Windows BSOD Error 0x0000009F — DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE Fix

What Does This Error Mean?

The 0x0000009F blue screen means a driver did not respond correctly when Windows changed power states. Power state changes happen when your computer sleeps, hibernates, wakes up, or shuts down. If a driver fails to handle this transition correctly, Windows crashes. This is called DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE.

Affected Models

Windows 10
Windows 11
Windows 8.1
Windows Server

Common Causes

An outdated or buggy driver for a USB device, network adapter, or graphics card cannot handle sleep and wake transitions
A USB device (such as a printer, external hard drive, or dock) is causing the computer to crash when waking from sleep
The graphics card driver is failing to properly restore the display after hibernation
BIOS or UEFI firmware is outdated and has a bug affecting power management
Conflicting power management settings between Windows and a third-party driver

How to Fix It

Update your drivers, especially graphics card, network adapter, and USB controller drivers. Right-click the Start button, select Device Manager, and update any drivers with warnings. Also visit your graphics card manufacturer's website for the latest driver.

GPU drivers and USB drivers are the most common causes of DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE. Always get graphics drivers directly from NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel rather than through Windows Update.
Disconnect all non-essential USB devices before putting the computer to sleep. Unplug USB hubs, external drives, and printers. Test whether the crash still occurs.

A specific USB device is often the culprit. By disconnecting devices one at a time, you can identify which one causes the crash.
Change your power plan settings. Go to Control Panel > Power Options > Change plan settings > Change advanced power settings. Under Sleep, set Allow hybrid sleep to Off and set Hibernate after to Never.

Disabling hybrid sleep and hibernation reduces the number of power state transitions, which lowers the chance of a driver failing to handle them.
Update your computer's BIOS or UEFI firmware. Visit your computer manufacturer's support website, search for your model, and download the latest BIOS update. Follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully.

BIOS updates can fix power management bugs. Only update the BIOS if you are comfortable following the instructions exactly — an interrupted BIOS update can make the computer unbootable.
Run the Windows Power Troubleshooter. Go to Settings > System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters and run the Power troubleshooter. Let it detect and fix power configuration problems automatically.

This built-in tool can identify and correct misconfigured power settings that contribute to this crash.

When to Call a Professional

This error is almost always software-related — a driver update usually fixes it. If the crash happens despite updated drivers, a technician can use crash dump analysis to identify the exact problematic driver. Hardware replacement is rarely needed for this specific blue screen.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does this crash only happen when waking from sleep?

When your computer wakes from sleep, Windows sends a 'wake up' signal to every driver. Each driver must acknowledge the signal and restore its hardware to a working state. If one driver is too slow or fails to respond, Windows gives up and crashes rather than leaving hardware in an unknown state.

Can I just disable sleep mode to avoid this crash?

Yes, disabling sleep mode will prevent this specific crash from occurring. Go to Settings > System > Power and sleep and set both Sleep options to Never. This is a valid workaround while you identify and fix the driver causing the problem.

How do I find out which driver is causing the crash?

Windows creates a small dump file every time a blue screen occurs. You can find these files in C:\Windows\Minidump with a .dmp extension. Open one with WinDbg Preview (free from the Microsoft Store) to see the name of the driver that failed during the power transition.