# How to Fix PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA in Windows 11

URL: https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-page-fault-in-nonpaged-area-windows-11/
Published: 2026-07-26 | Author: Ankit Kumar
Tags: Windows 11, BSOD, Troubleshooting, Fix
Summary: PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA blue screen on Windows 11? Test RAM, roll back drivers, disable fast startup, and repair system files with these step-by-step fixes.
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
Your PC crashes to a blue screen showing **PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA** (technical code 0x00000050). Windows asked for data that should always be resident in memory and it was not there — so the kernel stops rather than run on bad data.

The usual causes, in order of likelihood: **failing RAM**, a **bad driver** writing to memory it does not own, corrupted system files, and antivirus or disk filter drivers. Sometimes the blue screen names the guilty file (for example `ntfs.sys`, `nvlddmkm.sys`, or `Netwtw10.sys`) — write that down, it shortcuts most of this guide.

> **Different stop code each restart?** Random codes point at hardware. Start with the general [blue screen troubleshooting guide](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/how-to-fix-bsod-blue-screen/). **Crashing before you can log in?** Boot [Safe Mode](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/how-to-enter-safe-mode-windows-11/) first.

## Symptoms
* Blue screen reading **PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA**, sometimes with a filename underneath.
* Crashes cluster around heavy RAM use — gaming, video export, many browser tabs.
* Event Viewer logs **Kernel-Power** event 41 after each unexpected reboot.

## Step 1: Note the Failing File
1. Photograph the blue screen, or open **Event Viewer** → **Windows Logs** → **System** and look for **BugCheck** entries.
2. If a `.sys` file is named, search it: `nvlddmkm.sys` is NVIDIA graphics, `Netwtw*.sys` is Intel Wi-Fi, `ntfs.sys` points at the disk, `atikmdag.sys` is AMD graphics.
3. That file tells you which driver to attack in Step 3 instead of updating everything.

## Step 2: Test Your RAM
Bad memory is the single most common cause of this stop code.

1. Press `Win + R`, type `mdsched.exe`, and press Enter.
2. Choose **Restart now and check for problems** and let both passes finish.
3. Results appear as a notification, or in **Event Viewer** → **Windows Logs** → **System** under *MemoryDiagnostics-Results*.
4. Any error means a bad stick. With two or more sticks, test one at a time in the same slot to find it.

For a stricter test, run **MemTest86** from a USB drive overnight — it catches faults the Windows tool misses. If you recently enabled **XMP** or **EXPO** in BIOS, disable it and retest before you buy anything.

## Step 3: Roll Back or Reinstall the Driver
1. Right-click Start → **Device Manager**.
2. Find the device from Step 1. Right-click → **Properties** → **Driver** tab.
3. If **Roll Back Driver** is available and the crashes started after an update, use it.
4. Otherwise download the current driver straight from NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, or your laptop maker — not Windows Update. See [how to update outdated drivers](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/how-to-update-outdated-drivers/).
5. For graphics drivers specifically, remove the old one cleanly first: [clean install GPU drivers with DDU](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/clean-install-gpu-drivers-ddu-windows-11/).

## Step 4: Repair Corrupted System Files
1. Right-click Start → **Terminal (Admin)**.
2. Run:
   ```
   sfc /scannow
   ```
3. Then run:
   ```
   DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
   ```
4. Restart. Full walkthrough: [repair Windows 11 with SFC and DISM](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/how-to-run-sfc-dism-repair-windows-11/).

## Step 5: Turn Off Fast Startup
Fast Startup keeps a hibernated kernel image on disk. If that image is stale or the drive is flaky, you get this exact stop code on every boot.

1. **Control Panel** → **Power Options** → **Choose what the power buttons do**.
2. Click **Change settings that are currently unavailable**.
3. Uncheck **Turn on fast startup (recommended)** → **Save changes**.
4. Restart and see whether the crashes stop.

## Step 6: Check the Drive and Page File
1. In **Terminal (Admin)**, run:
   ```
   chkdsk C: /f /r
   ```
   Accept the prompt to schedule it for the next restart, then reboot.
2. Confirm the drive is healthy: [check SSD and hard drive health](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/check-ssd-hard-drive-health-windows-11/).
3. Reset virtual memory: **Settings** → **System** → **About** → **Advanced system settings** → Performance **Settings** → **Advanced** → Virtual memory **Change** → tick **Automatically manage paging file size for all drives**.

## Step 7: Remove Third-Party Antivirus Temporarily
Security suites install filter drivers that sit between Windows and memory. A broken one produces this crash.

1. Uninstall the third-party suite (use the vendor's own removal tool — a plain uninstall often leaves the driver behind).
2. Reboot and run on Microsoft Defender for a day.
3. If the crashes stop, reinstall the suite fresh or stay on Defender. See [fix Windows Defender not working](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-windows-defender-not-working/) if Defender does not switch itself back on.

## What Not to Do
* **Don't disable the page file.** It does not prevent this crash and it breaks crash dumps you may need later.
* **Don't run registry "optimizers".** They cannot fix a memory fault and routinely cause new ones.
* **Don't replace RAM before testing it.** Half of these cases are a driver, not a stick.

## Still Not Working?
If memory tests pass, drivers are current, and the crash persists, the fault is likely the storage controller or a deeper OS problem. Back up first, then try [reinstalling Windows without losing data](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/reinstall-windows-without-losing-data/).

Related stop codes: [MEMORY_MANAGEMENT](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-memory-management-bsod-windows-11/), [IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-irql-not-less-or-equal-windows-11/), and [SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-system-service-exception-windows-11/).

---
Source: https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/fix-page-fault-in-nonpaged-area-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