'Critical Process Died' Every Time

Question

Hi,

What started as what I think was a memory management issue has spiraled into an endless loop of Critical Process Died BSOD. It all started this morning after my PC blue screened while I was gaming. I looked into the event viewer and the error was related to Kernerl32.dll. After some troubleshooting, I narrowed it down to a memory issue after going into 'This PC', right clicking on each drive and clicking on 'error check', to which one of them said something along the lines of a 'memory problem'. My Windows was up to date with the latest updates and I had the latest graphics card driver. I did some more research and saw several suggestions to install free software that would search my PC and update any other drivers that may not be up to date. I downloaded 'Bit Driver Updater' and it found 4 drivers to update which I did. I also went into Windows driver verifier and followed some suggested troubleshoot steps there. After that restart, it took me to the Windows login page but as I went to type in my PIN it blue screened and I haven't been able to get past the blue screen since. I have come across blue screens saying 'win32kbase.sys' and 'system service exception' but more recently all I get it 'critical_process_died'. 

I have tried various options in advanced options to no avail. Chkdsk says 'no problems' although it also says 'failed to transfer logged messages to the event log with status 6'. Scannow says 'windows resource protection could not perform requested operation'. DSIM says 'an initilisation error occurred'. I have tried the two options regarding uninstalling latest build and feature updates but no luck with that, it says it was unable to run or something along those lines. I also tried downloading Windows onto a USB and going through the 'repair this PC' option but again no such luck, it says 'startup repair couldn't repair your PC'. Finally, I have tried the command BOOTREC /scannos and it says 'total identified windows installations: 0'. It sounds like something has gone badly wrong and my only option is to try the 'Reset PC' option? Any other advice or help with this would be greatly appreciated.

Kind Regards,

Archie.

Answer 1

Hi, 

I ended up identifying the issue for me was due to a faulty RAM module. After replacing the RAM and reinstalling everything, it is all good now. 

Regards, 

Archie.

Answer 2

Hi there I started getting this bsod error too, here's my event log. Please help me identify what is causing it and how to fix 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/19SSUgt-qwolPBNo-8FE-e4nEOYgaqWe5/view?usp=drivesdk

Answer 3

Hi Aditya,

Thanks for getting back to me with your suggestions.

Windows Version and Build -

PC -Motherboard: MSI Z390 Gaming Plus. CPU: Intel i5 9600K. GPU: ASUS ROG STRIX GTX 1070 Ti 8GB. RAM: 2x 8GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200 MHz. SSD (Windows 10 installed on here): Crucial MX500 500GB SSD.

Method 1: I am able to get to the system restore stage, but it says 'You must enable system protection on this drive' and I am unable to click 'next'.

Method 2:"bcdedit /export C:\BCD_Backup" - when I type this in I get "The store export operation has failed. The system cannot find the file specified."

"C:", then "cd boot" - It says "The system cannot find the oath specified".

"attrib bcd -s -h –r" - When I type this in it says "File not found - bcd"

"ren c:\boot\bcd bcd.old" - "The system cannot find the file specified"

"bootrec /RebuildBcd" - "Successfully scanned Windows installations. Total identified Windows installations: 0. The operation completed successfully."

What should I do next?

Kind Regards,

Archie.

Answer 4

Hi Archie,

Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

In order to get clarity and to assist you accordingly, please reply with the answers to the questions below:

• What is the Version and Build of Windows 10 installed? (Type winver in Windows search/Run command)
• What is the make and model of the PC?

As you are unable to boot the PC to login screen, then we would suggest you to perform these methods, before proceeding, disconnect if any devices are connected to the computer except, keyboard and mouse:

Create a bootable media using a different PC and boot the affected PC using the media.

---

Method 1: System Restore using WinRE use bootable media

1. Use the Bootable media to boot the PC.
2. Boot from the media and choose “Repair your computer.”
3. Under Advanced troubleshooting, select Troubleshoot.
4. Under Advanced options screen, you will see **** System Restore.

---

Method 2: Rebuild BCD

1. Use the Bootable media to boot the PC.
2. On the initial setup screen, select the language and other preferences and click on Next. (If you don't see the setup screen, your PC might not be set up to boot from a drive. Check your PC manufacturer's website for info on how to change your PC's boot order, and then try again.)
3. Now, click on Repair your computer.
4. On the System Recovery Options screen, select Troubleshoot> Advanced options > Command Prompt.
5. Now type in the commands and hit Enter:

bcdedit /export C:\BCD_Backupc:cd bootattrib bcd -s -h –rren c:\boot\bcd bcd.oldbootrec /RebuildBcd

If the issue persists, then we would suggest you to contact the PC manufacturer or a local tech shop for a hardware check.

Let us know the results. If the issue persists, we will certainly assist you further.

Aditya Roy

Microsoft Community – Moderator