Today When I woke up my Windows 10 computer from the sleep, it did not respond the usual way, but a BSOD appeared and the computer restarted. The error message displayed by BSOD was “Kernel_Security_check_failure”. So, in this post, I will put up some of the best possible ways to fix the kernel security check failure error in Windows 10. Note that this error can also occur in Windows 8.1/8/ Windows 7 and XP versions of the OS. Note: Before doing any changes to your PC, always create a restore Point in case something goes wrong. What if you cannot Login to Windows? In case you are unable to boot into Windows and login to try the given fixes, then boot into advanced startup options (Safe Mode). Fix 1: Do Nothing! Yes, you read it right. Do nothing. At times, the kernel security check can be temporary and will only occur once in a blue moon. So, there is no point looking for a fix for the problem that does not exist in the first place. So, if your PC just restarted after displaying kernel security check Blue screen of death error, then give your computer one more chance before you try any of the fixes given below. How to Boot Into Safe Mode? Most of the times the kernel security check failure error occurs due to a faulty, corrupted or outdated program or driver installed in your PC. To find this what you can do is boot into Safe Mode and see if the error occurs or not. If the error does not occur in Safe Mode then you have to find the culprit program or driver that is causing the error. Note: It could be a hardware that is causing this error as well. Hardware such as USB Bluetooth/WiFi Adapters, RAM Sticks etc can be the reason for such errors. Also, unplug all the external hardware from your PCs USB ports. And test every USB port one by one. At times, even a faulty USB port can cause this error. Fix 2: Check/Update/Roll Back Drivers The common cause of kernel security check failure error in Windows computer is the new buggy or the old outdated drivers that you have installed. So, take a moment and think if you have recently updated any of your drivers such as graphic card driver or installed a new update. If the problem started after updating a driver, it is time to rollback to the old version of the driver. Do the following to rollback a driver in Windows 10. Open Control Panel and click on Hardware and Sound. Under Devices and Printers, click on Device Manager. If asked to provide administrator access, do it. In the Device Manager window, right-click on the device for which you have updated the driver recently and select Properties. From the Properties window, click on Driver tab. Now click the Rollback driver and follow the onscreen instructions to complete the rollback process. Set Default Graphic Card If the problem occurs when you are doing graphic intensive tasks such as using Adobe Photoshop, AI, PP or playing games then try to set your main graphic card as default. At times when you have two graphic cards, Intel HD and dedicated GPU, the internal security check failure error can occur while playing games or using Photoshop etc. To do this, go to Windows >> Program (Program Files) >> Adobe >> Photoshop >> find the photoshop.exe application. Right-click on it and select “Run with Graphic Processor“. Next, click on Change default and it will open your Graphic card control panel. Select your dedicated graphic card as default and click on Apply. Fix 3: Check your Anti-Virus Although Anti-Virus software is created to protect your PC, it can cause problems at times. Several of the BSOD error were resolved just by uninstalling the Antivirus. So, uninstall your current Anti-Virus and install a new one from other makers. Also, check if a new version of the same Anti-Virus is available in case you don’t want to change your anti-virus. Fix 4: Remove your RAM Stick Now this fix may not sound very convincing, but it can work at times. If your Laptop has two RAM sticks, remove one of them and see if the Kernel security check failure error appears again. The best way to do this is to use the inbuilt Windows Memory Diagnostic tool. The tool will check for errors related to memory in your PC. In the Cortana/Search bar type Windows Memory Diagnostic and follow the on-screen instructions. If your Laptop came with one RAM stick and you have added another to expand the memory, then keep the original one and boot with it. If required, you may need to change your RAM stick as well. Fix 5: Roll Back To A Previous Build Did you recently installed a new Windows 10 build? Some of the Windows 10 users are facing the kernel security check failure error after installing a new Windows 10 build. So, if you are one of them, then you can get back to your previous build without much of a hassle. Windows 10 does allow you to roll back to a previous build within 30 days of installing a new build. To do this, go to Settings >> Update and Security >> Recovery >> Go back to an Earlier Build and click on Get Started. If it’s been more than 30 days then there is no point in going back to the previous build, because that may not be the reason for the error. However, you can uninstall recent updates for standalone apps and features in Windows 10. If you have downloaded any update for Windows 10 (not build) and you think that might have caused kernel security check failure error, then do this. Go to Control Panel >> Programs >> Programs and Features >> View Installed Updates . Now right-click on any recently installed Windows updates and click on Uninstall. This will uninstall the update. Fix 6: Check for New Windows Update Microsoft releases updates every few weeks for Windows 10 and keeping your PC updated to the latest compatible version is recommended. Note: Always make sure you read about the update and complaints regarding the same before you install any major new update from Microsoft. You can check for any pending updates by going to Settings >> Update and Security >> Windows Update and download any updates if available. Fix 7: Scan for Hard Disk Errors You can also try scanning your PCs hard disk for potential errors. Open Command Prompt and enter the following command: chkdsk /f C: Fix 8: Reset / Clean Install Windows 10 If nothing seems working, try resetting your Windows 10 PC. You can either reset only the settings without deleting any files and folders, or you can completely reset deleting everything. To reset your PC go to, Setting >> Update and Security >> Recovery >> Reset this PC and click on Get Started. Next, choose your option to keep all files or delete everything. Clean Install – As the last step to resolve the kernel security check failure error, you can clean install Windows 10. The good thing is it has worked for a few users. A clean install can do wonders at times.
