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Fix: Red Screen of Death Errors on Windows PC [10 Ways]

Quickly Fix a PC crashing with red screen

8 min. read

Updated onOctober 30, 2024

updated onOctober 30, 2024

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If you’re a Windows 10 user, you are probably familiar withBlue Screen of Death, but some users have reported red screen on Windows 10.

After the red screen shows, you won’t be able to do anything, and you’ll be forced to manually restart your computer. What is the cause of the red screen and how to fix it?

In most cases, a red screen on Windows 10 is caused by a hardware error, especially if you overclock your computer. Sometimes a red screen can be caused by incompatible drivers or BIOS issues, so let’s see how to fix that.

What does a red screen of death mean?

What does a red screen of death mean?

A red screen is an unusual problem that can occur on Windows 10. Speaking of red screen issues, users reported the following problems as well:

How can I fix the Red Screen of Death errors on Windows 10?

How can I fix the Red Screen of Death errors on Windows 10?

1. Use a repair tool

Using athird-party repair toolcan be the best and fastest solution to solve the Red Screen of Death errors on Windows 10.

2. Remove the overclocking settings

In order to get the best performance out of their hardware, users oftenoverclocktheir CPU or GPU. Overclocking means changing the hardware clock rate, multiplier, or voltage.

Although this gives you increased performance, it also increases the heat that your CPU or GPU produces.

Due to increased heat, your CPU or GPU might become unstable, or in the worst-case scenario, you canpermanently damageyour hardware if you’re not careful.

As you can see, overclocking isn’t for basic users, and if you’re getting a red screen on Windows 10, you might want to remove any overclocking settings.

Removing overclocking settings is usually done through BIOS, and it’s different for each type of BIOS. If you haven’t overclocked your CPU or GPU, you can skip this solution.

3. Update your BIOS/UEFI

Sometimes a Red screen on Windows 10 might be caused by your BIOS/UEFI, and in order to fix it, you need to update it.

This isn’t a procedure intended for basic users, and if you don’t do it properly, you can causepermanent damageto your computer.

In order to update your BIOS/UEFI, you need to visit your motherboard manufacturer’s website and download the latest version.

Most motherboard manufacturers have instructions on their website on how to update BIOS, so if you’re planning to update your it, make sure that you read those instructions first in order to avoid any unnecessary damage.

If you don’t knowhow to update BIOSproperly, here’s an excellent guide to learn all about it.

4. Update your graphic card driver

In addition, you might want to update your graphics card drivers. If you use a desktop PC, go to your graphics card manufacturer’s website and download the latest drivers for your graphics card.

If you use a laptop, go to your laptop manufacturer’s website, find your laptop model, and download the latest drivers for it.

Updating the drivers manually can create additional problems on your PC if you install the wrong version of them.

As a result of that, we recommend you update your drivers automatically using third-party software. Thus, you will prevent file loss and even permanent damage to your PC.

On the same note, you might consider a suitable driver solution from thebest driver update softwarefor your Windows 10 PC.

5. Check for hardware malfunctions

Sometimes a red screen can be caused byfaulty hardware, and users have reported that a faulty graphics card can cause this problem.

If your computer is under warranty, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take it to the repair shop to have it checked for hardware malfunctions.

Few users have reported that a red screen was caused due to a faulty graphic card, and after replacing the problematic card, everything went back to normal.

There are also reports that CD/DVD readers may cause this issue in some rare cases, so you might want to temporarily remove your CD/DVD reader.

6. Remove recently installed software

Sometimes in order to fix this problem, you need to remove all files associated with the software you uninstalled. The fastest and most effective way to do that is to use an uninstaller application.

If you need an uninstaller app, we strongly recommend you try the following software solution. It’s extremely simple to use thanks to its clean and friendly user interface.

Hence, you can find many uninstaller solutions that remove problematic apps from your PC, but you should choose from thebest uninstaller softwareto fix this issue properly.

7. Reinstall AMD drivers without Catalyst Control Center

For a faster process, you can also rely on the software recommended in the solution above.

8. Recover the atikmdag.sys file

9. Change the settings.ini file

Note:Users report that the red screen affectsBattlefield: Bad Company 2, and in order to fix this issue, you need to change the game’ssettings.inifile.

10. Underclock your graphic card

Sometimes underclocking your device can fix the red screen issues on Windows 10. Few users have reported that lowering the original takt rate on AMD 7870X graphic card has fixed the red screen issues for them.

Once again, if you don’t know how to underclock your graphic card, ask a professional to do it for you.

Red screen issues in Windows 10 can be quite serious, and in most cases, these issues are related to your hardware, so while fixing this problem on Windows, be careful to avoid any potential damage.

Some users might confusered tint on a laptop screenwith this issue, but the two aren’t related.

As always, make sure to leave your comments in the section below.

More about the topics:BSoD error codes

Milan Stanojevic

Windows Toubleshooting Expert

Milan has been enthusiastic about technology ever since his childhood days, and this led him to take interest in all PC-related technologies. He’s a PC enthusiast and he spends most of his time learning about computers and technology.

Before joining WindowsReport, he worked as a front-end web developer. Now, he’s one of the Troubleshooting experts in our worldwide team, specializing in Windows errors & software issues.

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Milan Stanojevic

Windows Toubleshooting Expert

Before joining WindowsReport, he worked as a front-end web developer. Now, he’s specialized in Windows errors & software issues.