Frustrating BSOD – Error: WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR

Understanding and Troubleshooting the WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR on Windows PCs

Encountering a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) can be a frustrating experience for any computer user. One specific error that often causes concern is the WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR. If you’re facing this issue, you’re not alone, and there are several steps you can take to diagnose and potentially resolve the problem.

What is the WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR?

The WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR is a type of hardware error reported by Windows. WHEA stands for Windows Hardware Error Architecture, and this particular error indicates that a critical hardware component has encountered a serious fault that cannot be corrected. It often results in system crashes and is usually linked to hardware stability issues, such as CPU, GPU, RAM, or motherboard problems.

Common Causes of WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR

• Overheating of CPU or GPU
• Faulty or incompatible hardware drivers
• RAM errors or instability
• Overclocking settings
• Failing hardware components (CPU, motherboard, power supply)
• Recent hardware changes or updates

Case Study: Troubleshooting Steps

Let’s consider a typical case where a user experiences frequent WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR BSODs, particularly during activities such as gaming or software updates. Here are the steps they’ve tried and additional recommendations:

1. Driver Reinstallation

2. The user performed a clean installation of the AMD Radeon 5600 XT graphics driver using the manufacturer’s factory reset option. This step helps eliminate driver corruption or incompatibility issues that could trigger hardware errors.

3. Memory Testing

4. Running memory diagnostic tools, like Windows Memory Diagnostic or MemTest86, helps identify RAM modules with errors. In this case, the user ran a mem test that returned no errors, suggesting RAM is unlikely the cause.

5. System File Integrity Checks

6. Executing sfc /scannow and DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth can repair system files that might cause instability. Since minor errors were fixed but the BSOD persisted, this indicates the problem isn’t solely software-related.

7. Analysis of Error Trigger

8. Notably, the BSOD is triggered following an update to a specific application—Fortnite. This correlation warrants further investigation, such as checking for conflicts between game updates, hardware drivers