Windows BSOD Error 0x0000003C — What It Means & How to Fix It

What Does This Error Mean?

BSOD 0x0000003C (INTERRUPT_UNWIND_ATTEMPTED) means a driver tried to raise an exception — essentially trigger an error-handling routine — while in the middle of processing a hardware interrupt. Windows does not allow this because it could corrupt the system's interrupt handling chain. This is a serious driver bug that requires updating or removing the offending driver.

Affected Models

Windows 10
Windows 11
Windows 8.1
Windows 7

Common Causes

A device driver contains a programming bug that improperly handles exceptions during hardware interrupt processing
An outdated driver is not compatible with the interrupt handling changes in newer versions of Windows
Third-party kernel-mode software such as antivirus, virtual machine software, or system utilities has a bug in its interrupt handler
Faulty hardware is generating spurious interrupts that confuse the driver's exception handling logic
Overclocking or hardware instability causes interrupt timing errors that trigger the fault

How to Fix It

Use WhoCrashed to identify the driver. Download it free from resplendence.com. Run it after a crash — it reads the minidump files in C:\Windows\Minidump and names the driver responsible. Look for the .sys file name in the results.

This error is almost always caused by a specific driver. Knowing exactly which one saves a lot of guesswork. WhoCrashed is safe, free, and designed for exactly this purpose.
Update or uninstall the identified driver. If it belongs to a hardware device, visit the manufacturer's website for the latest driver. If it belongs to a software package like a VPN, virtual machine, or antivirus, update or uninstall that software through Control Panel > Programs.

Never use third-party driver updater software — these tools often install generic drivers that cause more problems. Always get drivers directly from the manufacturer.
Disable or uninstall recently added virtual machine or hypervisor software. Programs like VMware, VirtualBox, and Hyper-V install low-level interrupt handlers that sometimes trigger this BSOD. Open Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features and temporarily uninstall them to test.

Virtual machine software runs at a very low system level and is a common source of interrupt-related BSODs. Updating to the latest version of the VM software usually fixes the issue.
Reset overclocks and disable XMP in BIOS. Restart and enter BIOS setup (Del, F2, or F10 on startup). Set the memory profile to 'Auto' instead of XMP/EXPO and reset CPU settings to default. Hardware instability can cause malformed interrupt signals.

XMP and EXPO memory profiles technically overclock your RAM above official JEDEC specifications. Some motherboard and CPU combinations cannot handle this reliably, leading to interrupt errors.
Run Driver Verifier to catch the problematic driver in the act. Open Command Prompt as Administrator, type: verifier — press Enter, and follow the wizard. Select 'Create standard settings' and 'All drivers.' Restart. Windows will now crash with more detailed info about the bad driver.

Warning: Driver Verifier intentionally causes crashes to expose bad drivers. Only use it for diagnosis. Run it for one session, get the crash info from WhoCrashed, then disable it by running verifier /reset in Command Prompt.

When to Call a Professional

If you cannot identify the problem driver and the crashes continue after removing recently installed software and drivers, a technician with kernel debugging tools can pinpoint the exact cause. This is a rare but serious bug that sometimes requires in-depth crash dump analysis.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a hardware interrupt?

A hardware interrupt is a signal a device sends to the CPU to say 'I need your attention right now.' For example, when you press a key, your keyboard sends an interrupt to the CPU so it can process the keystroke immediately. Drivers handle these interrupts on behalf of their devices. During interrupt handling, the driver must not raise exceptions — and this BSOD is what happens when one does.

This error only happens with a specific device plugged in. What should I do?

That is a very useful clue — it points directly to the driver for that device. Unplug the device and see if the crashes stop. If they do, go to the device manufacturer's website and check if there is a newer driver available. If no update exists, the device may simply be incompatible with your current version of Windows.

Can I prevent this BSOD from restarting my PC so I can read the error?

Yes. Right-click Start > System > Advanced System Settings > Startup and Recovery > Settings. Uncheck 'Automatically restart' under System failure. Now when the BSOD appears, it will stay on screen so you can read and photograph the stop code and any driver names shown. The crash dump file (in C:\Windows\Minidump) contains even more detail.