However, most of us are unfamiliar with what actually it is and why it happens or its root cause. So, in this episode, we will try to explain the ‘DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION’ error and what steps need to be performed to fix it permanently. If you are also facing this error on your older version Windows PC, then don’t worry as we will help you solve it very easily. On the official website of Microsoft, this error is explained as; This is a complex language and you might not be able to understand it properly. But let me make it simpler for you, the root cause of this problem can be the hardware or software damage, or maybe some internal component is unable to communicate with the motherboard. Here’s the list of most common reasons for this annoying ‘DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION’ blue screen error to occur on your Windows device:
Running SSD with an old firmware, which mostly creates problems with Windows 10. Software or a Hardware compatibility issue. HDD/SSD failure or incompatibility. Old or damaged ‘Storage Controller Drivers’. Overclock not done properly. Antivirus software which is restricting the normal functionality of the Windows. It might be possible that your HDD/SSD is faulty, or the OS. Having a problem in BIOS.
And the list continues. Overall there are numerous problems which can cause this problem. From virus attacks to damaged wires, hard drive or SSD’s problem, etc. If your CPU is getting extremely hot because of improper cooling, it can also trigger the error because of the high computer temperature. In Windows 7, the error is mainly related to the outdated drivers which alter the normal functionality of the Windows. Sometimes windows crash and show DCP… when it is unable to get a response from the storage hardware components. By storage hardware components I basically mean your hard drive or the Solid-State drive which becomes irresponsible and make your windows crash; But thankfully most of these issues can be fixed without putting much efforts.
Some people even encounter this annoying BSOD issue when booting up their computer. In that case, you will not be able to do anything. If this is what happens with you, go and check out this suggested article to fix the ‘Boot-up related problem’… Read More
#Some Quickest Ways to Fix the Issue;
The Blue Screen of Death is a very common issue faced by thousands of people and most of the time it can be solved in just a few minutes. If you are facing this problem for the first time, I will recommend you to try some simple methods before moving to the complex ones. The first thing you need to do is to reboot your computer (if you didn’t in a while). Rebooting is very helpful in fixing the common problem which arises as a result of bugs present in the current session of the Operating System. Rebooting fixes all the small bugs and thus it may fix the issue. As mentioned earlier this error is also triggered if your CPU is working at a high internal temperature (especially overclockers). The safe temperature at which your CPU can perform normally is 40 to 50 degrees. If this value exceeds, your PC might start behaving abnormally. The PC temperature may rise because of improper cooling. The exhausts fans may not be working, or your CPU might be placed in a very compact space. If you find your PC generating a lot of heat switch it off and let it cool. Now restart it and check for the issue. This will hopefully fix the problem, if not move to the next methods.
1# – Compatibility Check-up
One of the major contributors – to the Blue Screen of Death issues is incompatible hardware or software components. Many a time we unknowingly install incompatible software on our computer without thinking about its compatibility or minimum working requirements. These softwares might get installed successfully, but sooner or later they will start causing problems because they are not designed for that version of Windows OS. The same goes for hardware components as well. Hardware requires proper drivers for their normal functioning. If we just plug in a hardware device say a printer without installing its proper drivers it will also trigger the blue screen of death. Not just printer but it applies to all the hardware devices which you can connect externally. To find out if the hardware components are to be blamed or not, try disconnecting all the eternally attached devices which you have recently installed. The next thing which you should do is check the external wires to make sure they are not damaged or broken. A faulty wire doesn’t allow your computer to connect to all the hardware resulting in the blue screen of death. So check for all the wires like printer cables, power cables, etc. Then reboot your computer and check for the problem. If you don’t find the error any more then it is absolutely sure that the hardware is causing the issue. In that case, uninstall the previously installed drivers and then reinstall the latest drives for that hardware will hopefully fix the problem. Suggested Link: How to Update Drivers Directly From the Device Manager? If you don’t find any hardware compatibility issue in your computer or laptop, then the next step is to check the third-party application which mostly causes the BSOD too; The best way to find and fix software related issues on your Windows computer is to use the troubleshooter feature: This way you can easily search and fix for the software related issues using the built-in Trouble-shooter.
2# – Updating Old SSD firmware
Solid State Drives are becoming more popular in comparison to the traditional Hard Disc Drives; this is because they are much more powerful and are also very compact in size. Now talking about the firmware, it is basically the necessary updates released by the SSD manufacturers. Firmware updates are released to solve the issues and bugs which are revealed once the SSD drives are sold in the market. In addition to fixing the bugs and issues, SSD firmware also increases the performance and reliability of your SSD’s. Outdated firmware is proven to cause some random Blue Screen of Death. If your SSD firmware is also outdated, this might be triggering the error you are encountering. Thus, to fix it you need to update the SSD firmware. However, you just only need to install the manufacture’s provided ‘SSD Maintenance Software’ to quickly update the SSD’s firmware.
In some cases, updating the firmware isn’t very simple and the process is even more difficult for those who are using an un-popular branded solid-state drive. For this, first of all, you need to find the current version of your Solid-State Drive and then look for the latest one on the manufacturer’s website. Here is how you can do it; Now you need to check if there is any new version of the firmware is available or not. You can download the latest firmware from the internet most of the time the firmware is provided by the SSD manufacturer’s on their official website. Now install it and then check for the issue. This method will fix the BSOD issues if it was related to the Solid-State Drive Firmware.
3# – Updating ‘IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers’ Driver
The bluescreen error is also common among those users who have upgraded the Windows OS. If you have also upgraded the operating system on your computer, this might be the reason why you are facing the annoying BSOD error. This mostly happens to those who switch to Windows 10 from the previous versions. This happens because the ‘iastor.sys’ driver is not fully compatible with the latest Windows 10. Microsoft is also investigating this problem and it will be fixed as soon as possible. Those who have already upgraded to Windows you can fix this problem by replacing the ‘iastor.sys’ driver with ‘storahci.sys’ which works fine on Windows 10. Not just Windows 10, this fix also works for Windows 7 or 8 users too; By replacing the incompatible driver with the compatible one you will no longer find the Bluescreen. To make things even more easy and simple we have listed the steps using which you can easily perform this task: This will update the driver and it will surely fix the bluescreen issue if it was related to the incompatible storage controller driver.
4# – Use CHKDSK Command
Blue Screen of Death error can arise because of numerous causes and one of them is the file system error. File system errors are caused by errors related to storage drivers. It includes the bad sector, drive integrity corruption and other similar issues related to the boot sector. But fortunately, this error can be solved in some couple of minutes using the Windows Command Prompt. This will fix the disc-related error on your PC and will also fix the Blue Screen.
5# – Check Hard Drive or SSD S.M.A.R.T Status
Hard drives or Solid-State Drives stores all the necessary files which make the Widows capable of working and performing different tasks. If for some reason your hard drive is unable to communicate properly the operating system will ultimately stop working resulting in unresponsive Blue Screen. Hard drives are not made to last forever. They losses their performance with regular wears and tears. Hard disc drives contain moving mechanical parts which get damaged with regular usage. Hard Drives or SSD both starts dying after a certain time and this is generally not detectable. But thankfully there is a simple way to check and monitor the functioning of your HDD and SSD using S.M.A.R.T feature. SMART stands for Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology; it is a very useful feature which is present in almost all the modern hard disc drives and solid state drives. But unfortunately, there isn’t any built-in tool which allows you to check and monitor your hard drives the easy way. In order to check if your hard drives or SSD is working normally or not you can use the S.M.A.R.T feature. This feature will tell you about the basics of your storage drive. With this feature, you can check if your hard drive or SSD have started developing problems or not. Of course, you can check for the performance of the drive in the control panel, but there you will only find some basic data which is actually of no use. To monitor your hard drives, you can download and install CrystalDiscInfo which is free to use application. This is a great tool which tells which monitors the internal drives and will let you know everything about them. This includes the spin time, read error rate, power on hours, relocated sectors count, start-stop count, seek error rate and more. You can get the S.M.A.R.T report through CMD by using the ‘wmic diskdrive get status’ command;
6# – Still Having The Problem?
If you are still having the same problem even after checking the hardware and the software and after trying all the above-listed methods then try doing the following things. Then still, you have a lot to troubleshoot before sending your computer to the repair shop. Sometimes the antivirus can also affect the normal working of the operating system. Antivirus software may sometimes block several applications for security reasons which result BSOD. So, try to disable the antivirus and check for the problem. Another thing you can try is restoring your PC to fix the software issues which might be triggering the error. If you don’t know how to restore a pc you can check this link;
7# – Advanced Methods to FIX the BSOD
There are also several advanced methods which can fix the BSOD. This includes the compatibility checkups which mean checking whether a particular Hardware or software is compatible with your PC or the version of Windows or not.
System restore is a great utility tool made by the Microsoft in their Windows Operating System and with the help of this tool, you can make your computer’s OS back to normal if it gets faulty or corrupted… Read More
Virus scans for the removal of malware which is also known for BSOD error. It also includes the RAM test in which the performance and functioning of RAM is checked to make sure it is not contributing to the problem.
Updating outdated drivers which are no longer supported by the operating system also help in fixing this annoying problem.
Hope this suggested article will help you;
“That’s all for now, thanks for sticking with the article. It is always good to let me know about your views, in the comments below.” 🙂
Actually, there are so many different reasons to get this BSOD Error on your laptop or computer system; And most of them are like, Corrupted Windows, Corrupted Installed Drivers of Your Windows or Hardware, and sometimes it’s also possible… Read More
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