When you press the power button on your computer or laptop, you typically expect it to turn on and load without error. You don't want to hit a "System Thread Exception Not Handled".
Unfortunately, those using Windows 10/11 computers who do not understand what device drivers are or how to update device drivers may be met with a blue screen of death.
This blue screen of death may appear right after you turn on your computer, or it may take ten to fifteen seconds for the computer to encounter the error that causes the dreaded blue screen of death.
The error code "system thread exception not handled" is commonly seen on boot up and can cause your computer to become stuck in a reboot loop, making it impossible to use at all.
In this article, we'll look at what this code means, when it appears, why it appears, and how to fix it using five different methods.
What does the “System Thread Exception Not Handled” error mean?
The error "system thread exception not handled" means that a system thread on your computer generated an exception for an error that the handler failed to catch.
A blue screen of death has occurred as a result of it failing to detect and correct the error, causing the computer to attempt to collect information about the error.
The following numbers are frequently associated with this stop code: 0x0000007E, 0x1000007E, or if you're lucky, the file name that's causing the problem, such as atikmdag.sys, nvlddmkm.sys, igdkmd64.sys, and so on.
Unfortunately, when this error occurs, the computer almost always reboots, necessitating the use of safe mode to break the cycle.
When does this error show up and why does it happen?
The "system thread exception not handled" error usually occurs when you restart or restart your computer after a shutdown.
It can, however, occur infrequently and is known to appear when the user is running a program that requires specific graphic drivers to function.
This error occurs when incompatible drivers (most commonly graphic drivers) are installed on the computer, which are either outdated, corrupted or simply incorrect.
Malware can manipulate graphic drivers, and they can also be installed incorrectly, which are two other reasons why you might get the "system thread exception not handled" error on Windows 10.
There is a file name next to the error code: What Does It Mean?
If you're lucky, the "system thread exception not handled" error code will be accompanied by a file name indicating which graphic driver is to blame.
You will be able to completely resolve the error if you update or repair this graphic driver.
The following are some of the most common file names associated with this BSOD error.
- Atikmdag.sys -- Is a graphic driver from the ATI Radeon Family that is associated with your ATI video card. If your computer has an AMD graphics card installed, the drivers for that card are either out of date or incorrectly installed.
- Nvlddmkm.sys – This graphic driver is for your Nvidia video card's Nvidia Windows kernel driver. If you have a graphics card powered by Nvidia, the drivers for that card are either out of date or incorrectly installed.
- Dxgmms2.sys – This has something to do with the DirectX drivers you've installed.
- Ntfs.sys – This is for the Windows NT Server operating system.
- Bcmwl63a.sys –The Broadcom 802.11 Network Adaptor is what this is for. Broadcom Corporation has developed a wireless driver for this adaptor.
- The "system thread exception not handled" error is likely to occur if this is installed incorrectly or is out of date.
- CMUDA.sys – This is the audio driver associated with USB devices.
If any of the above are present when the error occurs, you will need to uninstall and reinstall the driver or update the driver.
If the error code is associated with a different system file, you'll need to look up the driver file name online to figure out which driver is causing the problem.
If the error does not appear in any system files, you will need to update all major drivers on your computer, including any network, LAN, wireless, sound and audio, and display drivers (graphics).
How to Boot Into Safe Mode on Windows 10?
The first thing you'll want to do is boot into safe mode, as this is the only way to get out of the reboot loop you've gotten yourself into.
We'll get you to boot into Windows Recovery Environment (winRE) before entering safe mode because it's likely you won't be able to access your settings.
- To turn off your computer, press and hold the power button for at least 10 seconds. To turn it back on, press the power button once more after it has been completely turned off.
- Hold down the power button for 10 seconds as soon as you see any indication that Windows has started (such as the logo).To turn it back on, press the power button.
- You must repeat this procedure until your device has completely restarted and you have entered winRE.
To enter safe mode from winRE, select the "Troubleshoot" option from the menu. Then select "Advanced Options," "Startup settings," and "Restart" from the drop-down menu.
You'll be presented with a list of options after your computer restarts. To enter Safe Mode with Networking, press F5.
5 Methods for Fixing “System Thread Exception Not Handled” on Windows Systems
1. Find out which driver is faulty
There are a few ways to do this, but the simplest is to look at the system log, which keeps track of events. You'll need to open the event viewer to do this.
- To open the "run" dialogue box, press the Windows key + R on your keyboard.
- In the box, type "eventvwr" and click OK.
- To access the menu, go to the bottom of the page and click "Windows logs."
- To see all recent events, select "system" from the menu.
- Determine which driver is responsible for the "system thread exception not handled" error.
2. Update, rollback, or reinstall your drivers
The most straightforward way to fix incompatible drivers is to update them, roll them back to a previous version, or reinstall them if you have the most recent version.
To do so, either type "device manager" into your computer's search box or press Windows key + X and select "device manager" from the drop-down menu.
- To update your drivers, go through your device list and right-click on each piece of hardware that requires a driver, then select Update Driver. Disk drives, audio devices, network adaptors, sound devices, and display adaptors are all included in this category.
- You can have it search for the most recently updated version automatically when you click "update driver."
- To revert your drivers, go through your device list and right-click on each piece of hardware with a driver, then select "properties." Then go to the "driver" tab and select "rollback." Yes, please click!
- To reinstall a driver, you must first uninstall it. You must then go to the device manufacturer's website, find your device, and manually download and install the most recent driver for that device.
3. Rename the faulty driver
If the "system thread exception not handled" error code is associated with a file name, you can always rename the driver to something else, and Windows will fetch a new copy and reinstall it.
First, you'll need to figure out which hard drive the driver is installed on.
- Search for "command prompt" or type "cmd" into your computer's search box to open the command prompt app.
- Type this into the command prompt box, C: (press enter) cd windows\system32\drivers (then hit enter) ren FILENAME.sys FILENAME.old (replace filename here with the faulty driver file mentioned with the error code).
- Then press "Exit" to exit the program and restart the computer.
4. Repair your system files
If you believe you have corrupted system files that are affecting your device drivers, use Windows repair programs like SFC and DISM to fix them.
- Open the command prompt as an administrator to run SFC. If you're in safe mode, the command prompt option can be found in the "advanced options" section of the menu.
- Enter "sfc /scannow" and press the Enter key. This will replace any system files that have been damaged, lost, or changed.
Note: If you get an SFC /Scannow error while running the scan, you could search it on google and get to know how to fix "Windows Resource Protection Could Not Perform The Requested Operation."
If the problem persists after running SFC, you can run DISM to restore the “health” of your computer.
- Open up the command prompt as administrator and type in the following one by one.
- Exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Scanhealth
- Exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
5. Restore your PC to an earlier version
If you have made backups of your computer system, you can restore it to a time when the "system thread exception not handled" error code was not present.
However, you'll need either a Windows system repair disc or a recovery drive to do so.
- Insert the system repair disc into your computer and select your preferred language.
- Select the troubleshoot, advanced options option from the repair menu.
- Then select System Restore and follow the on-screen instructions.
While the majority of people will be able to resolve the issue by uninstalling, reinstalling, and updating out-of-date drivers, those who continue to receive the error after trying all five of the above methods may want to consider a clean reinstallation of the operating system.
Completely wiping and reinstalling the operating system will return you to factory settings, requiring you to update your operating system as well as the basic drivers to the most recent versions.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean when a system thread exception not handled error comes up?
A system thread exception not handled is a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) error that occurs when process threads running critical Windows services fail. A driver malfunction is the most common cause of this error.
Is it possible for RAM to cause a system thread exception that isn't handled?
Yes it is possible that memory corruption can sometimes cause the system thread exception not handled error. To resolve this issue, boot into Windows or Safe Mode and check the RAM.
How do I get out of a critical process boot loop?
To get out of a critical process boot loop, run an SFC scan, update your drivers, perform a clean boot, go to system restore, delete the latest software, check disc errors, and so on are all simple ways to fix the "critical process died" stop code in Windows 10 / Windows 11.
Please leave a useful comment with your thoughts, then share this on your Facebook group(s) who would find this useful and let's reap the benefits together. Thank you for sharing and being nice!
Disclosure: This page may contain links to external sites for products which we love and wholeheartedly recommend. If you buy products we suggest, we may earn a referral fee. Such fees do not influence our recommendations and we do not accept payments for positive reviews.
and many more ...