If you are reading this, then most probably you have faced a blue screen (Blue Screen of Death) error. Blue screen errors usually happen after a system crash or a fatal system error and it means that your Windows operating system reached a point where it can no longer operate safely and properly. This blue screen prevents you from further use of your computer in order to avoid damage, it tells users that certain actions must be taken in order to prevent your computer from being damaged in the future.
Basically, these blue screen errors contain additional error codes, but it is possible that you will only see a notification displaying “Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart. We’re just collecting some error info, and then we’ll restart for you” or “Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart” error.
Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart
If there is no error code, it is difficult to tell what exactly causes this issue, because it could help to reduce the number of possible causes. However, these errors usually happen when there are some memory issues, corrupted system files or drivers. Other reasons for this “Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart” could be malware/virus infection or power failure.
You may also like: 8 Best Antivirus For Windows 10 in 2020
In order to deal with the “Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart. We’re just collecting some error info, and then we’ll restart for you” error you might need to run a Startup Repair, update drivers and Windows, check system files and to apply some other solutions. In this tutorial, we will show several methods that could possibly fix general problems related to the blue screen errors, since it is not clear why exactly this error appears in the first place. Read the tutorial below and try out our described methods one by one, check if any of them can solve this issue for you.
How To Fix “Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart” Blue Screen Error
Method 1. Disconnect the external hardware
The first solution which could possibly fix the “Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart” error is to remove the external hardware, one of the connected external hardware (such as USB device, printer, external hard drive) might be interfering with your operating system. In this case, you will need to do not use it and keep it disconnected, or replace a particular peripheral or external device.
Method 2. Boot Into Safe Mode
If you are unable to deal with this error and you cannot log into Windows normally, then you will need to boot into Windows Safe Mode.
Note: if you can start your Windows normally, skip this method.
Here are the steps to start Windows 10 in Safe Mode with Networking
1. Click on the Start menu then select Settings.
2. Go to Update & Security section, you will see a list of options.
3. On the left-side menu bar, select Recovery. Click on the Restart now button in Advanced startup section.
4. Now you’ll see a list of options. Choose Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings. Click on the Restart button.
5. A list of options should occur. Press the corresponding key to choose the desired version of Safe Mode.
Once you enter Safe Mode, check if the issue is still there. It’s possible that you might be able to fix the problem from Safe Mode, hence Make sure to try this method first.
if the Settings app doesn’t work in Windows 10, take a look at this tutorial to solve the problem.
Otherwise, you can also use the Windows Installation Media on your USB or CD/DVD and boot your Windows into Safe Mode using the Automatic Repair screen. After logging in to your Windows, start applying my below described solutions.
Method 3. Run Automatic/Startup Repair
Automatic/Startup Repair is a Windows recovery tool that can fix certain system problems that might prevent Windows from starting. Startup Repair scans your PC for the problem and then tries to fix it so your PC can start correctly. It is usually able to fix problems when there are some damaged or missing system files and it is possible that it could fix the “Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart” error.
In order to run Startup Repair if you are unable to start Windows you will need to use the Windows Installation CD/DVD/USB or to interrupt the boot process. You can read the instructions on how to do it in the tutorial.
1. If you already started your Windows in Safe Mode or you can log into Windows, then type “Recovery” in Search and select on the “Recovery options” result.
2. Under Advanced startup, click the “Restart now” button and Windows will restart.
3. You will get to a blue Advanced startup screen. Select “Troubleshoot” > select “Advanced options” > click the “Startup Repair” option.
4. Windows will start to diagnose your computer.
Check if this fixes the “Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart” error.
Method 4. Run the System File Checker (SFC)
In most cases, file corruption can cause this and many other problems to appear, and to get rid of this issue, we suggest you perform both SFC and DISM scans. Here are the steps:
1. Open a Command Prompt with administrator privilege. You can search for “cmd“, right-click on the result, and click “Run as administrator“. Check this post if you can’t run command prompt as Administrator in Windows 10.
2. When the Command Prompt window appears, run the sfc /scannow command.
3. SFC scan will now start. Wait for the process to finish and close cmd.
Read more: How to fix the issue SFC scannow not working?
Once the scan is completed successfully, check if the problem is still there. If you couldn’t run SFC scan, or if the issue is still there, we highly recommend you perform a DISM scan instead. To do so, open Command Prompt as administrator and run the DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth command. This process will take about 20 minutes, so be patient.
Once the scan is completed, restart your computer and check if the “Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart” error is still there.
See also: How to Fix DISM Failed Errors on Windows 10 Effectively
Method 5. Modify the Memory Dump Setting
If you’re facing “Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart” error, you can deal with the issue by doing the following:
1. Press Windows Key + S and type “advanced system“. Then select View advanced system settings from the list of results.
2. Switch to the Advanced tab, click on Settings under the Start-up and Recovery section.
3. Under the System failure topic, untick the box next to Automatically restart.
4. Under the Write debugging information section, click on the drop-down menu and select on the Complete memory dump option.
5. Save changes and restart your computer.
After restarting your Windows device, check if the “Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart” error is still there.
Solution 6. Update Device Drivers
In most cases, if your drivers are outdated, then “Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart” message can appear. This can be a serious issue and in order to fix it, try to update the problematic drivers. To do that, just go to the manufacturer’s website and download the latest drivers for your device.
However, if you don’t have computer skills, we recommend updating and fixing drivers with the Driver Talen. Driver Talen has more than 3 million users so far, which supports hundreds of thousands of devices and drivers.
You can download Driver Talen for Windows 10 from this source. That tool will scan for and highlight outdated drivers when you run it. After that, you simple click an Update All button on the program’s window to install the latest drivers.
Method 7. Check for Windows Updates
If you still facing “Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart” message, the problem might be the missing updates. If Windows has not been updated for some time, then we suggest you try to check for updates manually and check if there are any updates to be installed.
To check for Windows Updates, follow these steps below:
1. Click on the Start menu then select Settings app.
2. Go to the Update & Security section.
3. In the right pane, click on the Check for updates button.
Windows will start checking for updates. If there are updates available, install them. Once your system is up to date, restart your computer and check if the problem still persists.
Method 8. Restore your System using restore points
If you’re facing “Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart” message on your PC, you might be able to fix the issue by performing a System Restore. This tool enables you to restore your System to an earlier state and fix various issues. Here are the steps to perform a System Restore
1. Press Windows Key + S and type “system restore“. Then select “Create a restore point” from the list of results.
2. Now System Properties window will pop up. Click on the System Restore button.
3. System Restore will now start. Click on the Next button.
4. If it’s available, click Show more restore points option. After that, you need to select the desired restore point. Click Next.
5. Follow the onscreen directions to complete the restoration process.
Once you restore your system, check to see if you still have the error “Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart”. If you want to know how to create a System Restore Point in Windows 10, I’ve covered the subject extensively in this complete post.
Now you have eight solutions to fix the “Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart” error, you can easily fix the problem in Windows 8 and Windows 10. If you have any questions, please let me know in the comments section below.
Hope something helps you.
