. That could potentially eliminate any issues related to the SATA driver (storahci.sys) you're currently using. Plus, NVMe drives offer faster speeds, which could improve your overall experience. In the meantime, keep an eye on your system's stability—if you can't rule out power issues, you might want to look into that as well!
Have you tried checking for dump files? Those logs can really help pinpoint the issue with your BSODs. If you can boot into Windows normally or via Safe Mode, check the C:WindowsMinidump folder for any crash dumps. Zip them up and upload them to a site like catbox.moe or mediafire.com. Multiple dump files would be great for analysis, and you might consider changing the dump settings to Small Memory Dump to capture more info in the future.
Thanks! I'm definitely considering NVMe as my next step. I'll also check out the power supply just to be sure.