The DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE error in Windows 11 usually occurs when a device driver fails to respond or takes too long to wake from a sleep state, commonly during startup or when resuming from sleep. There are several possible reasons behind this, including outdated, faulty, or incompatible device drivers, incorrect power management settings, hardware problems, or conflicting software. Well, many users report this error when they boot Windows 11 crashes with BSOD driver power state failure. This article explains the root causes of the Driver Power State Failure error on Windows 11 and several practical solutions to resolve it.
What Is the Driver Power State Failure Error?
The Driver Power State Failure (Stop Code 0x0000009F) usually occurs when a device driver fails to properly change its power state (such as entering sleep or waking up). Windows detects this mismatch and triggers a system crash to prevent hardware damage. The error message often reads:
“Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart. DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE.”
This type of BSOD can be caused by faulty hardware peripherals, outdated or corrupted device drivers, incompatible power settings, or recent Windows updates conflicting with drivers.
- Outdated or incompatible Drivers: The most frequent cause is drivers that are not updated or corrupted, especially for graphics cards, network adapters, or USB devices.
- Peripheral Device Issues: External hardware like USB hubs, printers, or external storage can conflict and cause this error.
- Misconfigured Power Settings: Incorrect power plans or fast startup settings can interfere with driver power state transitions.
- Recently Installed Drivers/Software: Newer installations that are incompatible with Windows 11 can trigger failures.
- Windows Update Conflicts: Certain updates might break device compatibility temporarily until patches are released.
- Faulty Hardware: Rarely, hardware failures cause repeated driver issues during power state changes.
Disconnect External Peripherals and Restart Windows
Sometimes, external devices like USB drives, printers, webcams, or external GPUs can prevent Windows from managing power states correctly. Again, if their drivers are outdated or incompatible, they may trigger the Driver Power State Failure BSOD. Disconnecting them helps identify if a peripheral is causing the issue.
- Shut down your PC completely.
- Disconnect all external devices (USB drives, printers, webcams, external hard drives, docking stations, etc.).
- Leave only essential peripherals connected (keyboard and mouse).
- Restart your PC.
If the error disappears, reconnect devices one by one to find the problematic one. Once identified, update or reinstall that device’s drivers.
Note: If your PC keeps restarting repeatedly and you don’t get enough time to troubleshoot, boot into Safe Mode. In Safe Mode, only essential drivers and services load, which makes troubleshooting easier.
Update or Reinstall Device Drivers
Device drivers act as a bridge between Windows and your hardware (GPU, network card, storage, etc.). If they are outdated, corrupted, or incompatible with Windows 11, the hardware may not transition correctly between power states.
- Press Win + X and select Device Manager.
- Expand categories like Display adapters, Network adapters, and Storage controllers.
- Right-click the problematic driver → select Update driver.
- Choose Search automatically for drivers.
If updating doesn’t work, uninstall the driver → restart PC → Windows will reinstall it.
For best results, download and install drivers directly from your manufacturer’s website (NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, etc.).
Change Windows Power Settings
Windows 11 aggressively manages power to save battery or reduce power usage. Sometimes, this results in hardware components (like Wi-Fi cards, GPUs, or PCIe devices) being forced into low-power states they don’t recover from properly.
- Open the control panel and navigate to Power Options.
- Select High Performance (or Balanced if High Performance isn’t available).
- Click Change plan settings → Change advanced power settings.
- Expand Wireless Adapter Settings → set to Maximum Performance.
- Expand PCI Express → Link State Power Management → set to Off.
Disable Fast Startup
Fast Startup combines elements of a shutdown and hibernation to make boot times faster. However, this “half-hibernated” state can confuse certain drivers that expect a full shutdown. If drivers fail to resume correctly, it can trigger the Driver Power State Failure error.
Turning Fast Startup off ensures a clean boot sequence, avoid driver state mismatches.
- Open the control panel, then power options,
- Click on Choose what the power button does.
- Now, click on Change settings that are currently unavailable.
- Under Shutdown settings, uncheck Turn on fast startup.
- Click Save changes and restart your PC.
Run Windows Memory Diagnostic
Faulty RAM can cause drivers to misbehave, since they rely on memory to store and retrieve data during power transitions. If memory errors occur when the system resumes from sleep, hibernation, or even during heavy workloads, Windows may crash with a Driver Power State Failure BSOD.
- Press Win + R, type mdsched.exe, and press Enter.
- Select Restart now and check for problems.
- Windows will reboot and scan for memory issues.
If errors are found, you may need to replace faulty RAM.
Run System File Checker
Corrupted or missing Windows system files can disrupt how drivers communicate with the operating system. For example, if a power management-related system file is damaged, drivers may not receive the correct instructions during sleep/wake cycles. Running SFC and DISM scan and repairs these files, restores stable communication between Windows and device drivers.
- Press Win + S, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt, and choose Run as administrator.
- Type the command sfc /scannow and press the enter key
- This will start scanning the system for corrupted system files.
- Let the scanning process complete 100% once done, and restart your computer.
In addition, run the DISM restore health command DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth that helps check the system image health.
Check for Windows Updates
Microsoft frequently releases patches that fix driver compatibility issues and known BSOD errors. If your system is missing a critical update, older drivers may not work correctly with Windows 11’s latest features.
- Open Settings → Windows Update.
- Click Check for updates.
- Install all available updates and restart your PC.
Sometimes the latest driver update introduces bugs or incompatibility with Windows 11. If you recently updated your GPU, network, or storage driver and started seeing Driver Power State Failure BSODs, rolling back to the previous version can restore stability.
If the issue persists, test your SSD/HDD using tools like CrystalDiskInfo and check for overheating components. This helps confirm whether the root cause is failing components.
FAQ – Driver Power State Failure in Windows 11
Q1. What does Driver Power State Failure mean in Windows 11?
It means a driver went into an inconsistent power state, usually when resuming from sleep, hibernation, or during startup.
Q2. Is Driver Power State Failure a serious issue?
It’s not permanent damage, but repeated BSODs can cause data loss. Fixing the underlying driver or power settings will resolve it.
Q3. Can antivirus cause Driver Power State Failure?
Yes. Some antivirus software conflicts with drivers and power states. Performing a clean boot can help identify this.
Q4. Will reinstalling Windows fix this BSOD?
Yes, but it should be the last resort. Try driver updates, power setting changes, and system scans before reinstalling.
Q5. Does disabling sleep mode fix Driver Power State Failure?
In some cases, yes. Setting power plans to High Performance and disabling sleep/hibernate can prevent the error.
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