The Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE error is pretty annoying, especially because it usually means some driver or hardware is misbehaving when Windows tries to put devices into sleep mode or wake them up. The stop code 0x9F points to a driver or hardware component that’s not responding correctly during power state changes. Basically, Windows expects a device to respond but ends up crashing because it doesn’t. Not sure why it works sometimes, but other times it just crashes without warning. Could be some faulty driver or a recent hardware change.
When Windows sends signals to make devices sleep or wake, if a driver is slow or just plain broken, it causes the system to hang and suddenly crash. That’s when you see that BSOD. The idea is to identify which driver or device is causing the trouble and fix or roll it back. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of unplugging a flaky USB device or updating a driver. Because of course, Windows has to make it harder than necessary!
How to Fix DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE (0x9F) BSOD
Remove All Connected Devices to Start Fresh
This is usually the first thing to try. External devices—like USB drives, external SSDs, hubs, or even certain peripherals—can freak out during power state transitions. If you recently plugged something in before the crash, try unplugging it. Then restart the PC and see if the BSOD pops up again.
Basically, you wanna disconnect everything except the essentials—monitor, keyboard, mouse—before rebooting. It’s a quick way to rule out external hardware as the culprit. Note that on some setups, this might be a bit tedious—you’ll have to test things step-by-step if you want to corner the problem. Also, don’t forget to check the connections and maybe swap out cables or try different ports.
Check the Crash Dump File for Clues
Once you’ve got the system stable enough, it’s helpful to peek into the crash dump files. Tools like BlueScreenView are pretty handy. You can download it, run it, and see all recent BSODs—especially pinpointing which driver caused the crash. It shows the bug check string, parameters, and the driver responsible, which can help zero in on the faulty hardware or software.
The columns next to the bug check code give you extra info, like sub-codes or driver names, so you can start narrowing down what might be bad. Sometimes, just updating or rolling back that problematic driver fixes everything. On some setups, it’s weird—this tool sometimes takes a restart or two to give consistent results.
Look for Driver Incompatibilities or Updates
This stop code screams driver issues, especially after updates or installing new hardware. If the crash started happening after installing a driver or device, that’s probably your culprit. Try rolling back recently updated drivers: head over to Device Manager (Win + X > Device Manager) and look for devices marked with an exclamation point (!).Right-click, choose Update driver or Roll back driver—sometimes, the newer driver isn’t so great.
If rolling back doesn’t help, uninstall the device: right-click and pick Uninstall device. Disconnect the hardware physically, then reconnect so Windows can try re-installing the driver automatically with the recommended version. Sometimes, Windows does a decent job installing compatible drivers without messing around too much.
Adjust Power Settings: Disable Power Saver Plan
Microsoft’s suggestion to disable the Power saver plan is worth a shot. Power plans can mess with hardware responses, especially if they go into deep hibernation or sleep mode. Set your power plan to Balanced or High performance (Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options) and see if that prevents the BSOD from happening during sleep or wake cycles. This fix can sometimes prevent Windows from sending conflicting signals to devices, which causes driver hang-ups.
On some setups, this change alone has actually stabilized things for a little while, but it’s not a cure-all.
Run System File Checker (SFC) to Repair Corrupted Files
Corrupted system files sometimes trigger weird driver issues or BSODs. Running an SFC scan can help repair those. To do it, press Windows + X and open Windows Terminal (Admin) or Command Prompt (Admin). Then type:
sfc /scannow This will scan all protected system files and try to fix anything broken. The process can take a few minutes, so be patient. Once it’s done, it’ll tell you if it found and fixed issues—or if it couldn’t fix everything. If you get errors you can’t fix, it might be time to consider a repair install or a clean Windows reinstall.
Last Resort: Reinstall Windows
When all else fails, and you can’t find the root cause, reinstalling Windows often sorts out stubborn driver or OS corruption issues. If you go down this route, make sure to back up important data first. There are plenty of guides online, but in a nutshell — do a clean install, not an upgrade. This usually means booting from a USB stick with a fresh Windows install tool, wiping the drive, and starting fresh. If you’re not comfortable doing that, there are tutorials available on trusted tech sites like this one from Appuals.
Honestly, fixing these driver-related BSODs can be a bit trial-and-error. Sometimes a simple driver update fixes everything, other times it’s a hardware fault or a deeper Windows issue. The key is to isolate what’s causing the driver to hang—be it external device, corrupted files, or incompatible driver updates.