Top 6 Ways to Fix White Screen of Death on Windows 10

Hardware failure is the number one cause of the white screen of death. There are also cases where software glitches can result in a blank screen with no code. Most of the time, force restarting your computer can solve the problem. But there are times when you need to do a lot more to clear the white screen of death.

1. Force restart your device

An application or software that suddenly stops working can cause a WSOD. To resolve blocked apps, restart your device. Here’s how to do it.

Long press your computer’s power button to turn it off. Give it about 10 seconds and press the power button to restart it.

For laptops, you can unplug and plug in the power cable again. You can then restart the computer and check if the system boots correctly.

2. Update graphics drivers

Most of the time, the WSOD occurs because of an issue with the display drivers. If there is an outdated or incompatible graphics driver, the likelihood of facing the white screen is widespread. Follow these steps to update your drivers.

Step 1: Right click on the Windows icon and tap on Device Manager from the list.

2nd step: Find the Graphics Cards option and expand the list.

Step 3: Right click on each driver and tap on Update Driver option.

Step 4: Select how you want to search for the drivers and follow the on-screen prompts to start the process.

Step 5: Wait for the process to complete and restart your system to make the changes.

You can also select Uninstall the drivers, then restart your computer and Windows will reinstall the updated drivers.

Running your system with only the basic functions could help solve the white screen of death. This is because starting your Windows in safe mode ensures that a minimum number of applications are running on your device. Safe Mode also temporarily disables third-party applications and runs your system with default settings.

To open your system in safe mode, follow these steps.

Step 1: Press Windows + R keys.

2nd step: Type msconfig in the dialog box and press Enter.

Step 3: In the system setup window, select the start option.

Step 4: Scroll down and check the Secure Boot button.

Step 5: If you want to use a safe mode network connection, check the box for the Network option. You can then complete the process by pressing the OK and Apply tabs to update the changes.

Step 6: Restart your system and your computer will launch into Safe Mode.

4. Disconnect external devices

The USB drive, memory card, and other external devices may be the cause of the problem. First try unplugging them, along with other additional peripherals, then try restarting your Windows computer.

If the system boots up without error, then you will need to troubleshoot one of these devices separately.

5. Update Windows

Updating Windows will ensure that you are using the latest features and bug fixes. By keeping the Windows operating system up to date, you can fix potential bugs. Here’s how.

Step 1: Click the Start icon in the lower left corner and select the Settings tab.

2nd step: Select the Update & Security option.

Step 3: Select Windows Update and in the right pane look for updates and if there are any click on the Download button.

Step 4: Wait for the process to complete and restart your device to install the changes.

To note: Do not restart or shut down your computer during this process. Interrupting the process could provide incomplete or faulty fixes to Windows update files.

6. Uninstall a recent Windows update

If you find that the WSOD started appearing after a recent Windows update, you can revert to the old version to resolve the issue. Here is how you can do it.

Step 1: Click Settings, then Update & Security, and on the Windows Update page, tap Show update history.

2nd step: Click Uninstall updates to display the list of installed applications.

Repair the white screen of death

The methods mentioned above should help fix the WSOD. To add to this, you can inspect the motherboard, processor, RAM, hard drive, and screen for other underlying issues. Various software and hardware issues can trigger a white screen of death. It is up to you to know who you are dealing with so that the problem can be fixed.