Troubleshoot

How to Fix ‘Driver Power State Failure’ Error

Sooner or later most computer users will experience some type of issue with their equipment. Most of these issues are minor and can be easily corrected. However, there are some major computer errors that has the potential to permanently damage a person’s PC beyond repair. A driver power state failure malfunction is one type of computer error that can make an unit inoperable and cause people to lose important data and information.

Driver Error

In this article I will explain what this problem is and the steps that can be taken to correct the Driver_Power_State_Failure issue for systems using Windows 7, 8 and 10.

How can this Problem be Resolved? 

Normally, this issue can simply be resolved by restarting a PC unit. However, this simple solution does not always work. If a PC cannot overcome this issue with by restarting it, then there are two methods to solve the problem.

Note – Each method requires you to be able to boot into the PC. If you can’t boot normally then you have to try to boot into safe mode. 

>> Starting Windows 7 in Safe Mode

1. After a computer has been shut down or turned off, restart the unit and hit the F8 while the computer is starting up. You must hit the F8 key once every second until the screen goes into safe mode. Once it does just use the arrow key to select safe mode.

2. Keep in mind that a computer using Windows 7 will display hardware information before running a memory test. Once these two processes have been completed an Advanced Boot Options menu will be available for use. You can then follow the instructions on screen to resolve any BSOD issues.

>> Starting Windows 8 and 10 in Safe Mode 

Windows 8 and 10 can also be started in safe mode but in a different way. Press ‘Windows Key + R’ and then type in msconfig in Run box and press Enter.

Running msconfig

In the system configuration box click the “boot” tab. Once the boot tab has been selected check the “Safe boot” check box on the left and follow and then restart your computer.

Enabling Safe Boot

Remember that you need to disable this option again once you are done or your PC will keep restarting in safe mode.

If you still can’t get into safe mode then check this article to see other options on how to enter safe mode in Windows 10.

Once you are logged into Windows either normally or through safe mode, you can apply the methods below to get rid of the error.

Method 1 – Tweaking Power Savings Options 

Press the Windows key from your computer and type in Control Panel then press Enter.

getting into crontrol panel

Now select Small icons from the top right corner view options.

selecting icon view

Now click on Power Options from there.

power options

Click on Change Plan settings while Balanced is selected.

changing power plan

After that click Change Advanced Power Settings. 

advanced power settings

Expand Wireless Adapter Settings and under Power Saving Mode, select Maximum Performance.

maximum performance wireless

Now expand PCI Express by clicking the plus icon followed by Link state power management and then select Moderate power savings from the settings. Then click Apply and then OK.

Now restart your computer and check if you still get the BSOD error. If yes then follow method 2 given below.

Method 2 – Removing and Reinstalling Driver in Safe Mode

At this point we will try to get rid of the problematic drivers that’s causing the BSOD error. After starting in either regular mode or “Safe mode” log onto Windows with administrators account (if you have more than one user account)

  • Windows 7 users navigate to Start >> Control Panel and then click ‘Device Manager’ under icon view.
  • Windows 8 and 10 users can open device manager by pressing ‘Windows Key + R’ and then type in devmgmt.msc in the Run box and hit Enter.
  • On the “Device manager” window, expand the category of the device that has some issues (usually the ones with a yellow icon). Otherwise you have to kind of guess which device driver might be causing the issue here.
  • Once a list of drivers have been expanded, right-click the driver of the problematic device that is to be uninstalled.
  • Then click “Uninstall” to remove the selected driver.
  • Make sure to select “confirm device uninstall”
  • Once the affected driver has been uninstalled, the computer will then need to be restarted for the driver to be completely removed.

Method 3 – Keeping Drivers Updated Automatically or Manually

The best way to keep your drivers up-to-date is to keep the Windows updater on to prevent any future errors. You can also update a particular driver manually. Check out this post to see how you can turn on Windows automatic updater or manually update device drivers.

Performing these steps should fix the problem in Windows 7, 8 and 10. If the problem persists after this point, you computer might be experiencing some other major issues and you should contact the tech support guys nearby.

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