Protect Your PC from dxgkrnl sys BSOD With 3 Steps

dxgkrnl sys

The dxgkrnl sys is a system file that is mainly concerned with the Microsoft DirectX driver system. The file is important to the system as DirectX is the prominent API that handles the heavy multimedia loads of the system. It provides hardware acceleration support for graphic-intensive applications such as games or video rendering. Any issue with the dxgkrnl sys file, such as corruption of the file or its conflicts with the graphic drivers or misconfiguration of the DirectX settings. These kinds of problems can eventually lead to Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) in windows. This article shows you how to resolve and avoid the BSOD in 3 simple ways.

Contents

What is dxgkrnl sys?

Dxgkrnl sys is stored as dxgkrnl.sys in the file system, its full form is DirectX Graphic Kernel, and the .sys shows that it is a system file. Dxgkrnl sys is a window system driver file stored in the C:\Windows\System32\drivers. It is one of the many driver’s files stored in the drivers’ folder. The file itself is not executable but contains import data regarding the functionality of the Graphics device drivers and the DirectX API. DirectX is a collection of multimedia APIs that provide hardware acceleration under heavy multimedia load tasks. If the file gets corrupted or altered due to any reason, such as drive failure or malware, BSOD can occur unexpectedly.

Avoid BSOD

BSOD
BSOD

Several ways can be employed that helps in the resolution and prevention of the BSOD due to the dxgkrnl sys file. The user should follow the following steps, facing problems with system driver files such as dxgkrnl sys.

Updating drivers

Drivers are the system software that interacts with the hardware devices at a low level. Every specific device has a driver the supports its functionality in the operating system. In this scenario, updating the Graphic drivers can help resolve issues with the DirectX and other system files. Follow the given steps to the display driver in your windows system.

  • Right click on the start menu.
  • Select Device Manager from the menu.
  • Device Manger window would appear.
  • Scan for Hardware Changes in the Device Manger.
  • Look Under Display Adapters.
  • right click on the Unknow/uninstalled drivers to be updated or intalled.
  • Select update/install drivers.
  • A device driver installer window would open.
  • click on ‘ Search Automatically for updated driver software.’
  • The process would take some time and would find and install compatible drivers.
Opening Device Manager
Device Manager

Ensure that you have an active internet connection when performing the above steps. The Installation process looks across the web for compatible drivers so. It is essential to have an active link to the repositories. If, for some reason, the Device Manager couldn’t find the compatible driver, you could look across the web to find the driver and install it manually. But always download drivers from a reliable and trusted source as malicious drivers can cause severe damage.

Run an SFC scan

If the dxgkrnl sys file got corrupted for some reason, such as malware or anything, then when in use, BSOD can appear out of nowhere and interrupt the whole user experience, especially while gaming. In windows, the best way to check and restore the system files is to run an SFC scan. It stands for System File Check; it scans for corrupted files and restores them. Admin privileges are required to run the scan. Follow the given steps to perform an SFC scan on your system.

  • Right click on start menu.
  • Click on Windows PowerShell (Admin).
  • Type sfc /scannow in the shell.
  • wait for the process to finish.
running an sfc scan to restore dxgkrnl sys file.

DirectX diagnostic tool

Try running the DirectX diagnostic tool if none of those mentioned above methods worked. The tool would run the diagnostic check on every aspect of the DirectX API and search for potential issues and problems that might be causing the BOSD. It will also detect if there’s something wrong with the DirectX kernel file (dxgkrnl sys). If any issue is detected during the scan, it would also suggest the solution in its notes section. Follow the given steps to run the DirectX diagnostic tool.

  • Press Windows key + R.
  • Enter dxdiag in the search box and hit Enter.
  • Let the diagnotic window run its process.
  • After the process gets finished, open each tab.
  • Look for problems in notes seciton of the window.
  • If any issue is found resolve it accordingly as suggested.
DirectX diagnostic tool.
DirectX diagnostic tool.

Dxgkrnl sys latency fix

Latency is the delay in time between the sent and received data roundtrip. Latency in networking can cause problems while playing real-time online games. Latency in the audio output can shatter the user experience entirely if you face latency in your graphic or audio output due to the dxgkrnl.sys driver file follows the given steps to fix the problem.

  • Boot Windows in safe mode and try running your intended program with minimal configuration, check if there’s any change in the latency, if latency improves boot your system in normal mode and stop the unnecessary services causing latency.
  • Scan your system for malwares using antivirus software for potential threats.
  • Run a Microsoft safety scan, Which can be downloaded from: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/intelligence/safety-scanner-download.

Dxgkrnl sys SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION

SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION is the root code name displayed on Blue Screen Of Death in windows. Problems with the driver kernel files such as dxgkrnl.sys causes this kind of exception. Follow the given ways to avoid the SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION BSOD message.

  • Update your windows to the latest version.
  • Update your all of your device drivers to their latest compatible version.
  • Restore to a previous checkpoint if the problem persists.
  • Run SFC scan.
  • Disable SLI configuration if you have dual GPUs.

Dxgkrnl sys not loaded

Dxgkrnl.sys not loaded is an error when the driver kernel file fails to load up in the memory. The possible reason for this is the corruption of files on the disk. The best possible solutions to this problem are already mentioned in this article, i.e., running an SFC scan, restoring to a previous checkpoint, or reinstalling the driver. But, if the problem persists, you might have to perform a fresh install to resolve this issue permanently.

FAQs on dxgkrnl sys BSOD

What is the full form of API?

API is short for Application Programming Interface.

Which is the latest stable version of DirectX?

The latest stable release of DirectX is DirectX12.

What does ‘.sys’ mean in dxgkrnl.sys?

‘.sys’ stands for the system; it shows a system file.

Conclusion

Dxgkrnl sys is a system file that is responsible for the working of DirectX APIs. Any altering with the file or corruption might lead to the windows blue screen of death. In this article, we provided you with three simple ways to resolve or avoid such issues.

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