The blue screen error "DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION" is usually caused by a driver problem, storage device abnormality, third-party security software or hardware failure. 1. Check and roll back or update the recently installed drivers, especially graphics card, network card and storage controller drivers; 2. Troubleshoot hard disk or SSD issues, confirm that the BIOS is set correctly, check the health status of the hard disk and update the firmware; 3. Disable or uninstall third-party antivirus software, and use Windows Defender instead; 4. Check the memory and motherboard status, run the memory diagnostic tool and eliminate overclocking factors. Step-by-step testing of each possible cause helps accurately locate the problem.

When encountering the blue screen error "DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION", many people's first reaction is hardware problems or system crashes. In fact, the core of this error is that the system detects that a delayed procedure call (DPC) has been executed for too long, triggering the watchdog mechanism, resulting in a forced restart. It is usually related to drivers or hardware, but there are also many software-level possibilities.

1. Check for recently installed drivers or updates

In many cases, "DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION" is caused by incompatible or bugs in a certain device driver. Especially after problems occur in driving problems with key devices such as graphics cards, network cards, and storage controllers, it is easy to affect the stability of the system.

• You can try:
  • Roll back the recently updated driver
  • Uninstall suspicious drivers using Device Manager and reinstall
  • Update motherboard chipset drivers (especially Intel platform)

If you are not sure which driver is causing it, you can use tools such as BlueScreenView or WhoCrashed to analyze the dump file and find out the module name involved.

2. Troubleshooting hard drive or SSD issues

This error is sometimes related to storage devices, especially when the hard disk responds slowly or fails, and the system waits for I/O to complete too long and triggers the DPC timeout.

Common situations include:

• Using an old SATA hard disk, the interface mode setting is incorrect (for example, AHCI is mistakenly set to RAID)
• SSD has firmware problems or health status decreases
• There is a problem with the part of the driver that handles storage requests (such as nvme.sys or storahci.sys)

You can try:

• Check whether the hard disk mode in BIOS is correct
• Use CrystalDiskInfo to view the health status of the hard drive
• Update SSD firmware and related drivers

3. Disable or update third-party antivirus software/firewall

Some third-party security software can hook system calls at the underlying level, especially in file read and write or network communication, which can cause excessive DPC delays if they are not handled properly.

• Try temporarily uninstalling or disabling antivirus software (such as Kaspersky, Avast, etc.)
• Use the Defender that comes with Windows to see if there are still problems
• If you are sure that it is caused by a certain software, find the latest version or contact the manufacturer for support

4. Consider hardware issues: memory or motherboard

Although not as common as the driver, poor memory stick contact, unstable motherboard power supply, or improper overclocking settings may also cause DPC timeout.

• Can run Windows Memory Diagnostic for testing
• If there are multiple memory sticks, try to exclude them one by one
• Check whether the motherboard capacitor has bulge or burn marks
• If you overclocked the CPU or memory, try restoring the default settings

Basically, these common causes and solutions are all about them. This type of problem sometimes occurs repeatedly. It is recommended that you test it step by step during the troubleshooting process, and only change one variable at a time, so that it is easier to locate the real problem.

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