DPC_Watchdog_violation and Critical Process Died errors

[Nemyritty89]

After a recent update, my computer won't start up. It gets stuck on the loading screen and then shows a blue screen with either a DPC_Watchdog_violation or Critical Process Died error. I have valuable data on the computer, and any solutions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[willomparker]

The DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION and CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED errors in Windows 11 are Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) errors that usually indicate driver issues, hardware malfunctions, or system file corruption. Here’s how to fix them:

 

[RasulGreen]

Hi @Nemyritty89

Since you have valuable data, the first priority is backing it up before trying repairs.
You can use a bootable USB (like Windows installation media, Hiren’s BootCD PE, or Ubuntu Live USB) to access your files and copy them to an external drive.

If that’s too complicated or the disk isn't showing up, you can try professional data recovery software like Stellar Data Recovery, Recuva or Easeus to retrieve your files. These tools also have a free version which you can try before going for any paid one.

After securing your data, you can try:

• Booting into Safe Mode and uninstalling recent updates.
• Updating or rolling back storage drivers.
• Running sfc /scannow and DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth to fix system files.
• Using System Restore if available.

If nothing works, consider a Windows Reset (keeping files) or reinstall Windows after backup.

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