Did your Windows PC crash? 6 solutions to fix my computer that I can always rely on

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ZDNET Highlights

• The black screen of death is incredibly annoying, but can often be easily diagnosed.
• The most common culprits are outdated software or faulty drivers.
• With a few quick fixes and basic maintenance, you can restore your computer and avoid costly repairs.

Why is it that your computer always decides to crash at the worst possible time? You may be in the middle of a productive work session when suddenly the Black Screen of Death rears its ugly head (or Blue Screen, if you’re still running an OS older than Windows 11). Even the most well-maintained person is not immune to this.

Also: How much RAM will you need in 2025? My Expert Advice for Windows and Mac Users

Usually, these problems are caused by something as simple as running too many processes in the background, causing your computer to drain its RAM and crash under heavy pressure.

Restarting your computer and closing additional apps is often the easiest solution, but sometimes, you’ll need to take a more practical approach with your Windows PC.

It is important that you learn to identify and resolve these issues early. Doing so will help extend the lifespan of your device, boost performance, and, most importantly, save you money. This guide marks the beginning of a new series in which I show you the best ways to troubleshoot common PC problems. For this first entry, I’m going to explain how to overcome slowdown, what to do when you encounter the blue screen of death, as well as some other quick solutions.

crush sluggish performance

Let’s say you are experiencing performance degradation even after closing all the extra apps and browser tabs on Chrome. Your PC still feels slow as molasses. The best thing to do here is to install the latest Windows 11 patch from the Windows Update section of the Settings menu. Microsoft regularly releases several fixes every second Tuesday of each month. Apart from addressing security vulnerabilities, they also bring performance improvements.

However, you may want to stop the installation. Recent reports state that the October 2025 patch is believed to cause a “serious recovery mode glitch.” There is a workaround available, although I wouldn’t blame you if you skipped it.

In addition to downloading the latest Windows updates, I recommend disabling unnecessary startup programs to free up system resources. Follow this path: Open Task Manager from the Start menu, go to the “Startup Apps” tab as indicated by the throttle icon, and right-click a program. Click “Disable” to turn off anything you don’t want to launch. This is a small change that can make your PC significantly faster.

Just be careful not to get overzealous. I recommend closing your identified processes. If you’re not sure what something is, a quick Google search can usually give you an idea.

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I also suggest running an antivirus to clean out any malware present in your files. Windows Security is a highly capable first-party anti-virus program. Under the Virus & Threat Protection tab, press Quick Scan to quickly check “folders on your system where threats are commonly found.” The Scan option provides access to additional scan tools.

If you prefer a third-party app with more robust features, check out ZDNET’s list of the best antivirus software for Windows. Malwarebytes This is the best Windows 11 antivirus, but there are other great options too.

Blue or black screen?

with the release of Update KB5062660 For Windows 11, Microsoft has replaced the Blue Screen of Death with the Black Screen of Death (BSOD), and it’s just as annoying. This error screen appears when some type of serious system failure occurs; There is no single culprit that is solely responsible for BSOD.

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The first thing you should do when a crash occurs is to pay attention to the error code displayed at the bottom center of the screen. These codes indicate what may have caused the accident, but not the exact culprit. Dell has a short list common error codes On its website, something like DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION, which indicates that your drivers are either out of date or incompatible with your computer.

Since these codes are inherently ambiguous, it is difficult to provide solutions to these problems without knowing the exact cause. For this example, I’m going to focus on the DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION code. This is a solution that usually resolves BSOD.

First, you’ll need to boot your PC in Safe Mode, which is a stripped-down version of Windows 11 that loads only essential files and services. This also reduces the chances of the Black Screen of Death appearing. When you launch the Settings menu, go to System > Recovery > Advanced startup > Restart now. If your PC crashes before you reach this menu, hold down the Shift key while restarting to enter Advanced Startup Mode.

From there, follow this path: Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart, then press F5
To reboot Windows 11 in Safe Mode.

While in Safe Mode, open Device Manager > expand “Display adapters” > right-click the entry > Update Drivers > “Search automatically for drivers.” Restart your computer to exit Safe Mode after the update is finished.

If the BSOD persists, the culprit may be another hardware driver, so continue updating other components. You can remove any recently installed drivers by expanding the same hardware component entry and going to Properties > Drivers > Roll Back Drivers. This may take a little trial and error; However, in the majority of cases, performing these steps will resolve the Black Screen of Death without the need for a full system restore.

Easy solutions for BSOD

Here are some other fixes you can do in just a few minutes to resolve the black screen of death.

• Sometimes, a newly installed app can trigger BSOD. Perhaps something went wrong during installation. You can try to uninstall the program directly, but if your Windows PC crashes before you can do any uninstalling, boot into Safe Mode first, then remove the app.
• Corrupted system files are another common culprit of BSOD. Open command prompt as administrator. Type “chkdsk” and press Enter to run the scan. If the scan finds any errors, follow “chkdsk /r” to repair damaged files.
• Heat is the computer killer. Excessive temperatures result in reduced performance and possible physical damage. Check out my guide on how to properly clean your PC. To make a long story short, take a can of compressed air and blow out the dust collected in the holes.

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