# How to Fix KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED in Windows 11

URL: https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-kmode-exception-not-handled-windows-11/
Published: 2026-08-02 | Author: Ankit Kumar
Tags: Windows 11, BSOD, Troubleshooting, Fix, Drivers
Summary: KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED means a kernel-mode program hit an error nothing caught. Find the driver behind it and stop the crashes with these ordered checks.
Recommended app: PC-Troubleshooter — https://www.mytechnician.tech/apps/windows-troubleshooter/ (Microsoft Store: https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9N7RWKW8SP24?hl=en-us&cid=mytechnician-web). Optional; every step below uses built-in Windows tools.

## The Problem
**KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED** (stop code `0x0000001E`) means something running in kernel mode — a driver, or occasionally Windows itself — raised an exception that no code was ready to catch. Kernel mode has no safety net, so Windows stops immediately rather than risk corrupting memory or your files.

Like [SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-system-thread-exception-not-handled-windows-11/), this one often prints the offending file in brackets. When it does, you have your answer. When it does not, the reliable order is: fast startup, recently changed drivers, third-party antivirus, then memory.

> **Crashing during shutdown or wake from sleep specifically?** Fast startup is the single most common cause — jump to Step 2.

## Symptoms
* Blue screen reading **KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED**, sometimes followed by a `.sys` filename.
* Crashes on shutdown, on waking from sleep, or a few minutes after logging in.
* Started after installing new hardware, a driver, or a security suite.
* The PC may boot fine in Safe Mode but crash reliably in normal mode.

## Step 1: Find Out What Failed
1. Photograph the screen and read anything in brackets after the stop code.
2. Press **Windows + R**, type `eventvwr.msc`, press Enter.
3. Open **Windows Logs** → **System** and filter by source **BugCheck**.
4. Confirm dumps are being written: **Windows + R** → `sysdm.cpl` → **Advanced** → **Startup and Recovery** → **Settings** → **Write debugging information** set to **Small memory dump (256 KB)**. Files land in `C:\Windows\Minidump`.
5. Full method: [how to use Event Viewer to find why your PC crashed](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/how-to-read-event-viewer-find-crash-cause/).

## Step 2: Turn Off Fast Startup
Fast startup saves the kernel and drivers to disk instead of shutting them down properly. If a driver does not survive that round trip, you get this exact stop code — and because the bad state is saved, it comes back every boot.

1. Open **Control Panel** → **Power Options** → **Choose what the power buttons do**.
2. Click **Change settings that are currently unavailable**.
3. Untick **Turn on fast startup (recommended)** and **Save changes**.
4. Restart — not shut down and power on, since a normal shutdown is what fast startup interferes with.
5. Give it a full day. If the crashes stop, leave it off; the boot time cost is a couple of seconds on an SSD.

## Step 3: Reverse the Most Recent Driver Change
1. Right-click **Start** → **Device Manager**.
2. Expand **Display adapters**, **Network adapters**, and **Sound, video and game controllers** — the three most common sources.
3. Right-click the device → **Properties** → **Driver** tab → **Roll Back Driver** if it is available.
4. If it is greyed out, choose **Uninstall device**, tick **Attempt to remove the driver**, reboot, and install the vendor's current release.
5. For graphics specifically, remove it properly: [clean install GPU drivers with DDU](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/clean-install-gpu-drivers-ddu-windows-11/).
6. General guidance: [how to update outdated drivers](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/how-to-update-outdated-drivers/).

## Step 4: Remove Third-Party Antivirus Temporarily
Security suites install filter drivers that sit deep in the kernel and are a well-known source of this stop code, especially after a Windows feature update.

1. Uninstall the suite through **Settings** → **Apps** → **Installed apps** — do not merely disable it, since the drivers stay loaded.
2. Run the vendor's official removal tool afterwards; most leave drivers behind otherwise.
3. Reboot. Microsoft Defender takes over automatically, so you are not unprotected: [fix Windows Defender not working](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-windows-defender-not-working/).
4. If the crashes stop, reinstall the suite fresh from the vendor's current installer, or stay on Defender.

## Step 5: Repair Windows System Files
1. Right-click **Start** → **Terminal (Admin)**.
2. Run:
   ```
   sfc /scannow
   ```
3. Then:
   ```
   DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
   ```
4. Reboot and run `sfc /scannow` again — the second pass repairs what the first could not, once DISM has fixed the component store.
5. Detail: [how to run SFC and DISM](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/how-to-run-sfc-dism-repair-windows-11/).

## Step 6: Test the Memory
1. **Windows + R** → `mdsched.exe` → **Restart now and check for problems**.
2. Press **F1** during the test and choose **Extended** for the test mix.
3. For a definitive answer, run **MemTest86** from USB for four or more passes.
4. Disable **XMP / EXPO** in firmware and retest — a memory profile the CPU cannot handle produces kernel exceptions with no consistent pattern. See [how to enter BIOS or UEFI](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/how-to-enter-bios-uefi-windows-11/).
5. Any error means bad RAM or an unstable profile: [check and upgrade your RAM](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/check-upgrade-ram-pc/).

## Step 7: Name the Driver With Driver Verifier
Use this only when nothing has been named and you can reach Safe Mode, because it deliberately increases crashes while it runs.

1. **Windows + R** → `verifier` → **Create custom settings (for code developers)**.
2. Select **Standard settings**, then **Select driver names from a list** and tick only non-Microsoft drivers.
3. Reboot and use the PC. The next crash should print a specific `.sys` file.
4. Turn it off from Terminal (Admin) as soon as you have the name:
   ```
   verifier /reset
   ```
5. If the PC will not boot, enter [Safe Mode](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/how-to-enter-safe-mode-windows-11/) and run the same command there.

## Step 8: Roll Back the Update or Restore the System
1. **Windows + R** → `rstrui` → choose a restore point dated before the crashes started.
2. To remove a specific update: **Settings** → **Windows Update** → **Update history** → **Uninstall updates**.
3. Full method: [fix Windows 11 after a bad update](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-windows-11-after-bad-update-rollback/).
4. Set restore points to be created routinely from now on: [create a system restore point](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/create-system-restore-point-windows-11/).

## What Not to Do
* **Don't disable fast startup and stop there** if crashes continue — it treats a symptom, not the driver underneath.
* **Don't run two antivirus suites at once.** Competing kernel filter drivers cause exactly this failure.
* **Don't leave Driver Verifier enabled** after it names a file.
* **Don't factory reset first.** A bad driver reinstalls itself and a bad RAM stick does not care.

## Still Not Working?
If the crashes survive clean drivers, no third-party antivirus, tested memory, and repaired system files, look at firmware and heat: update the motherboard BIOS from the manufacturer's support page, and check temperatures under load. Back up first — [set up automatic backups](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/set-up-automatic-backups/).

Related: [fix IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-irql-not-less-or-equal-windows-11/), [fix BAD_POOL_HEADER](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-bad-pool-header-windows-11/), and [fix SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-system-service-exception-windows-11/).

---
Source: https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-kmode-exception-not-handled-windows-11/ — My Technician, free Windows 10/11 troubleshooting guides.
Related tool: PC-Troubleshooter (PC-Troubleshooter is a system diagnostic and repair tool for Windows 10 and Windows 11—hardware, drivers, network, and common fixes in one app.) — https://www.mytechnician.tech/apps/windows-troubleshooter/
More guides: https://www.mytechnician.tech/llms.txt