Blue screen of death: critical process died stop code error

[Entrepreneur3636]

Hoping someone can help...

My computer, which I bought from PCspecialist 1.5 years ago, has suddenly stopped working. A blue screen pops up on start up and leads to a "critical process died" stop error code.

I've tried to start it in safety mode, but no joy.

I can't login to my user account to access the cmd or to rollback driver updates (which I've read online can help) because I can't remember the password.

My computer is under warranty still (I took out a gold warranty) but I've noted that under the gold warrany, data recovery isn't included (and I don't want to lose the files on my computer). I also don't want to be without my computer for a month or more, if possible.

If anyone can advise me, this would be much appreciated!

Thanks,

Zoe

 

[SpyderTracks]

I can't login to my user account to access the cmd or to rollback driver updates (which I've read online can help) because I can't remember the password.

Can you post your full specs from the order page?

 

[Entrepreneur3636]

Sure, here's a copy of the specs from my invoice:


Case FRACTAL DEFINE R6 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU) AMD Ryzen 7 3700X Eight Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.4GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard Gigabyte B450 AORUS ELITE: DDR4, USB 3.1 - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM) 32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card 6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive 2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive 1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
2nd M.2 SSD Drive 512GB ADATA SX6000 Pro PCIe M.2 2280 (2100 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIESTM SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable 1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling Noctua NH-U14S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD +

BT 5.0

USB/Thunderbolt Options MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online


Hope you can help!

 

[Entrepreneur3636]

Just to add, I have tried the autorepair option on startup and that doesn't work.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Just to add, I have tried the autorepair option on startup and that doesn't work.

So if you’ve set up windows correctly, all your data should be on the secondary drive?

If so you don’t have the password for windows anyway so you’d just have to clean install windows.

 

[Entrepreneur3636]

I didn't set up Windows, it was already on the computer when I got it - do you mean, did I set up the password when I first started it up?

Yes, I did but I've lost it.

If I do a clean install of windows, will I lose my files? And could you tell me how to do a clean install?

Thanks, much appreciated!

Zoe

 

[SpyderTracks]

I didn't set up Windows, it was already on the computer when I got it - do you mean, did I set up the password when I first started it up?

Yes, I did but I've lost it.

If I do a clean install of windows, will I lose my files? And could you tell me how to do a clean install?

Thanks, much appreciated!

Zoe

When you get a computer you need to setup where you want everything stored like your documents / downloads etc libraries.

It defaults to the c drive which is your windows drive, so if you didn’t configure it for the secondary drive then you would lose any data when reinstalling windows.

 

[ubuysa]

What happened immediately before the PC failed to boot? Did it happen immediately after installing a Windows Update?

Have you tried booting the Windows installation media, selecting the Repair My Computer option and running Startup Repair from there? If not, please try that now.

If Startup Repair cannot fix your booting problem then you have no choice but to reinstall Windows. As @SpyderTracks has said, this WILL erase everything on the C: drive. You need to know where your user data is located, if it's all on one of the other two drives then you can safely reinstall Windows without affecting it.

 

[Entrepreneur3636]

Startu

What happened immediately before the PC failed to boot? Did it happen immediately after installing a Windows Update?

Have you tried booting the Windows installation media, selecting the Repair My Computer option and running Startup Repair from there? If not, please try that now.

If Startup Repair cannot fix your booting problem then you have no choice but to reinstall Windows. As @SpyderTracks has said, this WILL erase everything on the C: drive. You need to know where your user data is located, if it's all on one of the other two drives then you can safely reinstall Windows without affecting it.

Startup repair didn't work.

How can I know if the data is on one of the other storage devices?

And, is there no way I can get the data back, if I sent it off to a data repair company?

 

[Entrepreneur3636]

When you get a computer you need to setup where you want everything stored like your documents / downloads etc libraries.

It defaults to the c drive which is your windows drive, so if you didn’t configure it for the secondary drive then you would lose any data when reinstalling windows.

I wish I had known this when I had got the computer!

 

[SpyderTracks]

Startup repair didn't work.

You need to run it from a windows installer disk.

 

[ubuysa]

Startup repair didn't work.

The a full reinstall is your only real option

How can I know if the data is on one of the other storage devices?

That's a strange question to be honest. Only you know where your data is located. If you can remember what those three drives looked like, were the other two drives (D: and E:?) empty or not?

If you've not specifically arranged for your data to be placed on one of those other two drives then it will have defaulted to your C: drive and you'll lose it if you reinstall.

And, is there no way I can get the data back, if I sent it off to a data repair company?

You can get the data back yourself.

Boot the Windows installation media and select the Repair My Computer option.

Navigate to the Command Prompt. From here you can access all three of your drives, but they may not have been assigned the same drive letters that you're used to (so your Windows drive may not be C: for example).

You first need to identify the drive letter that has been assigned to each of your drives by the installation system.

In the command prompt enter the command C: and press Enter. Then enter the command DIR and press Enter. If you see the normal Windows drive folders (Program Files, Program Files (x86), Windows, etc. etc.) then your Windows drive is C:.

Repeat the above process using the drive letter D: and E: and F: and so on if you need to. Use the DIR command on each new drive letter to see what's on there. I suspect that your Windows drive will be fully populated and the other two drives will be empty.

Now you're going to copy your user data off the C: drive onto one of those other drives - I'd pick the 2TB HDD.

Note the drive letter of that 2TB HDD (or the 1TB M.2 drive if you like) - in this example I'll call it D: and assume that your Windows drive is C:.

Enter the command copy /v C:\Users\*.* D: and wait for the copy to complete - it may well take a long time if you have a lot of data. (Note that the /v switch tells the copy command to verify that the data is correctly written, this greatly increases the time taken to complete the copy, but it's worth it).

Then switch to the destination drive (D: in my example) and enter the DIR command to verify that the Users folder and all folders underneath it are present - this is where all your user data will be located if you have not set things up differently to the defaults.

 

[Entrepreneur3636]

The a full reinstall is your only real option

That's a strange question to be honest. Only you know where your data is located. If you can remember what those three drives looked like, were the other two drives (D: and E:?) empty or not?

If you've not specifically arranged for your data to be placed on one of those other two drives then it will have defaulted to your C: drive and you'll lose it if you reinstall.

You can get the data back yourself.

Boot the Windows installation media and select the Repair My Computer option.

Navigate to the Command Prompt. From here you can access all three of your drives, but they may not have been assigned the same drive letters that you're used to (so your Windows drive may not be C: for example).

You first need to identify the drive letter that has been assigned to each of your drives by the installation system.

In the command prompt enter the command C: and press Enter. Then enter the command DIR and press Enter. If you see the normal Windows drive folders (Program Files, Program Files (x86), Windows, etc. etc.) then your Windows drive is C:.

Repeat the above process using the drive letter D: and E: and F: and so on if you need to. Use the DIR command on each new drive letter to see what's on there. I suspect that your Windows drive will be fully populated and the other two drives will be empty.

Now you're going to copy your user data off the C: drive onto one of those other drives - I'd pick the 2TB HDD.

Note the drive letter of that 2TB HDD (or the 1TB M.2 drive if you like) - in this example I'll call it D: and assume that your Windows drive is C:.

Enter the command copy /v C:\Users\*.* D: and wait for the copy to complete - it may well take a long time if you have a lot of data. (Note that the /v switch tells the copy command to verify that the data is correctly written, this greatly increases the time taken to complete the copy, but it's worth it).

Then switch to the destination drive (D: in my example) and enter the DIR command to verify that the Users folder and all folders underneath it are present - this is where all your user data will be located if you have not set things up differently to the defaults.

So, if the data is on the C: drive, I can still recover it?

I was thinking that I could have used an external enclosure to tranfer the data off it to another computer. Your method sounds easier! I'll have a go and see if it works.

You say to boot the Windows installation media first, will this be in the startup options?

Thanks!

 

[ubuysa]

So, if the data is on the C: drive, I can still recover it.

I was thinking that I could have used an external enclosure to tranfer the data off it to another computer. Your method sounds easier! I'll have a go and see if it works.

You say to boot the Windows installation media first, will this be in the startup options?

Thanks!

The Windows installation media is either a DVD or USB stick containing the Windows installation files.

 

[Entrepreneur3636]

So, if the data is on the C: drive, I can still recover it.

I was thinking that I could have used an external enclosure to tranfer the data off it to another computer. Your method sounds easier! I'll have a go and see if it works.

You say to boot the Windows installation media first, will this be in the startup options?

Thanks!

The Windows installation media is either a DVD or USB stick containing the Windows installation files.

I didn't get a USB stick with my computer, where can get this from?

 

[ubuysa]

I didn't get a USB stick with my computer, where can get this from?

I wonder whether you have an experienced friend or relative who could help you out with this process?

It seems that you may not have the background knowledge necessary to recover your data and your system safely.

We can provide details on what you need to do, but it's not a terribly straightforward process and the scope for fouling up is pretty large.

 

[Entrepreneur3636]

I wonder whether you have an experienced friend or relative who could help you out with this process?

It seems that you may not have the background knowledge necessary to recover your data and your system safely.

We can provide details on what you need to do, but it's not a terribly straightforward process and the scope for fouling up is pretty large.

I don't have anyone who can help. I can follow instructions well though, if I have them in front of me.

 

[ubuysa]

Did you get a Windows DVD with the PC?

 

[Entrepreneur3636]

No, only an Aurus Gaming Motherboard DVD. A DVD wouldn't be any use anyway because I didn't have it made with a CD/DVD drive.

 

[Entrepreneur3636]

Did you get a Windows DVD with the PC?

No, only an Aurus Gaming Motherboard DVD. A DVD wouldn't be any use anyway because I didn't have it made with a CD/DVD drive.