Blue screen errors can be very hard to understand and deal with. They render your computer useless, and they’re capable of causing significant loss to your projects and files. When you get a blue screen error, you should always see an error code at the bottom of your screen. One of these is “CRITICAL_STRUCTURE_CORRUPTION.”.
What causes the“CRITICAL_STRUCTURE_CORRUPTION” error?
Similar to most complex Windows 10 issues, there isn’t one definitive cause for this error. The active user base of the operating system was able to tie it to two scenarios thought, which are as follows.
There is a corrupted hardware component installed inside your computers, such as a faulty memory card or motherboard. This makes it so your computer is unable to constantly operate well, causing the “CRITICAL_STRUCTURE_CORRUPTION” error.
A driver has made changes to critical kernel code or data. This action may have been intentional or accidental, which makes the error quite unexpected.
Just like there are causes, there are multiple ways to solve this problem. Below are several methods proved to work against the “CRITICAL_STRUCTURE_CORRUPTION” error. Simply follow our steps and ensure that your files and system are in safety from the blue screen of death.
Optional: Log into Windows 10 using Safe Mode
Many Windows 10 users have reported that before troubleshooting this issue, you should boot your device up in Safe Mode.
This is optional, however, we recommend giving it a try in case none of the methods below seem to be working for you, or in case you can’t log into Windows 10 after the system crash. Here’s what you need to do to boot Windows 10 in Safe Mode.
Turn off your device, then press the power button to turn it back on. As soon as you see that Windows 10 is starting, hold the power button until your device shuts down again. Repeat this process until you enter winRE.
When in the winRE interface, you should see the “Choose an option” page.
Navigate through Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Startup Settings → Restart.
Your device should automatically restart itself. The next time it boots up, you’ll see a list of options. Choose option 5 from the list for Safe Mode.
Method 1: Uninstall any known problematic application
There are some known applications that have been reported to cause the “CRITICAL_STRUCTURE_CORRUPTION” error on Windows 10. Uninstalling these applications may fix the error from happening again.
At the moment, some of the known applications that cause this error are Daemon Tools, BlueStacks, Alcohol 120%, VirtualBox, Intel Hardware Accelerated Execution Manager, and MacDriver. These are only a few, so we recommend using the Windows Event Viewer (jump to Method 5.) to identify any other possible app.
If you have any of these applications installed on your device, follow the simple guide below to remove them. Doing so can potentially eliminate the possibility of this blue screen error from happening again.
Click on the Start menu in your taskbar, then choose “Settings.” Alternatively, you can press the Windows + I keys on your keyboard to open the app.
Click on the “Apps” tile.
Use the search function to look for the problematic application you have installed.
Click on the app and choose the “Uninstall” option.
Follow the on-screen instructions to properly remove the application.
When the uninstallation is complete, restart your computer.
Method 2: Update your graphics driver
Keeping your drivers updated is important. An outdated graphics driver may be able to cause frustrating errors on your device, and can ultimately lead to blue screens. Thankfully, updating these drivers is quite easy and doesn’t take any expertise — simply follow our steps to ensure you have the latest version of your driver.
First, you need to check what graphics card you’re using. If you don’t already know the exact model, follow these steps:
Press the Windows + R keys on your keyboard to bring up the Run utility. Here, simply type in “dxdiag” and press the OK button.
The DirectX Diagnostic Tool should open up on your screen. Use the header menu to switch to the “Display” tab.
In the “Device” section, check “Name.” You should be able to see the manufacturer and graphics, card model. Keep this in mind for the next steps.
After you’ve identified y
our graphics card, head over to the manufacturer’s website and locate a download page dedicated to drivers. We’ve compiled a list of some popular graphics card brands with links to their download page:
Intel Drivers & Software page
NVIDIA Driver download page
AMD Drivers and support page
Find your graphics card using the built-in search function, then download its latest driver compatible with your system.
Install the latest driver by double-clicking on the downloaded file, then following the on-screen instructions.
Method 3: Run the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool
Windows 10 comes with many troubleshooting tools to ensure that you can easily diagnose and fix problems without having to turn to customer service. One of these tools is Windows Memory Diagnostic, which is capable of identifying issues with your memory.
Here’s how you can run it.
Press the Windows + R keys on your keyboard to bring up the Run utility. Here, simply type in “mdsched.exe” and press the OK button.
Choose “Restart now and check for problems (recommended)” to instantly being a memory scan. Make sure to save any files and close all open applications before clicking on this option. Otherwise, choose “Check for problems the next time I start my computer” and restart the device at a more convenient time.
During the next boot, you’ll see the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool check for issues. Make sure to read all the information displayed on the screen and wait for the completion.
Once the memory test is complete, you’ll be able to see if any issues were identified. If there were none, your memory is luckily working fine.
Method 4: Run the System File Checker
The System File Checker is a tool available in Windows 10 by default. It’s also called an “SFC scan,” and it’s your quickest way to automatically fix corrupted system files and other issues.
Press the Windows + R keys on your keyboard. This is going to bring up the Run utility.
Type in “cmd” and press the Ctrl + Shift + Enter keys on your keyboard. Doing so, you’re launching the Command Prompt with administrative permissions.
If prompted, click Yes to allow the Command Prompt to make changes on your device.
Once in the Command Prompt, type in the following command and press Enter to execute it: sfc /scannow
Wait for the SFC scan to finish scanning your computer and repairing corrupt files. This may take a long time; ensure that you don’t close the Command Prompt or shut your computer down.
Restart your device after the scan is complete.
Method 5: Check the Event Viewer
Are you entirely unsure of what application, service, or other error caused the “Blue Screen of Death” to appear on your screen? Don’t worry, we know the perfect, built-in tool to use to identify what exactly happened on your device. It’s the Event Viewer.
With the Event Viewer, you can easily see the last thing that happened on your computer before it crashed. This will allow you to identify what exactly is causing your issue and resolve it more effectively by removing the app or disabling the service.
Press the Windows + X keys on your keyboard at the same time, then choose “Event Viewer” from the context menu.
Click on “Windows Logs” inside the left-side panel, then choose “System.” This should change the middle section to show all events with timestamps.
Locate the last event recorded before the “CRITICAL_STRUCTURE_CORRUPTION” error occurred on your system. If you see a certain application or service, this is most likely the culprit.
Method 6: Update Windows 10 to the latest release
If none of the methods above seemed to work, the last thing you can try is simply upgrading to the newest Windows 10 release. This can fix bugs, bring you new features, patch up security holes, and much more.
Here’s how you can update Windows 10.
Click on the Start menu and choose “Settings.” You can alternatively use the Windows + I keyboard shortcut as well.
Click on the “Update & security” tile.
Make sure to stay on the default “Windows Update” tab.
Click on the “Check for updates” button. When an update is found, click on the “Install” button and wait for Windows 10 to download and apply the update
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