Critical Process Died on Windows 10 – How to Fix This BSOD Error

If you’re reading this article, it means you are facing the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) with a critical process died error message on Windows 10. We understand this message interrupts your work and often reboots the system. But there’s nothing to worry; we have some solutions to fix the Windows stop code critical process died error message.

What causes BSOD Critical_process_died message on Windows 10?

Windows 10, the latest operating system from Microsoft is much secure and stable when compared with previous versions. Hence, facing the dreaded blue screen of death is very annoying.

The critical process unexpectedly stopped error message is responsible for a vast number of BSODs. At the basic level, you receive a critical process died when Windows detects unauthorized modification to its data.

In most cases, outdated or incompatible drivers are behind it, but users using brand new systems too face Windows stop code critical processes died. Therefore, to resolve stop code errors, it’s better to take a broader approach.

You can select any of the methods explained or can try them one by one to fix the critical process died Windows 10 error message.

How to Fix Critical Process Died in Windows 10?

The following solution addresses all the issues from outdated drivers to corrupt Windows update to the virus on system, etc., that can cause stop code critical process died. To use these fixes, no need to be an expert follow step by step instructions and fix critical process died error messages.

Method 1 Boot Windows in Safe Mode & Clean Boot

Method 2 Update Outdated Drivers

Method 3 Run Windows Troubleshooter

Method 4 Run System File Checker

Method 5 Run Antivirus tool

Method 6 Run DSIM

Method 7 Uninstall Windows Update

Method 8 Perform System Restore

Method 1: Windows 10 Safe Mode and Clean Boot

A corrupt driver initialization during Windows startup can cause critical process died error. Therefore, to fix it, we will need to boot Windows into Safe Mode or perform a Clean Boot.

How to Boot Windows 10 in Safe Mode?

1. Shut down Windows.
2. Now Restart it by holding down the Shift key.
3. You’ll now see a list with several options: click Troubleshoot > Advanced options.
4. Start-up Settings > Restart.
   
5. Using the F4 key select any of the given options to enable and boot in safe mode.
6. Windows 10 will now start in Safe Mode.
   

Now that you are in Safe Mode, we should do a Clean Boot to fix the stop code critical process died message.

How To Perform Clean Boot In Windows 10?

1. Type “msconfig” in Windows search bar > select System Configuration > Enter
2. This will open a new window.
3. Here, click the Services tab and check the box next to Hide all Microsoft services options.
4. Afterward, click the Startup tab. Go to the Startup tab > Open Task Manager.
5. In the new window, click the Startup tab again.
6. Disable all items listed here
7. Restart your computer

This will help fix Critical_Process_Died error temporarily, allowing you to try other solutions described below:

Method 2: Update Outdated Drivers

One of the most common causes of BSOD errors on Windows 10 is corrupt or incompatible drivers. Therefore, keeping them updated is a great idea to avoid facing a stop code critical process died error message.

You can update them manually via Device Manager or can use a Driver Updater to do it for you.

If you would like to go with the second option, we recommend using Smart Driver Care, an excellent driver updater for Windows machines. Using it, you can easily update outdated drivers. Moreover, you can even take a backup of an old driver before updating them, so that if anything goes wrong, you can rollback.

However, if you want to do it yourself here are the steps to update Windows drivers manually.

How to Update Drivers Manually?

1. Type Device Manager in Windows search and press Enter key.
2. Now, scroll through the list of drivers installed. If you see a yellow exclamation mark next to any driver, it needs to be updated.
3. To update right-click the driver in question and click Updater driver.
4. Follow on-screen instructions to update outdated drivers.

This should fix Critical_Process_Died on Windows 10.

Method 3: Run Windows Troubleshooter

If the above solution didn’t work, let’s try some other solutions.

Windows 10 offers certain tools to troubleshoot hardware and device issues. We will try and use them to fix the Windows stop code critical process died error messages.

To run troubleshooting tools, follow the steps below:

1. Press Windows + I to open Windows Settings window
2. In the Settings window, Click Update & Security.
   
   
3. Troubleshoot from the left pane.
4. Scroll down and look for Program Compatibility Troubleshooter > Run Troubleshooter.
5. Let your system run the Troubleshooter and find problems if any.
6. Fix the problem now you should not face a critical process died error message.

Method 4: Run the System File Checker

The next step to fix the stop code critical process died error is to run System File Checker. This popular utility helps fix system files that have been modified or corrupted.

To run System File Checker, follow the steps below:

1. Type Command Prompt in Windows search bar > Run as Administrator
2. Click the search result and click Run as Administrator
3. In the Command Prompt window, type SFC /scannow and hit Enter. It might take some time; therefore, do not exit the cmd window unless the command runs entirely.
   
4. When finished, you’ll see a list of problems if any, and steps are taken to fix them.

Restart your computer to apply changes. This should help fix the critical process died windows.

Method 5: Run an Antivirus Scan

If your Windows 10 machine is infected then too, you can get Critical_Process_Died error as malware can alter system files.

To scan your windows system and to fix malware infections, you can use a third-party tool Advanced System Protector developed by Systweak or can use Windows in-built Windows Defender. The choice is yours.

Advanced System Protector is a thoroughly tested anti-malware tool, and it offers three types of scanning – Quick, Deep, and Custom.

We recommend this tool as it has been in the market for long and does offer a 60-day money-back guarantee. Further, you can schedule scans, and it offers regular updates most essential for an antivirus program. To download it, click here.

Method 6: Run DSIM Command

If you are still encountering Windows stop code critical process died error message, it’s time to run DSIM (Deployment Imaging and Servicing Management) command.  We will use it to repair a corrupt system image.

To run DSIM, follow the steps below:

1. Manually enter Command Prompt in the search window
2. Right-click the search result and select Run an administrator.
3. Copy-paste DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth and hit Enter in Command Prompt window.
   

Wait for the process to complete, depending on the size of the disk it takes time. If the scan pauses at a percent don’t worry, it is expected.

When the scan is finished, restart your Windows machine to check if the Windows critical process died error message is gone or not.

Method 7: Uninstall Recent Windows Updates

If you started encountering Windows stop code critical process died after Windows update, the update is buggy. Therefore, we will need to uninstall the recent update. To do so, follow the steps below:

1. Press Windows + I to open Windows 10 Settings.
2. Click Update & Security > Windows Update > View update history
3. Hit Uninstall updates option.
4. In the subsequent window, select the update you want to delete and click Uninstall.

Restart your Windows machine. You should now not encounter a critical process died on Windows 10.

However, none of the above methods helps restore the system. This is the simplest and sure way to fix critical process died stop code BSOD error on Windows 10.

How to Perform System Restore on Windows 10?

1. Type System Restore in Windows search bar > Create a restore point > Open.
2. Click System Restore
3. This will open a dialog box, click Next, and follow on-screen instructions.
4. Select a restore point to undo changes
5. Wait for the process to complete.

That’s it, all changes made to your Windows 10 are now restored. This means whatever was causing Windows’ stop code critical process died is now fixed. You should not face any problem now.

In case, this too doesn’t help then you’ll need to do a fresh Windows install as there’s nothing more left to do. We hope you don’t have to do it, and the critical process died error is resolved using any of the steps explained above. In addition to this to keep your system optimized, you should run the best PC cleaner on your Windows.

We would like to know which step worked for you; please let us know by leaving us a comment in the box below