Have you ever experienced a time when your computer’s screen suddenly turned completely blue, and with it came an error saying DPC WATCHDOG VIOLATION? Seeing the blue screen of death is a very serious matter, and you need to fix the issue right away to prevent any issues to arise on your computer. When it comes to the blue screen of death, there are different codes and threats you need to keep an eye out for. In this case, we’ll be dealing with the DPC WATCHDOG VIOLATION.
What Causes This Error to Appear?
As you may have inferred, the DPC WATCHDOG VIOLATION is also part of the blue screen of death. That being said, this isn’t exactly an error; it’s more or less a safety procedure put up by your computer. Whenever your PC senses that an error is about to occur that will possibly cause a data loss, it will try and repair itself. When your PC successfully repairs itself, you’ll be able to use it like you normally do after rebooting.
However, if it wasn’t able to repair itself successfully, your PC will then turn to external means for help, which is why you end up seeing the blue screen of death. If you really think about it, the blue screen of death allows you to know what kind of threat you’re up against, ultimately helping you avoid further data loss.
That being said, the blue screen of death is typically caused by the following:
- Incompatibility
- Hardware has been damaged or is faulty
- Your PC has been infected by a virus
- Your Windows OS is outdated
- Your Windows drivers are corrupted
Of course, there could be other reasons why you’re seeing the blue screen of death, but these are the main causes.
3 Ways to Fix It
Update Windows
One of the first things you need to check is whether your Windows OS is updated. It’s always important to make an effort in updating your Windows computer because outdated devices could lead to incompatibility and even corruption. There’s a high chance that if your computer is regularly updated, you prevent your PC from experiencing the blue screen of death.
Here’s what you need to do to update your Windows:
- Go to Settings and then Update & Security.
- Click on the button that says Check for updates.
- Your PC will begin searching for any new updates.
- If it found any, go ahead and download/install the update.
- Afterward, simply restart your computer and the update will be installed successfully.
Check Hardware
Before anything else, it’s important to note that you may skip this part if you own a laptop, as this is only applicable to PC users. With that out of the way, another possible cause for the blue screen of death is the hardware, so that’s one of the main things you need to check as well. You need to make sure that every piece on your computer is working as it should. So, carefully inspect your RAM, motherboard, hard disk, GPU, SATA cable, and more—make sure they’re secure and connected properly.
Update Drivers
If you’ve tried the above methods and the issue still persists, you can try updating your computer’s drivers. Most of the time, updating your drivers can help resolve any incompatibility issues on your PC. Computers usually update their drivers automatically, but if you want to do it manually, you can use the Device Manager to do so.
- Using Windows’ search function, type in Device Manager.
- Click the drop-down arrow on the Display adapters section. This will showcase all your graphics card drivers.
- Right-click on the graphics card driver you want to update, and then select Update Driver Software.
- Once that’s done, restart your PC.
Conclusion
Seeing the blue screen of death can be terrifying, especially when you know the implications, but there’s no need to worry. The next time you see this horrifying blue screen, go ahead and try out the methods mentioned above to remedy the issue.
