How to Fix Driver Power State Failure in Windows 11

If your Windows 11 PC suddenly hits a blue screen with the message DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE, you’re dealing with one of the most common and frustrating BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) errors. This issue usually happens because a driver isn’t handling power transitions correctly—like when Windows goes to sleep, wakes up, or switches power states. Faulty GPU drivers, outdated chipset drivers, incompatible USB devices, and power plan misconfigurations often trigger this crash.

The good news is that you can fix this error without resetting your entire PC. In this guide, we walk you through all the effective solutions to stop the Driver Power State Failure error on Windows 11.

Fix Driver Power State Failure in Windows 11

To troubleshoot this issue, you’ll need a stable internet connection to update drivers, and enough time to restart your PC several times during testing. It also helps if you know when the BSOD appears—during sleep, startup, shutdown, or while gaming—as this can help pinpoint the faulty driver. Once everything’s ready, let’s begin.

1. Update Your Graphics Driver

Graphics drivers are one of the main causes of power-state crashes.

NVIDIA

1. Open GeForce Experience.
2. Go to the Drivers tab.
3. Install the latest available update.

AMD

1. Open AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition.
2. Navigate to System > Updates.
3. Install the newest driver.

Intel

1. Use Intel Driver & Support Assistant.
2. Install the recommended driver updates.

After updating, restart your PC and check whether the error appears again.

2. Update Chipset, Wi-Fi, and Storage Drivers

Chipset and power-related drivers affect how your system handles power states.

1. Visit your laptop’s or motherboard manufacturer’s website.
2. Download and install these drivers:
   • Chipset
   • Intel Management Engine Interface (IMEI)
   • Wi-Fi / Bluetooth
   • SATA / NVMe Storage
   • USB 3.0 / USB 3.1 controllers

After installing updates, restart the PC.

3. Change the Power Plan to High Performance

Power-saving features sometimes cause devices to enter sleep states improperly.

1. Press Windows + R, type control, and press Enter.
2. Open Power Options.
3. Select High Performance or Ultimate Performance (if available).
4. Restart your PC.

This reduces aggressive power-saving behavior and often stops the BSOD entirely.

4. Disable Fast Startup

Fast Startup can load outdated drivers during boot, triggering this BSOD.

1. Open Control Panel.
2. Go to Power Options.
3. Click Choose what the power buttons do.
4. Click Change settings that are currently unavailable.
5. Uncheck Turn on fast startup.
6. Save changes and restart.

5. Roll Back Recently Installed Drivers

If the error started after a driver update, reverting it may fix the issue.

1. Press Windows + X and choose Device Manager.
2. Expand the category of the suspect device (GPU, Wi-Fi, USB controller).
3. Right-click and select Properties.
4. Go to the Driver tab.
5. Click Roll Back Driver (if available).

Restart your PC after rolling back.

6. Disable USB Selective Suspend

Windows tries to save power by suspending USB devices, but some don’t wake properly.

1. Open Control Panel > Power Options.
2. Click Change plan settings on your active plan.
3. Select Change advanced power settings.
4. Expand USB settings.
5. Expand USB selective suspend setting.
6. Set it to Disabled.

Click Apply and reboot your PC.

7. Disable PCI Express Link State Power Management

PCIe power-saving features can crash systems with certain GPUs.

1. Open Advanced power settings again.
2. Expand PCI Express.
3. Open Link State Power Management.
4. Set it to Off.

Apply the changes and restart.

8. Uninstall Problematic Third-Party Programs

Apps that hook into system-level drivers can trigger power-state failures.

Uninstall or temporarily disable:

• GPU overclocking tools (MSI Afterburner, EVGA Precision)
• RGB control software
• VPN drivers
• Old printer or scanner drivers
• System “optimizer” tools

Restart your PC after removing these apps.

9. Disconnect External USB Devices

Faulty USB peripherals often cause Driver Power State Failure during sleep or startup.

1. Disconnect USB hubs, webcams, audio devices, and external drives.
2. Restart your system.
3. Reconnect devices one by one to identify which device triggers the crash.

Replace or update that device’s driver if needed.

10. Run System File Checker and DISM

Corrupted system files can also cause BSODs.

Step 1: Run SFC

1. Right-click the Start button.
2. Choose Terminal (Admin).
3. Run: sfc /scannow

Step 2: Run DISM

After SFC completes, run:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Restart once both scans finish.

11. Update Windows 11

A pending Windows update may contain fixes for power-state driver issues.

1. Open Settings > Windows Update.
2. Click Check for updates.
3. Install everything available.

Reboot after installing updates.

12. Perform a Clean Boot

A clean boot helps identify whether a third-party program causes the BSOD.

1. Press Windows + R, type msconfig, and hit Enter.
2. Open the Services tab.
3. Check Hide all Microsoft services.
4. Click Disable all.
5. Open the Startup tab and click Open Task Manager.
6. Disable all startup items.
7. Restart your PC.

If the BSOD stops, re-enable services one by one to find the culprit.

13. Check Power Management Settings for Specific Devices

1. Open Device Manager.
2. Expand categories like Network adapters, USB controllers, or Bluetooth.
3. Right-click each device and open Properties.
4. Go to the Power Management tab.
5. Uncheck
   Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.

Restart and see if the problem goes away.

14. Update BIOS/UEFI Firmware

Power-state failures can happen if your BIOS has compatibility issues with Windows 11.

1. Visit your laptop or motherboard manufacturer’s website.
2. Download the latest BIOS update.
3. Follow their instructions to apply it carefully.

This often resolves deep-level power and driver issues.

15. Reset Windows

If nothing works and the error keeps showing, you may need to repair Windows.

1. Open Settings > System > Recovery.
2. Under Reset this PC, choose Keep my files.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions.

This reinstall resets all system drivers, fixing stubborn BSOD issues.

Wrapping Up

The Driver Power State Failure error in Windows 11 almost always comes down to outdated or faulty drivers, aggressive power-saving settings, or problematic third-party software. Once you update your GPU and chipset drivers, disable selective suspend, and repair system files, the error usually disappears for good.

After applying the methods above, your PC should handle sleep states, wake-ups, and power transitions smoothly without hitting another BSOD.