How to Fix “Stop error code 0x0000001E (KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED)” Error

The KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED error is an annoying Windows 8 BSOD that occurs for a number of reasons. Usually it starts happening after an upgrade from Windows 7, but even simple things, like trying to take a screenshot, can trigger KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED, stop error code 0x0000001E. In this article, we’ll help you troubleshoot this error and fix it.

Run a bug check for 0x0000001E

The first thing you should do when you get the KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED error with the error code 0x0000001E is to run a bug check. This is a known bug that Microsoft is aware of that is caused by drivers and sometimes software.

If you have an OEM copy of Windows 8 that was preinstalled on your new computer, then your warranty should cover it and you should contact your PC’s manufacturer. And if you purchased your copy of Windows 8 separately, you can call Microsoft for assistance.

If you’d rather troubleshoot the problem yourself, here’s what to do:

1. Use Windows Update to download and update all your device drivers. You can also open the Device Manager, click on View and select Show Hidden Devices to check if there are any yellow exclamation marks. If there are, then these drivers are the cause of the KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED error.

2. Run Chkdsk to eliminate hard drive errors. To do that, run cmd.exe using the Run box, make sure you right-click on it and select Run as Administrator, type chkdsk /F /R and press Enter.

3. Run System File Checker to verify Windows files. To do that, open the Command Line (cmd.exe) as Administrator and type sfc /scannow. Then press Enter and let the scan run.

You should also check exception codes in the error message, as they can point you in the right direction. For example, if a driver is mentioned in the exception code, you should disable that  driver and see if the error goes away or not. Some common exception codes are:

• 0x80000002: STATUS_DATATYPE_MISALIGNMENTAn unaligned data reference was encountered.
• 0x80000003: STATUS_BREAKPOINTA breakpoint or ASSERT was encountered when no kernel debugger was attached to the system.
• 0xC0000005: STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATIONA memory access violation occurred. (Parameter 4 of the bug check is the address that the driver attempted to access.)

Run registry repair

Another thing you should do to fix the KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED Blue Screen of Death is to repair your Windows registry. Because the registry is the central database of Windows OS, any errors within it can cause your computer to crash.

To repair the registry and fix KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED, do the following:

1. Download our recommended Windows repair tool and install it on your computer
2. Open the program and run a scan
3. Examine the scan results and run the fix

Doing this should fix the KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED error.