While using a Windows computer, you may have come across the Blue screen of death error, but did you know there are seven other similar types of errors with different colors assigned to them? In this article, we will fix one of those seven other types: the Red screen of death error on Windows.
What Does Red Screen of Death Mean?
You must’ve heard about the Blue screen of death, a common error response on a Windows computer. The Red screen of death is a similar kind of error response. The reason for its different color coding than the Blue screen of death shows its urgency. The issue commonly occurs due to hardware component failure, driver malfunction, or software malfunction. Solving this error is easy. Here are seven typical issues that users usually encounter with the RSOD error.
- Windows Startup Red Screen: The Windows startup red screen occurs right when you boot your Windows and won’t let you access any Windows function until you restart your computer. This can occur due to some essential boot software or driver malfunctioning.
- Loading Red Screen: Loading red screen usually occurs while opening a GPU or CPU-heavy software. This can be due to component failure or overclocking of the GPU and CPU.
- Excel Red Screen Error: Many users have also encountered the error while using MS excel, the possible cause for this being outdated component drivers.
- Nvidia Red Screen: The RSOD on computers powered by NVidia GPUs can occur due to overheating the GPU. It can also occur due to outdated drivers.
- Cursor – Audio Red Screen: The issue is primarily caused due to outdated audio and video drivers.
It can occur for various reasons, including Faulty hardware components, overheating, outdated drivers, UEFI or BIOS Issues, and GPU Failure.
Well, now that you have a fair idea of where can how this error can occur, let’s proceed with learning in more detail why does the red screen of death error occur?
Fix Red Screen of Death on Windows
In this article section, we’ll discuss ten ways to fix the RSOD on Windows 10/11. These methods fix the causes we discussed in the former part of this article. Please make sure that you check all of the methods once before applying any of them. Here’s all that’s discussed ahead:
- Restart Your Computer and Wait Patiently
- Unplug All External Devices and Reconnect the Power Cable
- Update your BIOS/UEFI to Fix RSOD Error
- Reinstall Your Memory to Fix the Red Screen of Death
- Reinstall Windows 10 to Fix the RSOD Error
- Remove Overclock Settings to Fix the Error
- Uninstall softOSD.exe Process
- Change the DXVersion
- Reinstall AMD Drivers and Turn On Include Subfolders
- Uninstall the Recently Installed Software
Let’s now understand these methods one by one.
1] Restart Your Computer and Wait Patiently
Restarting your computer gives the malfunctioning components of your PC a reboot. They can revert to normal functioning after reboot. If the RSOD error occurred during startup, then Windows will automatically collect a report of errors and restart.
If the Red Screen Of Death occurs where the prompt does not say that your PC will automatically restart, the only way to restart your PC is to shut off the power supply and attempt a startup directly.
2] Unplug All External Devices and Reconnect the Power Cable
External devices can end up interfering with the processes on your computer and cause errors such as RSOD. You can try the plugin out all the external devices and shut off the power supply to your computer to restore everything to normal.
3] Update your BIOS/UEFI to Fix RSOD Error
BIOS/UEFI is your computer’s most important component to startup. If the BIOS/UEFI is outdated enough, you will have to update it for the proper functioning of your PC. The steps to access and update the BIOS are different for each motherboard manufacturer. There are some steps, however, which are required for every manufacturer to update BIOS. Here they are:
- Firstly you need to know the Manufacturer’s name and version for your PC’s motherboard. For this, head to the start menu, search for the System Information utility and open it.
- Now, on the System Summary page of the utility, find the lines, Baseboard manufacturer, and Baseboard Product.
- Head to the manufacturer’s website, look up the motherboard version using the version number and download the updated BIOS.
- Some manufacturers provide separate utility software to update BIOS/UEFI. If the manufacturer does not have one, the detailed instructions for a manual update can also be found on the same website.
4] Reinstall Your Memory to Fix the Red Screen of the Death
Sometimes, the RSOD can occur due to an issue with how your RAM is installed. Over time, the RAM component may accumulate dust and carbon, which can interfere with its functioning.
You can access your laptop’s or desktop’s motherboard to reinstall your RAM. Then detach the RAM from the sockets and clean the golden part. Then reinstall the RAM as it is.
5] Reinstall Windows to Fix the RSOD Error
Reinstalling Windows can fix many errors, including the RSOD error. You first need to download the latest ISO for the Windows version to reinstall Windows. Once done, create a Windows 11/10 Bootable USB or a DVD from an ISO file. Once done, boot into the USB drive, and proceed with the onscreen instructions to reinstall Windows.
6] Remove Overclock Settings to Fix the Error
Overclocking PCs is often done by users looking to extract the extra juice of performance from them. While overclocking a PC does succeed in boosting performance, it also does end up overstraining PC components, which causes errors such as RSOD. You can remove overclocking settings from your PC by accessing the BIOS. The procedure to disable overclocking settings from BIOS or UEFI varies for each motherboard manufacturer.
7] Uninstall softOSD.exe Process
The SoftOSD.exe process is software that sometimes comes preinstalled, or users can install it. This utility controls multiple displays connected to your computer. This software also allows the user to modify aspects related to the default display on the user’s computer.
The software is non-essential and is not important for the regular functioning of Windows. Many users have reported that the RSOD error occurred on their computers because of this process. Since it is an unessential utility, you can uninstall it from Windows settings.
8] Change the DXVersion
Many users have encountered the RSOD error while running some specific games on their Windows PC. The possible cause behind this issue can be the incompatibility of the games with the DirectX version the game is currently running on. DirectX is a series of APIs responsible for the seamless interaction of the game and graphics card for smooth rendering. Many games are compatible with the older versions of DirectX, while your computer may be running a more recent version.
You can change the Direct X version used by the game by modifying a single line of code in the game’s settings.ini file. To change the DirectX version, please find the settings.ini file for the game and open it in a text editor like Notepad. Now, look for the line DxVersion = auto and replace it with DxVersion = X (X stands for the version number). Now, save the file, and the error will be resolved.
Related: Can’t Change or Create a New Power Plan in Windows
9] Reinstall AMD Drivers and Turn On Include Subfolders
The graphic drivers on your PC are primarily responsible for functioning the display and rendering of graphics. If there is an issue with your PC’s AMD or Nvidia drivers, the RSOD error may occur.
You can download the driver from the OEM website or Optional Windows Update or use a third party to update the drivers. The OEM method is the best way, as the drivers are readily available, and you can check the version number and compatibility before installing them.
10] Uninstall the Recently Installed Software
An application with enough privilege can interfere with your system and its components in many ways and cause an RSOD error. If you have not been facing the error before, it has started occurring more recently. Then, uninstalling any recently installed software should do the job.
Head to the Windows settings to uninstall software and open the Apps section. In the Apps, open installed apps. Look for the recently installed applications in the Installed apps, click the triple dot icon, and select uninstall.
If there are traces of programs left after uninstalling, you can follow our guide on how to remove the application completely.
Conclusion:
There is no definite cause for the RSOD error, which can occur due to various factors. With this article, we tried to cover the most frequently occurring causes and their solutions. We hope you found the article knowledgeable and can fix the Red Screen of Death on Windows.
