9 Ways to Fix fltMgr.sys Blue Screen Error

The fltMgr.sys Blue Screen error is not a rare one. It usually comes along with several error codes such as Page Fault in NonPaged Area, System Service Exception, Memory Management Error, and so on.

FltMgr.sys is a system file provided by Microsoft that ensures the information is in its respective location in the storage drive. The blue screen error associated with this file mostly occurs if it gets corrupted, missing, or some programs or drivers hinder its functionality.

In this guide, we are going to cover all the possible fixes to solve the BSOD error associated with fltMgr.sys. 

Causes of fltMgr BSOD Error

How to Fix fltMgr BSOD Error?

Sometimes, your system may not reach the desktop and get stuck in the BSOD loop. It can happen if the fltMgr.sys file is corrupted. In such a case, you will need to boot your system into Safe mode to perform the fixes.

1. Turn off your system forcibly by pressing the power button for around 10 seconds. Doing this three times will boot your system in Recovery mode.
2. Go to Troubleshoot and click Advanced Options.
   
3. Find Startup Settings and click Restart.
   
4. Press 4 or F4 in the next boot to run your system in Safe mode.

Now that you have learned to open your PC in safe mode, let’s move on to the fixes.

Uninstall Drivers And Perform Windows Update

The fltMgr.sys file works together with the system drivers to load the hardware during boot. When the drivers get corrupted, have bugs, or simply are not compatible, it can hinder the filter manager’s process, causing the issue. Mostly, it happens while installing drivers using third-party applications.

You need to uninstall all the drivers that you added from such applications and reinstall them from their official website or Windows update. Let’s look at the process of doing it.

1. Press Windows + ‘R’ and type devmgmt.msc to open Device Manager.
2. Double-click on the suspected device to expand it.
3. Right-click on the driver and click Uninstall driver.
   
4. Do this for all such device drivers.
5. Now, press Windows + ‘I’ to go to Settings and navigate to Windows update.
6. Click Check for updates. Most of the time, Windows provides the drivers automatically.
7. Click Download and install to install all the listed drivers.
   
8. Go to Advanced Options>Optional Updates and install all the updates, if available.
   
9. If some drivers are not detected, you can visit the manufacturer’s website and find the latest drivers to install.

Sometimes the newly installed driver or the updated one may be the culprit. In such a case, you can roll back the installation.

1. Double-click on the driver in the Device manager.
2. Go to the Drivers tab and click Rollback driver.
   

You should find the BSOD error fixed after restarting the PC.

Repair Broken System Files

If clearing the page file did not do the job, some system files may be corrupted, or there may be disk errors. You need to repair the system files for the proper functioning of the system processes and services.

There are two different ways to perform the repair. Let’s see both of them below.

Perform System Scans

Let’s see the way to perform SFC, DISM, and CHKDSK scans to bring your PC to a healthy state.

1. Press Windows + ‘R’ and type cmd.
2. Press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open the Command prompt in administrative privilege.
3. Type DISM online /cleanup-image /restorehealth to run a DISM scan in order to fix the DLL cache files.
   
4. Run an SFC scan with the command sfc /scannow . It uses the repaired DLL files to replace the corrupted files.
   
5. Restart your system and run a CHKDSK scan with the command chkdsk /r /x to fix any disk errors.
   

After all the scans complete successfully, see whether the BSOD is still there. You can perform these scans by navigating to Troubleshoot>Advanced Options>Command Prompt in the recovery environment if your system does not boot up.

Perform Repair Upgrade

Another way to repair the corrupted system files is by performing the repair upgrade. This will reinstall Windows in your system without affecting your programs and files. It is one of the methods you can use to repair the registry entries as well.

You will need to have a Windows ISO file of the same edition, architecture, language, and the same or higher build of the existing OS. Follow the steps below to perform the repair upgrade on your PC.

1. Press Windows + ‘R’ and type msinfo32 in the Run dialog box to find your Windows version, build, and architecture.
2. Download the respective ISO file.
3. Mount the ISO file and go to the installation drive.
4. Double-click on Setup.exe file and start the installation.
5. Click on Change how setup downloads updates and select Not right now.
   
6. Click Next and follow the instructions.
7. The system will ask for an external drive with 10 GB and above storage space. Insert the drive if you do not have one already.
8. After it shows Ready to Install, click Change what to keep and select Keep personal files and apps.
   
9. Finally, click Install to start the repair upgrade.

After the setup completes, notice if the Blue screen error has gone now.

Analyze the Dump Files

You can also look into the dump files if you like going deep into the problem. Windows stores the error logs in a minidump folder that consists of the details of possible causes for the BSOD. But, this requires another tool called WinDbg and is a little bit advanced.

Let’s see how you can check the dump files to rectify the Blue screen error.

1. Download and Install WinDbg from Microsoft Store.
2. Open WinDbg in Administrative Privilege.
3. Press Ctrl + ‘D’ and enter %windir%\Minidump in the address bar to reach the Minidump folder.
4. Select the dump file and let the program load it for a while.
   
5. Click on the View menu and select Command to open a terminal.
6. Type !analyze -v in the terminal to start the analysis.
   
7. Look for Module Name and the details that follow it to get to the cause. You can do an internet search if the information is not clear to you.
   

Remove the program or service identified by the dump files to fix the issue.

Disable Superfetch Service

Superfetch Service helps make your computer faster by preloading the most used programs in the memory. It uses the fltMgr.sys process to ensure the programs are in their proper directory before preloading them.

But sometimes, the superfetch may load many programs in advance, which could have caused the fltMgr.sys process to malfunction. As a result, you will see a Blue screen error.

You need to stop the superfetch service to fix the Blue screen issue in such a case. Let’s see how you can do it.

1. Press Windows + ‘R’ and enter services.msc to open the Services window.
2. Scroll and find SysMain in the list.
3. Right-click on it and go to Properties.
4. Change the Startup type option to Manual and click on Stop under Service status.
   
5. Click Ok to save the settings.

Restart your system and see if the problem has gone away.

Clear Page File

If you see the BSOD error named Page Fault in NonPaged Area accompanied with fltMgr.sys, it means the filter manager process did not find the information in the expected location in the page file.

Page file acts as virtual memory and stores some program files to assist your physical memory or RAM. This issue can occur if the files are corrupted or missing there, disk errors, or faulty RAM as well.

But, let’s clear the page file first to see if it solves the problem before trying other fixes.

1. Press Windows + ‘R’ and type gpedit.msc to open Local Group Policy Editor.
2. Navigate to Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options.
3. Find Shutdown: Clear virtual memory pagefile and double-click on it.
   
4. Change it to Enable and click Ok.
   

Upon shutdown, your page file will be cleared. You can then see whether the Blue screen issue is solved.

Run Virus Scan

The actual fltMgr.sys file is provided by Windows and is no threat to the system. It also does not appear in the processes or services list in Task Manager. You can find the file in C:\Windows\System32\drivers.

But there can be malware that disguises itself as the said file causing the error in your system. So, if you see some process named fltMgr.sys in Task Manager and it is not located in the Drivers directory, it may be a virus. You should perform a virus scan and remove the threat.

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
2. Go to the Processes tab and find the fltMgr.sys file.
3. Right-click on it and select Open file location.
4. See if the program is in C:\Windows\System32\drivers.
5. If it is not, go back to Task Manager, select the file and click End task.
6. Then, press Windows + ‘R’ and type ms-settings:windowsdefender to open Windows Security.
7. Select Virus and Threat Protection and click on Scan options.
   
8. Choose Full scan and click Scan now.
   

See if the BSOD error is fixed now.

Remove Third-Party Antivirus Software

Sometimes, instead of the viruses, the third-party antivirus designed to protect your system can be the threat. These programs may prevent the system’s processes from running and also may disable the drivers. As a result, your PC displays the BSOD error.

Many users have reported the issue with ESET antivirus and a few Anti-ransomware. You need to remove the third-party antivirus software from your PC to solve the problem.

1. Enter appwiz.cpl in the Run dialog box after pressing Windows + ‘R.’
2. Select the antivirus and click Uninstall.
   
3. Follow the instructions and remove all its cache and settings to free your PC completely from the program.

Restart your system and observe the occurrence of the BSOD again.

Perform a System Restore

You can restore your system to an earlier healthy state if the above solution does not work out. It will repair the corrupted system files by taking your system to the point where the files were not damaged. Your computer creates restore points automatically before installing a driver or every week.

Let’s look at a way to perform a system restore on your PC.

1. Press Windows + ‘R’ and type rstrui.exe to open the System Restore window.
2. Select a recommended restore point or a custom one if you have created one earlier.
   
3. Click Finish to restore your system to that point.

See if the problem is fixed now. System restore can be the best option if your computer does not boot at all. Let’s see how you can do it in such a case.

1. Turn your system off by directly pressing the power button for around 10 seconds. Do this three times to open the Recovery environment.
2. Go to Troubleshoot and select Advanced Options.
3. Click on System Restore and follow the instructions as mentioned earlier.
   

Reset or Reinstall Windows

If the above options do not work out for you, the operating system may be faulty. The fltMgr.sys file itself may be corrupted if your system does not boot at all and shows the BSOD continuously.

In such a case, you will have to reset your Windows. We are providing a way to reset windows from the recovery environment in case your computer does not reach the desktop.

1. Boot into the recovery environment by following the instructions as earlier.
2. Go to Troubleshoot and click Reset this PC.
   
3. Choose either Keep my files or Remove everything and follow the steps afterward.

If resetting your PC does not solve the problem, you may want to reinstall a fresh operating system.