Ntoskrnl.exe - PSHED.dll -- Driver_Power_state_Failure

Tom Hill 0 Reputation points
2026-10-12T13:54:23.4233333+00:00

Hello,

I have the PC hanging then forcefully shutdown when going to sleep (regular sleep) 1 time out of 3-4.

Dump shows ntoskrnl and pshed as cause. i've tried dism etc and sfc etc with no clear gain.

Here are the dumps and screenshot of bluescreenviewer. I've updated most of what I can and I'm stumped (those logs are too hard for me to interpret)

Thanks for any help !

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Sleep and Power on, off

2 answers

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  1. DaveM121 938.6K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-10-12T14:29:17.69+00:00

    Your minidump files both indicate a game controller driver is causing your system to crash.

    Do you have a game controller connected to your PC that requires specific drivers or software to be installed?

    If so, it would be best to uninstall that, restart your PC, then download and install ((not update) the latest version of the drivers and software.

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  2. AI answer

    2026-10-12T13:54:41.26+00:00

    ntoskrnl.exe and PSHED.dll in BlueScreenView are usually not the real root cause for DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE (0x9F). This bug check means a driver is stuck or inconsistent during a power-state transition, commonly around sleep, hibernation, or resume.

    Since DISM and SFC did not help, focus on drivers and power-transition troubleshooting:

    1. Check recent driver or hardware changes If any device driver, USB device, dock, adapter, or system service was added or updated recently, remove, roll back, or update it. Microsoft lists recently added drivers/services as a common cause of this bug check.
    2. Update the most likely driver categories from the PC manufacturer Prioritize:
      • Chipset / motherboard drivers
      • Network drivers
      • Graphics drivers
      • Power-management related drivers
      Similar cases in Microsoft Q&A were resolved by updating network and motherboard/chipset drivers, especially when crashes happened around sleep/wake.
    3. Check Device Manager for faulting devices Open Device Manager and look for any device with a yellow exclamation mark. Then open that device’s Properties and review the device events / driver status. If a device is flagged, update or uninstall/reinstall that driver.
    4. Check Event Viewer around the crash time Open Event Viewer and review the System log for critical or error events that occurred in the same time window as the failed sleep. Microsoft specifically recommends checking the System log to help identify the device or driver involved.
    5. Temporarily disable power saving features for testing In Control Panel > Power Options, temporarily disable power-saving behavior to test whether the issue is tied to sleep-state transitions. Microsoft notes that some driver issues are related to hibernation, suspend, and resume states.
    6. Disable Fast Startup for testing In Control Panel > Power Options > Choose what the power buttons do > Change settings that are currently unavailable, clear Turn on fast startup. This is a common troubleshooting step in similar DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE cases involving sleep and shutdown transitions.
    7. If hardware was added recently, remove it temporarily If the problem started after adding hardware, remove or replace it and test again. Also check whether the system manufacturer provides firmware, ACPI/BIOS, or other updates.
    8. Run manufacturer hardware diagnostics Microsoft recommends running the hardware diagnostics supplied by the system manufacturer.

    If the system is producing minidumps and deeper analysis is needed, the official guidance is that identifying the exact cause and creating a code fix requires debugging experience and access to the faulting module’s source. For end-user troubleshooting, the highest-value next steps are:

    • update chipset/network/graphics drivers from the PC manufacturer
    • check Device Manager and Event Viewer
    • test with Fast Startup disabled
    • test after disconnecting recently added hardware or peripherals

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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