I've encountered the Critical Process Died error (0xEF) on Windows 11 while browsing. Everything seemed fine initially, but suddenly my screen went black, and I got the BSOD. I checked the Event Viewer, and aside from a forced shutdown, there were some secure boot errors. I'm running version 25H2 and my graphics driver is up to date (NVIDIA 595.79). I've also looked into my minidump folder, but it's empty, and my BIOS is the latest version. Initially, I thought it was due to my GPU drivers, but even after updating them, the problem persists. I did manage to game for a while after uninstalling a utility app, but the issue reoccurred when I was just using Firefox. I've never made any recent changes to my setup that could've caused this. Any ideas on what might be going wrong?
3 Answers
If you're on an older SATA SSD and haven't had issues until now, it might just be a case of degradation over time. Running a restore point could help if the issue started recently. However, if it continues, it's essential to consider the possibility of hardware issues. You might want to run a comprehensive diagnostic on your drive to check for any errors. Also, keep an eye out for potential corruption related to your storage as that can often lead to crashes.
The Critical_Process_Died error often suggests a problem with Windows itself or storage corruption. If you can't create dump files, it could be due to storage encryption or insufficient free space on your drive. Make sure there's enough space available, at least equivalent to your RAM plus some extra for the dump file. If you're using an older SATA SSD for your OS, it might be time for an upgrade, but let’s first try to troubleshoot the current setup.
Getting dump files is crucial for diagnosing BSOD errors. If you can access Windows normally or via Safe Mode, check the C:WindowsMinidump directory for any crash logs. If you find them, zip the folder and upload it to a file-sharing site like Mediafire or Catbox. If there are no logs, make sure your page file is set to automatic size allocation, as it can cause issues if it's too small. This will help in capturing dumps in case of another crash.
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