Fixes / Windows · Checked September 30, 2026

Windows DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION: what it means and how to fix it

Short answer

DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION (bug check 0x133) means a driver kept the processor busy longer than Windows allows, so Windows crashed on purpose to protect itself. It is almost always a driver or firmware problem, not broken hardware. The most common fix is to unplug new devices, then update or roll back the storage controller (SATA/NVMe), SSD firmware and graphics drivers.

What this message means

Windows has a built-in timer called the DPC watchdog. Drivers use short background jobs called Deferred Procedure Calls (DPCs) to handle hardware events, and each one is expected to finish in microseconds. If a single DPC runs far too long, or the processor stays at that high-priority level for too long in total, the watchdog stops the whole system with bug check 0x00000133. Microsoft's own documentation says this stop code is generally caused by faulty driver code that does not finish its work in time. Common culprits are storage controller drivers, outdated SSD firmware, graphics, audio, network and Bluetooth drivers, and newly added USB devices.

Common causes

Cause	How to tell
Storage controller driver (often Intel Rapid Storage Technology, iaStorA.sys or iaStorAC.sys) or a vendor NVMe driver	The crash happens during heavy disk use, at startup or when copying large files, and the crash details or dump name iaStorA.sys, iaStorAC.sys, storport.sys or a vendor NVMe driver.
Outdated SSD firmware	You have an SSD (especially an older SATA SSD) and the crashes come with brief freezes of a few seconds before the blue screen. The SSD maker's tool (Samsung Magician, Crucial Storage Executive, WD Dashboard and so on) shows a firmware update is available.
Faulty or outdated graphics, audio, network or Bluetooth driver	Crashes happen while gaming, streaming video, on video calls or when connecting Bluetooth headphones. The dump or Event Viewer points to files like nvlddmkm.sys (NVIDIA), atikmdag.sys (AMD), a Realtek driver, or BthA2DP.sys.
Newly connected hardware or an incompatible USB device	The crashes started right after you plugged in a new dock, external drive, capture card, controller or printer, and stop when that device is unplugged.
A recent driver or Windows update that installed a bad driver version	The PC was stable until a specific date. Settings > Windows Update > Update history shows a driver or cumulative update installed just before the first crash.
Outdated BIOS/UEFI or chipset firmware	No single driver is named, crashes seem random, and the manufacturer's support page lists a newer BIOS or chipset driver that mentions stability or storage fixes.

How to fix it

1. Unplug new or external devices and undo recent changes

Shut down the PC and unplug everything except the keyboard, mouse and monitor (external drives, docks, printers, game controllers, USB hubs).
Start Windows and use it normally for a while. If the crashes stop, reconnect devices one at a time until the crash returns. The last device connected is the likely cause.
Update that device's driver from the manufacturer's website, or stop using it if no update exists.
If you recently installed new internal hardware (RAM, GPU, SSD), remove it and test again.

2. Find out which driver caused the crash

Press the Start button, type Reliability Monitor (or 'View reliability history') and open it. Click the red X on the day of the crash and select View technical details.
Alternatively, open Event Viewer, go to Windows Logs > System, and look for Event ID 1001 (source BugCheck) showing bug check 0x00000133.
Crash dump files are saved in C:\Windows\Minidump. An IT person can open them in WinDbg (from the Microsoft Store) and run !analyze -v to see IMAGE_NAME, the driver file that was running.
Search the driver file name (for example iaStorA.sys or nvlddmkm.sys) to identify the device, then update it from the PC or device manufacturer.

3. Switch the SATA controller to the Microsoft Standard SATA AHCI driver

Windows 10 and Windows 11 PCs with a SATA drive using an Intel (or other vendor) SATA driver. Skip if your disk is in RAID or Intel VMD/RST mode.

Right-click the Start button and select Device Manager.
Expand IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers. If you only see Standard SATA AHCI Controller, you are already on the Microsoft driver, so skip this fix.
Right-click the other SATA AHCI controller entry (for example Intel(R) ... SATA AHCI Controller) and choose Update driver.
Choose Browse my computer for drivers, then Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer.
With Show compatible hardware ticked, select Standard SATA AHCI Controller, click Next, then restart the PC.

4. Update SSD firmware, graphics driver, chipset driver and BIOS

Find your SSD model in Device Manager under Disk drives, then install the maker's tool (Samsung Magician, Crucial Storage Executive, WD Dashboard, Kingston SSD Manager) and apply any firmware update. Back up your files first.
Download the latest graphics driver directly from NVIDIA, AMD or Intel rather than relying on the generic Windows version.
Get the latest chipset, storage and BIOS/UEFI updates from your PC or motherboard maker's support page for your exact model.
Install Windows driver updates: in Windows 11 go to Settings > Windows Update > Advanced options > Optional updates > Driver updates. In Windows 10 go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > View optional updates.
Restart after each update and check whether the crashes continue.

5. Roll back a recently updated driver or remove a recent update

If you know which device changed, open Device Manager, right-click the device, choose Properties > Driver tab > Roll Back Driver, and restart.
To remove a Windows update in Windows 11, go to Settings > Windows Update > Update history > Uninstall updates. In Windows 10, go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > View update history > Uninstall updates.
Or use System Restore: press Start, type 'Create a restore point', open it, click System Restore and pick a restore point from before the crashes started.
If Windows crashes before you can do this, start in Safe Mode: Windows 11 Settings > System > Recovery > Advanced startup > Restart now (Windows 10: Settings > Update & Security > Recovery), then Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart, and press 4.

6. Repair Windows system files and check the disk

Press Start, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt and choose Run as administrator.
Run DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth and wait for it to finish.
Run sfc /scannow and wait for it to reach 100 percent.
Run chkdsk C: /f /r, press Y to schedule it, then restart so the check runs before Windows loads.
If crashes continue, use Settings > System > Recovery > Reset this PC (Windows 11) or Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > Reset this PC (Windows 10) and choose Keep my files.

Next time, skip the search

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Still not fixed?

If the stop code keeps coming back after updating drivers, SSD firmware and BIOS, get the most recent .dmp files from C:\Windows\Minidump and have someone analyze them in WinDbg with !analyze -v, or post them on the Microsoft Community or Windows forums with your PC model. That is the only reliable way to name the faulty driver. If the dump points to a Microsoft file such as storport.sys or ntoskrnl.exe with no third-party driver, test the SSD with the manufacturer's diagnostic tool and run Windows Memory Diagnostic. If the PC is under warranty, contact the PC maker's support (Dell, HP, Lenovo, ASUS and so on) with the dump files and crash dates, because repeated 0x133 crashes on a stock system are often fixed by their own BIOS or storage driver updates.

Questions people ask

Is DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION a hardware or software problem?

It is usually software, specifically a driver or device firmware that does not finish its work in time. Microsoft's analysis attributes about 70 percent of all stop errors to third-party drivers. Failing hardware such as an SSD can cause it, but rule out drivers and firmware first.

Can DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION damage my computer?

The crash itself does not damage hardware. Windows stops on purpose to prevent a hang or data corruption. You can lose unsaved work, though, and repeated crashes during disk writes can corrupt files, so fix it promptly.

Why does DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION happen when gaming?

Games put heavy load on graphics, audio and storage drivers at the same time, which exposes a driver that stalls. Update the graphics driver from NVIDIA, AMD or Intel, update the SSD firmware, and check whether a headset or controller driver is named in the crash details.

Will disabling Fast Startup fix DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION?

It sometimes helps when the crash happens right after turning on the PC, because Fast Startup resumes drivers instead of loading them fresh. Turn it off in Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options > Choose what the power buttons do > Change settings that are currently unavailable, then untick Turn on fast startup. It will not fix crashes that happen during normal use.

What does error code 0x00000133 mean?

0x00000133 is the numeric code for DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION. Both names refer to the same bug check, where a driver spent too long running at high priority.

Sources

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