How to fix “CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED” error when installing or booting in Windows 10, 8 and 7

With this guide we will teach you how to fix “CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED” error when installing or booting in Windows 10, 8 and 7. In short, this is one of the most annoying Windows errors, but there are some alternatives that can be followed.

Fix CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED error when Windows starts

The CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED error is one of those that can disturb your peace of mind, as it involves the inability to use the computer. In fact, on many occasions when this error appears, Windows requires a reboot of the system or a direct shutdown of the computer.




This error is accompanied by the code 0x000000EF, which is why it appears as a blue screen. In any case, as you surely know, blue screens can refer to a large number of different problems, so you will need to consider several alternatives to fix the problem.

The big accident of this error is that it can also create a constant restart cycle. Of course when this error occurs usually the only solution is to resort to installing Windows from scratch. Even so, reaching the previous resolution isn't the best, so let's see the options you can try when the CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED error occurs.

Boot into Safe Mode to fix CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED error

Starting Safe Mode can help us check the status of the computer, also è usually needed when the CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED error occurs. On the other hand, booting into safe mode determines that there may be a solution. For this reason, start your computer in safe mode first.

How to fix “CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED” error when installing or booting in Windows 10, 8 and 7

Once you are on your team they are there several things we can do. You will need to check some methods to fix the problem:



Check for Windows updates

 Once started in safe mode, go to the start menu and search for "Settings". Now go to the end and locate “Update & Security”, finally click on “Windows Update”. Go to "Update History" and click "Uninstall updates".


All recent updates will be displayed, analyze the date of each and if you think one was the culprit, try uninstalling it. After uninstalling, simply restart your computer in normal mode and check if the CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED error has been removed.

Uninstall recent drivers

You will need to remember your last actions to find the error causing the CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED error. If you have recently installed a driver, this could be the problem. That said, even in Safe Mode you have the option to uninstall programs and drivers.

Just go to the control panel and then to the section "Programs and features". Here, locate the recently installed driver and try to uninstall it. Clearly after trying this solution it is advisable to update the drivers of your Windows PC.

Use the scan function

Windows presents an option with which we can scan the system. The purpose of this tool is precisely to find missing files which can generate errors like CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED error.

While in safe mode, simply press the key Windows + R, which will bring up the “Run” option. Here type "CMD" and hit the Enter key. The Windows command console will appear, in this section just type sfc / scannow and press the Enter key.


How to fix “CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED” error when installing or booting in Windows 10, 8 and 7


The above will scan your system and try to fix errors with damaged files. After the scan is complete, simply restart your computer normally and check if your computer is working properly.

Another alternative

If none of the above worked, there are still other alternatives that can be used. One of them is to repair bad sectors on the hard drive. This option will analyze if there are any errors in the files written to the hard drive and will try to repair these sectors. Many times it is possible to retrieve information from hard drive and thus resolve errors like CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED error.


In short, the repair sectors function is usually efficient for resolve some faults. Likewise it is also able to show us and our hard drive is working properly. In fact, when the sector repair shows too many errors or freezes at some point, it probably means we need to replace the drive.

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