Resolving BSOD 0x000021A in Windows 10 After Misconfigured MSCONFIG Memory Settings
Experiencing a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) with error code 0x000021A can be a challenging and frustrating situation, especially when it occurs after modifying system configuration settings. This guide provides a comprehensive approach to diagnosing and resolving the BSOD 0x000021A issue on Windows 10, particularly following changes made via MSCONFIG that involve maximum memory settings.
Understanding the Issue
The BSOD error 0x000021A typically indicates a critical system process failure, often related to driver issues, system files, or boot configuration problems. In this specific scenario, the issue originated after attempting to adjust the maximum memory limit using MSCONFIG’s advanced boot options.
Context of the Memory Setting Adjustment
The user aimed to expand usable RAM from 16GB to 32GB, despite the system physically having 32GB installed. Following guidance from Microsoft support articles, they navigated to:
- MSCONFIG > Boot > Advanced Options > Maximum Memory
The ambiguity lies in the units expected for this setting: whether it’s in megabytes or another measure. Attempting to input ‘32’ resulted in the system interpreting this as ‘256’, which led to the BSOD on reboot. Subsequent troubleshooting included disk checks and repairs, but the system remained unbootable.
Recommended Troubleshooting and Solutions
1. Accessing Recovery Environment
Since normal booting is unsuccessful, restart your PC several times during the boot process to trigger Automatic Repair. Alternatively, use a Windows 10 installation media (USB or DVD) to boot into Recovery Mode.
- Insert the Windows installation media and boot from it.
- Select Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Command Prompt.
This provides a command-line interface for advanced troubleshooting.
2. Undo the Memory Settings Change
While there is no straightforward GUI option in Safe Mode or Recovery to directly revert MSCONFIG changes, you can manually reset the maximum memory setting via the command prompt:
bash
bcdedit /deletevalue {current} numproc
However, since the setting may be stored elsewhere, consider editing the boot configuration data (BCD):
bash
bcdedit /deletevalue {current} truncatememory
Note: The exact parameter name depends on how the memory limit was set. If uncertain
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