- CrowdStrike fault update to its Falcon Sensor driver to blame for the Blue Screen of Death on Windows systems.
- The company has already fixed the problem and is working with customers to get them back online quickly.
- You can also use a workaround to fix the BSoD issue on Windows 11 and 10 computers, which must be done through Safe Mode.
On Windows 11 (or 10), if your organization uses the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike and your computer crashes with a Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) noting the error 0x50 or 0x7E, you can use these instructions to get the device back up and running quickly.
What was the cause of the CrowdStrike outage?
As part of a routine deployment, the cybersecurity company recently made available a driver update for its Falcon Sensor, which is the core component of its Falcon platform, acting as a lightweight agent that provides essential security functionalities for devices, but after the deployment, many computers started to render a blue screen with the 0x50 or 0x7E error message that caused computers to reboot in a loop.
The biggest problem is that this system is used by more than half of Fortune 500 companies and caters to various sectors, including finance, government, healthcare, education, and more, and this buggy update ended up causing a worldwide disruption.
Once CrowdStrike became aware of the issue, it quickly began investigating and discovered that this problem only affected Windows computers. A fix became available hours later, but not before causing problems in banks, airlines, emergency systems, and more worldwide. (You can watch the CrowdStrike CEO statement here.)
Although a fix has already been issued, if you have a computer crashing with a blue screen (or “bugcheck”) due to this faulty update, CrowdStrike has also provided a workaround to prevent the BSoD from continuing to happen. Even though this was not a thing from Microsoft, the software giant also published some guidance on how to fix this issue, which basically included the same steps CrowdStrike offered.
Does the CrowdStrike outage affect personal computers?
No, if you use a computer in your home or small office, you probably don’t use CrowdStrike software, meaning you haven’t been affected by this global issue.
What’s CrowdStrike?
CrowdStrike is a well-known cybersecurity company based in the United States that was co-counted in 2011. The company’s main focus is protecting organizations from cyber threats (such as data breaches and hacker attacks) through a cloud-delivered platform called Falcon.
CrowdStrike’s service provides real-time monitoring with AI and ML (machine learning) to give companies a fighting chance against online threats.
In this guide, I will explain the steps to fix the 0x50 or 0x7E error message on a blue screen on Windows 11 and Windows 10.
Fix CrowdStrike Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) on Windows
To resolve the blue screen error that resulted from the CrowdStrike driver update, use these steps:
Shut down the computer (if applicable).
Start the computer to allow the system to download the permanent fix.
If no Blue Screen of Death appears, continue using your computer. The problem is fixed, and you don’t need to do anything else. Otherwise, continue with the steps.
Force shut down the computer by pressing and holding the power button.
Start the computer again by pressing the power button, and as soon as the Windows logo appears, force shut down the computer again by pressing and holding the power button.
Repeat step 5 once or twice until the device boots into the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE).
Click the Advanced Startup option.
Click the Troubleshoot option.
Click on Advanced options.
Click the Startup Settings option.
Click the Restart button.
After your computer reboots, press the F5 (or 5) key to select the “Enable Safe Mode with Networking” option.
Sign in to your account.
Open Start.
Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
Type the following command to access the CrowdStrike folder and press Enter:
cd C:\windows\system32\drivers\CrowdStrike
Type the following command to delete the buggy Falcon Sensor CrowdStrike files and press Enter:
del C-00000291*.sys
Restart the computer.
Once you complete the steps, the computer should start normally.
In addition to the permanent fix to this problem and the workaround to resolve this issue manually, CrowdStrike has also started a Reddit thread with more up-to-date information about this incident.
Fix for devices with BitLocker encryption
If you have a device with BitLocker encryption, Reddit user HammerSlo suggests a solution that seems to be working, which includes cycling through the blue screen until you get the recovery screen. In the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE), navigate to Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Startup Settings, and click the “Restart” button. Then, skip the first Bitlocker recovery key prompt by pressing the “Esc” key, and then skip the second Bitlocker recovery key prompt by selecting “Skip This Drive” in the bottom right.
After that, navigate to Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Command Prompt, and run the bcdedit /set {default} safeboot minimal command and press Enter.
On WinRE’s main menu, click the “Continue” option. This action may cycle two or three times. If you booted into Safe Mode, sign in with your account credentials.
While in Safe Mode, open File Explorer, open the C:\Windows\System32\drivers\Crowdstrike path and delete the files that start with C-00000291*. sys.
Finally, open Command Prompt (admin) and run the bcdedit /deletevalue {default} safeboot command, and restart the computer.