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Worker Thread Returned at Bad IRQL: X Solutions for BSOD

7 min. read

Updated onMarch 22, 2024

updated onMarch 22, 2024

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Key notes

Blue Screen of Death errors will often crash your Windows 10 system and restart your personal computer in order to prevent any software or hardware damage. The worker thread returned at bad IRQL is one such example.

In this guide, we walk you through all the important elements of this BSoD, including the most practical solutions.

Why does Worker Thread Returned at Bad IRQL error occur?

The Inappropriate Interrupt Request Level (IRQL) is the priority level for different system resources including devices, processes, and interrupts. When you experience a worker thread returned at bad IRQL it could be for any of the following:

How do I fix the WORKER_THREAD_RETURNED BSoD error?

1. Use a dedicated tool for BSoD

Finding the cause and moreover, the solutions to fix computer errors such as BSoD can be a complicated task. Luckily,tools specialized in system repaircan easily help you scan your system, identify the broken or corrupted file, and replace it with a fresh one from their own databases.

2. Keep Windows 10 up to date

BSoD errors are often caused by hardware and software issues, and in order to fix these issues, you need to update Windows 10.

New patches are released frequently, and many fix both hardware and software issues. You can download the latest patches easily through Windows Update.

Microsoft is constantly working on Windows 10, therefore if you wish to keep your PC stable and error-free, we strongly advise that you download the latest patches.

3. Remove problematic applications

Third-party applications can often cause these types of errors, therefore it’s important that you find and remove any application that might be causing this error.

According to the users, applications such as ASUS AI Suite can cause these errors, so if you’re using this or any other similar application, be sure that you remove it.

Another common cause can be your antivirus software or firewall, therefore you’ll have to remove allthird-party antivirus programsfrom your PC in order to fix this error.

Even if you remove your currently installed antivirus, your computer will still be protected by Windows Defender, so you don’t have to worry about online safety.

We have to mention that uninstalling the antivirus software might not fix the problem since many antivirus programs tend to leave certain files and registry entries behind once you uninstall them.

To completely remove all files associated with your antivirus program, we strongly advise using a dedicated removal tool. Many antivirus companies have these tools for their software.

According to users, McAfee antivirus was the cause for this error, but bear in mind that almost any antivirus program can cause this error to appear.

We have to mention that sometimes drivers can cause these types of errors, therefore you might have to uninstall a certain driver from your PC.

Users reported issues with the Broadcom CrystalHD Video Decoder driver, and according to them, the only way to fix the error was to remove that driver.

4. Update your drivers

Rather often Blue Screen of Death errors are caused by outdated or buggy drivers and the only solution is to update the problematic drivers.

Updating drivers isn’t that hard, and you can do that simply by visiting your hardware manufacturer’s website and downloading the necessary drivers for your device.

Bear in mind that you might need to update drivers for all major components in order to fix this error. Searching for drivers on your own can be time-consuming.

So, we advise you to use a tool that will do this for you automatically. Using an automatic driver updater will certainly save you from the hassle of searching for drivers manually.

This tool will help you update drivers automatically and prevent PC damage caused by installing the wrong driver versions.

⇒Get Outbyte Driver Updater

5. Run the Hardware Troubleshooter

Now, we’re going to seek help from Windows 10’s troubleshooting tools. The first tool is the built-in troubleshooter. This tool can help you resolve various issues, including the BSOD problems.

6. Run the SFC scan

The next tool we’re going to use is theSFCscan. This is a command-line tool that will scan your system for potential issues and resolve them on the way, of course, if possible.

If you encounter problems while running SFC, it stops or does not work at all on Windows 10, use ourdedicated guidein order to fix the issue.

7. Run the DISM tool

And the last troubleshooting tool we’re going to use is DISM. This tool is more powerful than the previous two, as it deploys the system image all over again.

8. Reset your Windows 10

If the WORKER_THREAD_RETURNED_AT_BAD_IRQL error is caused by certainsoftware, you might be able to fix it by performing a Windows 10 reset.

To perform Windows 10 reset, you’ll need to back up all important files from your C partition and to create a bootable USB flash drive by using Media Creation Tool.

If Automatic Repair couldn’t repair your Windows 10 PC, you can check the steps from ourdedicated guideand easily fix the issue.

9. Check your PC for faulty hardware

Blue Screen of Death errors are often caused by your hardware, therefore we urge you to remove any recently installed hardware since it might not be fully compatible with your PC.

If the recently installed hardware isn’t the problem, then one of your components is probably faulty and you need to replace it.

A common cause for these errors is your RAM, but we also advise you to check all other major hardware components, since many of them can cause this error.

WORKER_THREAD_RETURNED_AT_BAD_IRQL BSoD error can be problematic, but you can easily fix this error if you follow the steps from this guide.

If you solved the issue with any of these solutions or you have a suggestion, please leave us a comment below.

Worker Thread Returned at Bad IRQL: X Solutions for BSOD#

Why does Worker Thread Returned at Bad IRQL error occur?#

How do I fix the WORKER_THREAD_RETURNED BSoD error?#

1. Use a dedicated tool for BSoD#

2. Keep Windows 10 up to date#

3. Remove problematic applications#

4. Update your drivers#

5. Run the Hardware Troubleshooter#

6. Run the SFC scan#

7. Run the DISM tool#

8. Reset your Windows 10#

9. Check your PC for faulty hardware#