How to fix DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE error in Windows 10

What is DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE error

BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) errors are quite common around Windows users. Followed by a system crash, the computer fails to initiate some necessary processes that maintain the hardware state. “DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE” code is not an exception and appears whilst waking up your PC after sleep or hibernate mode. The error results in a BSOD crash saying that your pc has problems with drivers. Drivers themselves are very important since they establish communication between software and hardware to operate properly. This particular issue is related to either malfunctioned drivers or wrong battery configuration that cannot communicate with your hardware correctly. “DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE” error has been in the spotlight of many users and if you are one of those, follow the fixing guide that is mentioned down below.

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1. Update or Rollback drivers

Drivers that have not been updated for too long can become a real problem. Because technologies and hardware are growing high, old drivers become obsolete and no longer compatible. Sometimes drivers can be installed new but malfunctioned due to bugs and glitches that developers missed before the release. If enabled, Windows can update drivers automatically and inform users in the notification bar. Either way, you can update drivers or roll them back in case the error popped up after a sudden update.

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To update drivers manually:

1. Right-click on the Start Menu button and select Device Manager.
2. In the opened tab find the malfunctioned driver (marked with a yellow rectangle) and expand a drop-down menu.
3. Locate the driver, right-click on it, choose Update Driver and follow the on-screen instructions.
4. Windows will start searching for available updates and automatically install them on your computer.

If you do not want to tinker around this manual work, you can download IOBIT Driver Booster that will find and install new drivers automatically. It will save tons of time and provide a more effective scan. Here is the link to download it.

2. Disable Power Management feature

To stop receiving error you can try to prevent the PC from turning into Sleep or Hibernate modes. This will not save your battery power, however, it will ensure that the system stops facing the “DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE” issue. Here is how you can do this:

1. Type Control Panel into the searching tab and open it.
2. After that locate Power Options.
3. Click on Choose what the power button does.
4. Now click on Change settings that are currently unavailable.
5. Then disable Turn off fast startup (recommended), Sleep and Hibernate options.
6. Click on Save Changes.

Finally, your computer will no longer fall asleep due to inaction and stop receiving the issue.

3. Adjust your Power Plan settings

Some users reported that customizing PCI Express options and setting Power Saving mode to Maximum Performance may solve the problem. If you have a laptop, note that changing Power Plan to Maximum Performance will endure your battery and decrease the longevity of it. Anyway, you can try doing this to see if it fixes the error. You can roll back at any moment.

1. Right-click on the Start Menu and navigate to Power Options.
2. In the opened window, choose Additional Power Settings.
3. Click Change Plan Settings > Change Advanced Power Settings.
4. Scroll down until you find the PCI Express option and double click on it to expand.
5. Now set On battery and Plugged in options to Off.
6. Once done, find and double click on Wireless Adapter Settings.
7. Then alter Power Saving Mode (both battery on and plugged in) to Maximum Performance and Save Changes.

Ultimately, you can check if the problem disappeared and longer bothers your activity.

4. Disable Power Management in Device Manager

To resolve the issue, you can attempt to switch off Power Management of Network Adapters. Basically, this method is very similar to others but still can have a different impact on solving the problem.

1. Open Device Manager as we did previously.
2. Find Network Adapters section, right-click on the adapter from the drop-down menu and choose Properties.
3. Then go to the Power Management tab and untick the Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power” option.
4. Apply these changes to all devices that have this option.

Hopefully, this will rectify the popping-up issue.

5. Run System File Checker

Sometimes damaged or missing files may arise the problem. Thus, you should use a free in-built utility that will scan and restore corrupted files on its own. To do so:

1. Open Command Prompt by typing cmd into the searching tab next to the Start Menu button.
2. In Command Prompt type the sfc /scannow command and click Enter.
3. When the fixing process is done, restart your computer.

6. Scan your device for malware

Malware is the number one enemy that crumbles the system down to multiple errors that hinder users from a comfortable experience. You never know if you picked up anything inadvertently whilst surfing the web. Therefore, we recommend scanning your device for Unwanted Apps and other threats that could modify settings and result in “DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE” error. You can use low-weight Norton Antivirus utility for this. Click on the button to download it.

Download Norton Antivirus  
In the end, “DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE” error can certainly lead to some emotional meltdown, however, with the help of the above-mentioned tools, you will be able to relieve yourself from these struggles and continue using Windows error-free. It is also worth mentioning that some options like SFC scan or updating drivers are also effective in solving multiple other problems.