How to fix Purple Screen of Death?

Question

Issue: How to fix Purple Screen of Death?

I’ve just received a Purple Screen of Death on my Windows computer. Is it different from Blue Screen of Death? How can I fix it? I hope it’s still possible… I am really concerned about my PC.

Solved Answer

Purple Screen of Death (PSOD)^[1] is quite an unusual problem which might be encountered by any Windows computer user. On some level, Blue Screen of Death^[2] is similar to this purple issue. However, they might inform about different problems with your device. Fortunately, all of these issues can be solved.

Typically, the Purple Screen of Death appears when a critical error occurs on VMkernel of an ESX/ESXi host. However, the problem might also be related to outdated drivers, external hardware, unstable GPU or other misconfigured computer settings. Hence, you can easily solve the issue by following our suggested methods below.

However, some users report that the Purple Screen of Death appears during a system upgrade. We have received several complaints about crashing computer when upgrading to Windows 10 from an older version of the operating system.

The latter case might be complicated because users cannot reboot or shut down the machine. However, we can ensure that it’s still possible to fix Purple Screen of Death on Windows.

Possible methods to fix Purple Screen of Death

When Purple Screen of Death appears, you should try to reboot the computer first. You can do it by holding down the power button for a while. In most cases, it’s enough to solve this unusual Windows issue. However, if it shows up again, try the following methods.

Method 1. Disconnect external drives and hardware

It might sound strange or unusual, but sometimes printers, mouse or other computer components might be causing such problems. Therefore, you should unplug all of the unnecessary devices and check if it helped to solve the issue.

Method 2. Update graphics card drivers

Finally, the issue might be related to the outdated graphics card drivers. Follow these steps to update them and check if it helped to fix Purple Screen of Death error:

1. Open Start.
2. Type Device Manager in the Windows search box.
   
3. When in Device Manager, expand the Display adapters category.
4. Right-click on the graphics card you want to update.
   
5. Choose Update Driver (or Update Driver Software) option.
   
6. Then click Search automatically for updated driver software option.
   
7. Wait until Windows find available drivers. However, if the search does not give needed results, you should access manufacturer’s website, and download needed drivers from there.

Method 3. Clean the heat sink

Often Purple Screen of Death appears due to the GPU overheat. Hence, you should clean the heat sink^[3] in order to decrease the heat. In order to do that, you have to turn off the computer, open the case and clean the dust carefully from all the components. However, if you still notice that your PC tends to overheat, you should consider adding an extra fan.

Method 4. Disable overclock settings

The overlocked computer might result in a high temperature of the machine. Therefore, device’s CPU or GPU might be high and unstable. In order to do so, you need to perform a BIOS or CMOS reset. It’s quite a complicated task, so if you are not sure how it’s done, you should consider contacting an IT specialist.

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