Fix: Video DXGKRNL Fatal Error (0x00000113) in Windows

VIDEO_DXGKRNL_FATAL_ERROR or Video DirectX Graphics Kernel Fatal Error means that the system has run into a critical video/graphic-related error that has stopped the entire OS process, resulting in a Blue Screen of Death.

But what exactly caused the video_dxgkrnl_fatal_error BSOD? Several graphics-related errors could result in this specific BSOD. It could be due to the installation of a new hardware driver, driver conflicts, issues on firmware, or infection from malicious files.

Since there can be a lot of reasons as to why this happened, you may also need to perform more than one solution to fix the issue. However, you do not need to worry as we have discussed all, if not most, solutions, along with a step-by-step guide on how to perform them.

So without further delay, let us get right into it.

What Causes VIDEO_DXGKRNL_FATAL_ERROR BSOD?

When the system’s critical process ends, you usually get a blue screen error. In our case, the VIDEO_DXGKRNL_FATAL_ERROR BSOD is related to graphics-related errors. Meaning that a critical graphics process stopped, which in turn halted the entire system, resulting in the blue screen.

How to Fix VIDEO_DXGKRNL_FATAL_ERROR Blue Screen?

Since the complication you face is related to your graphics card or driver, you can try fixing any issues with the graphics card first.

Check Log File

Before we jump into fixing the issue, you can check the Event Viewer. The Event viewer in Windows records everything that is occurring on the PC. And this includes the BSOD as well. You can check other events near the occurrence of the blue screen to find the exact cause of the error.

1. Press the Windows + R key to open Run.
2. Type eventvwr and press Enter to open Event Viewer.
   
3. On the left panel, Navigate to Windows logs > System.
4. In the middle part of the Event Viewer window, you can see all the events that occurred on the Operating System.
   
5. On the right-most panel, click on Filter Current Logs.
   
6. Set Event sources as BugCheck or enter Event ID as 1001.
7. Click on OK to display all Blue screen errors.
   
8. Check the Date and time, and check other events that occurred right before the BugCheck to determine the cause of the error. 

Perform Clean Boot

Another reason your PC runs into video_dxgkrnl_fatal_error blue screen could be due to conflicting resources. Services from third-party applications could use the same resources as the driver installed on your system. And this could cause critical system processes to fail, resulting in a BSOD.

To make sure that this is not the case, try performing a clean boot. When a system clean boots, it stops any services that are not from Microsoft. To perform Clean Boot,

1. Press Windows + R key to open Run.
2. Type msconfig and press Enter to open System Configuration.
   
3. Go to the Services tab.
4. Check Hide all Microsoft Services.
5. Select Disable All.
   
6. Click on Apply and then OK.
7. Restart your system to perform a clean boot. 

Run Hardware Troubleshooter

The hardware troubleshooter detects your system hardware for any technical errors. If it does find any problems, the troubleshooter tries to fix these found issues within the hardware connected to the PC. 

If the blue screen is due to hardware, simply running the troubleshooter may fix the issue you face.

1. Press the Windows + R key to open Run.
2. Type msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic and press Enter to open Hardware Troubleshooter.
   
3. Click on Next to start the hardware troubleshooting process.

Disable Fast Startup

Enabling fast start-up enables the PC to boot faster from its shutdown state. When you enable fast start-up and shut down the PC, all users’ accounts log off, and the PC closes all the applications. However, the OS saves the Windows kernel and the system’s current state to a hibernation file. 

Once the PC starts, it uses the hibernation file to load the OS faster. Although useful, the OS may run into issues when loading driver files. In that case, the system might run into a blue screen error.

To disable Fast Startup,

1. Open Run.
2. Type pwercfg.cpl and press Enter to open Power Options.
3. On the left, select Choose what the power buttons do.
   
4. Click on Change settings that are currently unavailable.
   
5. Under Shutdown settings, uncheck Turn on Fast startup, and Save changes.

Disable Overclocks

Overclocking a hardware component gives your system a performance boost. However, it may even damage these components as they do tend to reach extreme temperature levels. 

You are likely to face a similar issue if you have overclocked your graphics card. Besides high temperatures, overclocking might also cause system instability, including the BSOD. To fix this, we recommend reverting any overclocks on your system.

If you use a third-party application to overclock your system, you will need to disable overclock within the application or uninstall it altogether. To uninstall,

1. Press the Windows + R key to open Run.
2. Type appwiz.cpl and press Enter to open Program and Features
   
3. Select the overclocking software that is intended for the graphics card.
4. Press Uninstall.
   
5. Now follow the removal process and check if your system runs into BSOD.

If you have overclocked your system from the BIOS, you will need to reset it from the BIOS itself. One easy way to disable any overclock on your system is by resetting the BIOS. There are several ways you can reset the BIOS. A straightforward method is from the BIOS itself.

1. Repeatedly press the BIOS key to enter the BIOS.
2. Navigate the BIOS and search for settings named Reset Default, Reset Settings, or Reset BIOS.
   
3. Restart the PC and check if the system gives any error messages.

Run SFC and DISM Command

As previously discussed, corrupted drivers or conflicts in driver resource usage could cause a critical system process to fail. Since all the driver files are considered system files, you can run the SFC (System File Checker) to find and fix any corrupted or missing system files.

On the other hand, the DISM command scans your OS and repairs any errors with the system image.

1. Press the Windows + R key to open Run.
2. Type cmd and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open Command Prompt as admin.
3. Type sfc /scannow and press Enter to run the system file checker.
   
4. Once the command completes its process, type DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /Restorehealth and press Enter to run the DISM command.
   
5. Restart your system once the process completes.

Start in Safe Mode

In safe mode, the Operating System only uses basic drivers to keep the system running. Therefore, if any corrupted or outdated driver is causing the video_dxgkrnl_fatal_error blue screen error, you may not get the error when in safe mode. 

To boot your system into safe mode,

1. Press the Windows + I key to open Settings. 
2. Go to System > Recovery.
3. Under Advanced Startup, select Restart Now.
   
4. After the PC boots into Advanced Startup, navigate to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings.
5. Click on Restart.
6. Once the PC restarts, Select F5 to boot into safe mode with networking.
   

However, if you still get the blue screen in safe mode, the issue is likely with physical hardware or basic drivers in your system.

Reinstall the Display driver

If you still get the BSOD after running the SFC and DISM commands, you can try reinstalling display drivers to fix the issue. Since the problem is most likely with the corrupted or problematic display driver, ensure that you update or reinstall these drivers immediately.

To uninstall a display driver,

1. Download Display Driver Uninstaller from the internet and install the application.
2. Run the PC in safe mode and start DDU. The PC uses basic drivers in safe mode. Therefore you will not face black screen issues when uninstalling the display driver.
   
3. Select Device type and Device.
4. Click on Clean and restart to uninstall your display driver.
   

Once you have uninstalled your drivers, you need to reinstall them in the right order. First, install the dedicated display driver. After this, update the chipset driver and finally update the basic display adapter driver.

Reinstall Dedicated Display Drivers

To reinstall your driver, you must download the latest driver from the internet if you use a dedicated graphics unit. You need to download the desired graphics card driver depending on your graphics card, NVIDIA or AMD.

1. Once you have downloaded the right driver, extract the file that you downloaded.
2. Run the driver file inside that extracted folder to install the driver.

Update Chipset and Basic Display Adapter Driver

Once you have installed dedicated drivers for your graphics card, you will not need to update the chipset driver and basic display adapter driver.

1. Press the Windows + X key to open Device Manager.
2. Expand IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers.
3. Double-click on the device listed inside.
4. Go to the Driver tab and select the Update driver.
   
5. Click on Search automatically for drivers.
6. Now, in Device Manager, expand Display adapters
7. Double-click on the device listed inside.
8. Again, go to the Driver tab and select Update Driver. Make sure that you update all the drivers inside the Display adapter in Device Manager.
   

Check the Power Supply

Your PC requires a certain level of power for it to run smoothly. If the PSU fails to deliver the power required, its hardware component may start to misbehave. System fans may spin at a lower RPM, and overall performance may also decrease, eventually resulting in frequent blue screen errors.  

To make sure that isn’t the case, verify that your PSU supplies enough power to the system. If you are unsure about the system’s power consumption, we have a dedicated article that you can follow to calculate power usage of a computer. 

Update BIOS

Updating BIOS brings various security features into your current BIOS versions. Besides this, it also allows your motherboard to be compatible with newer hardware components. If it is hardware compatibility that’s causing the video_dxgkrnl_fatal_error blue screen, updating the BIOS should fix the issue.

The process of updating BIOS can be quite complicated and lengthy, depending on the type of motherboard. If you have any trouble updating, we have a detailed article you can follow that explains a step-by-step guide to updating BIOS safely.

Check for Damaged Components

If none of the solutions work, it could be that a damaged or failing hardware component is causing the issue. When any hardware components start to fail, they will start to malfunction and cause the entire system to crash.

To check this, you may need to access your computer’s internal. 

1. First, remove the computer’s side panel. 
   
2. Now turn on the PC and let it sit for a few minutes.
3. Check if the motherboard has any LED light turned on. An LED light on a motherboard usually means the system is having issues detecting a piece of hardware.
   
4. Now, check the computer fan. This includes all the system fans, such as the CPU, GPU, and case fan.
5. You can also remove components like the CPU, GPU, or RAM to see if they have any signs of visible damage. 

Once you have removed the graphics card from the motherboard, try running your system on a basic display driver. If your system does not run into any BSOD, the graphics card was most likely at fault.

If you are on a laptop, we recommend you take it to a local repair shop to find the exact cause of the issue.

Run Driver Verifier

According to Microsoft’s official documentation, Driver Verifier monitors and checks Windows kernel mode and graphics drivers to find any illegal calls or actions that may corrupt the system. This utility helps users to find the particular driver that is causing the BSOD.

Once the process completes, the Driver Verifier creates a DMP(dump) file. You will need to analyze the DMP file to know the exact cause of the issue.

To run Driver Verifier,

1. Press Windows + R to Open Run.
2. Type verifier.exe and press Enter.
3. Check Create standard settings and click on Next.
   
4. Check Automatically select unsigned drivers.
   
5. Now, select the drivers that could cause the issue and select Finish.
6. Now, restart your system and wait for the system to go to a blue screen.

The Driver Verifier will now analyze the system crash. Once the process completes, the Driver Verifier creates a DMP(dump) file. You will need to examine the DMP file to know the exact cause of the issue.

Reset Windows

If none of the solutions work and the system randomly runs into video_dxgkrnl_fatal_error blue screen error, you can try resetting the entire Windows. When you reinstall Windows, all its system and driver files are also reinstalled. 

Therefore, if any corrupted system or driver files were causing the BSOD, resetting Windows should fix the issue.

1. Open Windows Settings.
2. Go to System > Recovery.
3. Under Reset this PC, select Reset PC.
   
4. Press Keep my files if you want to save personal files, and Remove everything if you want a fresh OS.
   
5. Select Local reinstall.
   
6. Select Next.
7. Now click on Reset to start the reset process.