How to Fix a Driver Power State Failure BSOD in Windows 10

Good news: not impossible to fix

When a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) occurs on your Windows PC, you might be inclined to think the worst. In many cases, however, a BSOD is a sign of a problem that can easily be fixed with some common system maintenance steps, such a system update or repair.

One BSOD that some users will occasionally see is a “driver power state failure” error. Often caused by a faulty device driver, troubleshooting this issue is fairly straightforward and rarely impossible to fix. If you’re seeing a driver power state failure BSOD error in Windows 10, here’s what you’ll need to do to fix it.

What Causes a Driver Power State Failure BSOD Error?

A stop code “driver power state failure” blue screen of death error is usually caused by a power control issue with a device connected to your PC. If the device switches to sleep mode when you’re using it, or fails to come out of sleep mode when you try to use it, Windows assumes this is a critical error and displays a BSOD message.

There are several reasons why this might occur. If adevice driver is out-of-dateor faulty, Windows’ ability to control power settings for connected devices might be affected. Updating your drivers (or downgrading to the last working driver) might resolve the issue.

However, this isn’t the only possible cause. If system files are corrupted, you can attempt to repair the issue using the System File Checker tool. Changing your device’s power settings (including disabling sleep or hibernation mode) can also stop certain devices from entering a low-power or sleep mode.

If all else fails, however, you may need to look at removing any devices that are causing this issue. Typically, external peripherals (such as USB or Bluetooth devices) or certain high-powered internal components (such as your graphics card) are behind this issue.

Updating Your System Drivers

A driver power state failure BSOD is most often caused by a problem with the installed device drivers. Unless your device is configured to install new driver updates automatically, you may need to install new drivers manually.

You can usually do this through Windows Update, which will search for (and install) any suitable drivers for your PC.

While Windows Update does have most device drivers available, you may also need to consider downloading drivers from the manufacturer website and installing them manually. For instance, much newerNVIDIA graphics driversare available from the NVIDIA website compared to the drivers available through Windows Update.

Likewise, certain chipset drivers for internal motherboard components (such as built-in WiFi) may require you to download the drivers from the manufacturer, especially if you’vebuilt your own PC.

Running the System File Checker Integrity Tool

In some cases, a power issue (such as a driver power state failure BSOD) is caused by corrupted or missing system files. To resolve this problem, you can use theSystem File Checker (SFC)tool. This checks the integrity of your Windows system files and, if any files are missing or corrupted, the tool will fix them automatically.

Allow some time for the SFC tool to complete a scan of your PC. If it detects any missing files, this should automatically repair them.

Removing Recently Installed Drivers

While updating a device driver is usually the best way to install new bug fixes, the newer driver may have bugs that can cause this issue. If this is the case, you’ll need toroll back the driverto the latest working version.

You may need torestart Windows in Safe Modefirst to roll your drivers back successfully.

Disabling Sleep or Hibernation Mode

Because a driver power state failure BSOD is usually caused by a power issue, changing your PC’s power settings can stop it from happening. If you can’t disable your device’s power management settings directly, you’ll need to stop your PC from entering sleep or hibernation mode as a last resort.

Keeping Windows Updated

In most cases, keeping your system updated with new device drivers will resolve a driver power state failure BSOD error. If your drivers are buggy, however, you may need to downgrade to the last working driver or considerupgrading the affected deviceto a newer model (or removing it entirely).

If you’re still havingissues with BSOD errors, you may need to take more drastic measures. You may need towipe and reinstall Windowsto remove conflicted files, especially if the SFC tool doesn’t resolve the issue. Once you’ve reinstalled Windows, don’t forget toinstall some essential softwareto get up and running again.

Ben Stockton is a freelance technology writer based in the United Kingdom. In a past life, Ben was a college lecturer in the UK, training teens and adults. Since leaving the classroom, Ben has taken his teaching experience and applied it to writing tech how-to guides and tutorials, specialising in Linux, Windows, and Android. He has a degree in History and a postgraduate qualification in Computing.Read Ben’s Full Bio

Your email address will not be published.Required fields are marked*

Comment*

Name*

Email*

Website

Welcome to Help Desk Geek- a blog full of tech tips from trusted tech experts. We have thousands of articles and guides to help you troubleshoot any issue. Our articles have been read over 150 million times since we launched in 2008.

HomeAbout UsEditorial StandardsContact UsTerms of Use

How to Fix a Driver Power State Failure BSOD in Windows 10#

What Causes a Driver Power State Failure BSOD Error?#

Updating Your System Drivers#

Running the System File Checker Integrity Tool#

Removing Recently Installed Drivers#

Disabling Sleep or Hibernation Mode#

Keeping Windows Updated#

Leave a Reply#