‘Driver Power State Failure’ in Windows 10 [SOLVED]

It is very bothering when there is an error in our PC. We will not be able to perform the tasks we want to when there is a problem with the PC. One of the most commonly encountered problems of personal computers is “Driver Power State Failure”.

This is also known as blue screen of death. Usually, Windows 10 users face this error very often. This error may appear on your PC while playing games, using any software like AutoCAD, browsing websites or while using Photoshop.

This error is so absurd that it may appear on your PC even when you are not doing anything. Additionally, you may also see error code 0x0000009F or nvlddmkm.sys, ntoskrnl.exe driver names. The reason behind this is power management for specific devices.

Driver Power State Failure in Windows 10

The Driver Power State Failure usually occurs when the PC tries to awake a device from low power to idle state but the respective driver won’t respond. There may be many other reasons that cause this BSoD error. This is mostly a result of compatible drivers present in your pc.

Luckily, you can avoid this horrifying error by installing the best software on your personal computer. Depending on the cause of the error, you can fix the error by simply restarting the PC or use the below methods.

Read Also:

  1. Stream Disk Write Error
  2. Kmode Exception Not Handled
  3. ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT

Many Windows 10 users panic when they see the blue screen of death. There is nothing to panic, you can fix the error by following the easy steps mentioned below. Mostly you see this blue screen of death when you log in to your pc.

Driver Power State Failure is an annoying error which troubles you and your pc. The windows users reported the following issues caused by Driver Power State Failure error. Let us know what are they:

  • Driver Power State Failure Stop Code – this is one of the typical BSoD errors that pop up on your screen while using.
  • Driver Power State Failure Windows 10 Toshiba, HP, Dell, Acer, Alienware, Samsung, Sony, Lenovo – the worst thing is this error affects almost all the devices. Many users of HP, Lenovo, and Dell complained about this problem.
  • Driver Power State Failure Nvidia – as the name suggests, we can understand that it is mostly related to Nvidia graphics card, we have provided you with the necessary solution to avoid the error.
  • Driver Power State Failure USB – this is a USB device error which means, this error occurs when you connect a specific USB device to your pc. To fix the issue, you might have to disconnect all the USBs connected to your PC and find that one or more USBs that is causing the error.
  • Driver Power State Failure on Startup, Boot – this error appears when you boot up your computer. In case if this error shows up during startup, then you won’t be able to turn on or use your PC at all.
  • Driver Power State Failure Kaspersky, McAfee – third-party applications or software such as your antivirus may cause this error. As per the users’ statements, it is found that this error is mostly caused by Kaspersky or McAfee.
  • Driver Power State Failure Blue Screen – users usually encounter a 0x0000009f error code on their PC and it is triggered by a driver-related issue. Anyways Microsoft solved this problem in the update file KB 2983336.
  • Driver Power State Failure ntoskrnl.exe – This error sometimes shows you the file name that is causing the error. ntoskrnl.exe mostly triggers this problem.

We have provided you with nine most effective solutions which will let you fix the Driver Power State Failure. Before fixing the issue, we advise you to go through the entire guide and have a quick-reading at each solution.

Choose the appropriate solution for the Driver Power State Failure error in your pc. Always start with the easy and effective solutions. That will save your valuable time as well as give you the expected result.

Solution 1: Update your Drivers

Driver Power State Failure problem mostly occurs when the drivers become outdated, or when there are more than one incompatible drivers in your system.

You can update the drivers in two ways, updating windows, manually using Windows Update, or the easiest way is installing the latest drivers using a trusted third-party product. Follow the below steps in case if you can log in to Windows 8.1 or Windows 10:

Step 1: At first, download the “TweakBit Driver Updater” and install it in your pc.

Step 2: Next, after the installation of Driver Updater, the installed program will scan your PC automatically and it will cross-check all your installed drivers with its cloud database. Wait patiently until the scanning is completed. Automatically, the Driver Updater will recommend you for the proper updates.

Step 3: Finally, when the scanning process is finished, it will generate a report of detected problems found on your pc. Observe the list and update the drivers conveniently. You can install all recommended updates at once by clicking on the “Update All” button at the bottom or install the individual update by clicking “Update Driver” link adjacent to the driver name.

Note –  Some drivers required to be updated at several steps. Hence click “Update” whenever asked and install all the components.

Disclaimer: See that all the functions of this tool are not free.

Solution 2: Enter Safe Mode and Remove the Recently Installed Drivers

The first and the foremost thing we need to do is entering into the Advance startup of Windows 10 by following the below steps:

Step 1: Enter the BIOS first and check whether the CD/DVD drive is set as your first boot device.

Step 2: In the CD/DVD drive insert the Microsoft Windows 8.1 boot DVD.

Step 3: The third step is to reboot your Windows 8, Windows 10 OS.

Step 4: Now you will be prompted by a message stating “Press any key to boot from CD or DVD”. So, press any key on your keyboard to boot the Windows 8 installation from the inserted CD or DVD.

Step 5: Click left or click on the “Next” button in the window that pops up after booting Windows 8.1 DVD.

Step 6: Then, a screen will be appeared with “Repair Your Computer” option, tap on that option or click left.

Step 7: Now, tap on the “Troubleshoot” option or click left.

Step 8: In the next window that appeared, click-left or tap on “Advanced options”.

Step 9: Tap on the “Command Prompt” option or left-click in the Advanced options window.

Step 10: Type C: in the command prompt and press enter.

Step 11: Next type this in the command prompt: BCDEDIT /SET {DEFAULT} BOOTMENUPOLICY LEGACY and press enter.

Step 12: Type “EXIT” in the command prompt and press enter to exit from the command prompt.

Step 13: In this final step, remove the inserted Windows CD/DVD and restart the computer.

On finishing the above steps, enter the Safe Mode and delete recently installed drivers by following these steps to solve Driver Power State Failure:

Step 1: After rebooting the computer keep pressing the F8 button on the keyboard.

Step 2: Select Safe Mode in the list of options from the Menu.

Step 3: Now, open “Device Manager” while Safe Mode starts.

Step 4: Uninstall all the recent last installed drivers. You can uninstall them by right-clicking on the drivers and choosing “Uninstall Device option”.

Step 5: Once again restart your computer and check if you are facing the same error. If you are facing the same error, then remove all other recently installed drivers and repeat this step until your PC works normally.

Note: If you find the driver that is causing the blue screen error then visit the manufacturer’s website and check if there is any updated version is available that is compatible with your system to prevent from the Driver Power State Failure error again.

Solution 3: Perform an SFC Scan

Most of the times, Driver Power State Failure is caused due to corrupted files. However, this problem can be effortlessly resolved by performing an SFC scan. Below are the steps to perform the SFC scan:

Step 1: Press “Windows + X” keys on the keyboard and select “Command Prompt (Admin)” Driver Power State Failure error from the menu. (In case if Command prompt is not available, select “Powershell (Admin)”).

Step 2: Type sfc /scannow and click enter.

Step 3: As the scanning process starts and it may take more than 10 minutes for scanning. (Make sure you don’t interrupt the process while scanning).

If you are unable to fix the problem using SFC scan it is advisable to use DISM scan instead. Please follow the below steps:

Step 1: Open the “Command Prompt (Admin)” as mentioned in above step 1.

Step 2: Here, feed these commands in the Command Prompt:

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /scanhealth

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

Run these commands by clicking enter.

Step 3: Check if the issue is solved after running both the commands.

Always run SFC scan after DISM scan completion if you were unable to perform SFC scan earlier. On completing both the scans, the error message will not appear anymore.

Solution 4: Change Your Power Settings

Driver Power State Failure may occur due to the existing power settings in your pc. To change those settings, follow these simple steps:

Step 1: In the search bar enter “Control Panel” or press “Windows + X” on the keyboard and select “Control Panel” from the list.

Step 2: From the list displayed, select “Power Options”.

Step 3: Click Choose what power the button does.

Step 4: Then Change the settings that are currently available

Step 5: At last, disable “Turn off fast startup (recommended)”, “Sleep” and “Hibernate” options by unchecking the boxes. Click on the “Save” button to apply and save the changes.

Solution 5: Change Your Power Plan Settings

Current power plan may also be a reason for Driver Power State Failure. Follow these steps and change the power plan settings:

Step 1: Locate and open “Power Options” and select your current plan then click on “Change Power Plan Settings”.

Step 2: Select “Change advanced power settings” and a list of things appeared.

Step 3: Open “Sleep” section from the list and see whether “Sleep and Hibernate” are set to “Never“. Also, check-in “Power buttons and lid” section is set as “Do Nothing”. Save the changes by clicking on “Apply” followed by “Ok” buttons.

Optional step: Set “Graphics settings or PCI Express and Lnk State Power Management” and a “Wireless Adapter Settings” to “Maximum Performance”.

In case if you are using a laptop, it is recommended to remove the battery and connect it to the power outlet.

Solution 6: Disable or Remove Your Antivirus Software

Antivirus is a protective shield to your PC but it may sometimes interfere with Windows and cause Driver Power State Failure error. Try to temporarily disable the antivirus software and look if the error is fixed. If not, completely uninstall the antivirus software.

We highly recommend you to use a dedicated uninstalling tool to delete your antivirus completely and all its relating files.

Additionally, many companies offer a removal tool along with their antivirus software, download the related removal tool.

This process should solve the Driver Power State Failure, however, if the issue still retains then install the latest version of antivirus software or install different antivirus software.

Many users complained that Avast antivirus is mostly causing this issue but the other antivirus software may also create this kind of errors in your pc.

Solution 7: Revert Your Graphics Card Drivers to the Older Version

One of the reasons for Driver Power State Failure error is due to the old graphics card in your system. Revert to the older version of your Graphics Card Drivers to detect and fix the issue. Follow the below steps to do so:

Step 1: Open “Device Manager”. You will see the “Display Adapters” option, click on it to open. Then double click on the graphics card.

Step 2: After that, “Properties Window” will pop up and navigate to the “Driver” tab and click on “Roll Back Driver” option.

Step 3: Wait patiently until the process finishes.

If you can’t find “Roll Back” option then you got to uninstall your graphics card driver from “Device Manager” (you can uninstall graphics card driver and all its related files by using “Display Driver Uninstaller”).

Visit your graphics card manufacturer’s website after completely removing the driver and download the older version of your driver from the website. your problem should be resolved. Nvidia graphics are usually affected by this issue. Try this solution with other graphics card too.

Solution 8: Change the Power Settings in Nvidia Control Panel

Driver Power State Failure error is often occurred due to Nvidia graphics. Try these steps if you are encountering the issue. You can get rid of the failure error by tweaking the settings in the Nvidia Control Panel:

Step 1: Go to Nvidia Control Panel.

Step 2: Navigate to “Manage 3D Settings” on the left side of the control panel.

Step 3: Search for “Dedicated Graphics Card” option and change it to  “Preferred Graphics Processor”. Search for “Power Management Mode” in the appeared list of settings and click on “Prefer Maximum Performance”.

Step 4: In the final step, save changes and check if the problem is solved.

Most of the users stated that the above method i.e. switching to maximum performance option fixed the error for them. Albeit, this mode will use more battery power than usual. While using a laptop keep charging it. For AMD graphics card users, the settings are available in “Catalyst Control Centre”.

Solution 9: Change Your Device’s Power Options

Most of the systems go to sleep mode to save the battery and power. Sometimes this may cause Driver Power State Failure error. Follow these steps to disable the feature and to get rid of the issue:

Step 1: First go to “Device Manager” and locate “Network Adapter”.

Step 2: Double click on the “Network Adapter” to open its “Properties”.

Step 3: Next, navigate to the “Power Management” tab and uncheck the “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power” boxes.

Step 4: Finally click on the “Ok” button to save the changes.

This method should completely resolve the Driver Power State Failure error. Be aware that there are multiple devices on your PC that support this feature, hence disable this feature to save yourself from all problematic devices.

Choose one best solution from all the 9 methods. Make sure you read all the methods and steps before debugging the error to have an idea of fixing methods. All the mentioned solutions above will solve Driver Power State Failure error.

Read Also:

  1. 0xc0000142
  2. WHEA Uncorrectable Error
  3. Can’t Connect To This Network

If you are not able to fix then, you might have not followed all the steps systematically or your PC is not working at all.

You can happily login to you Windows 10 PC after performing the above steps. Hope your blue screen problem is solved. So, this is it guys, enjoy working with your PC and now you can do all the stuff you want without any errors.