What will you do when you meet the MACHINE CHECK EXCEPTION on Windows 10? If you have no idea to get rid of it, then this post is what you need. You can find the causes of this error as well as multiple useful methods to fix it.

What is MACHINE CHECK EXCEPTION (MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION)? It is a stop code that often accompanied by Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) and in most cases, it is not a one-off.

Tip: If you meet other BSOD errors, then you can visit the MiniTool website to find solutions.

MACHINE CHECK EXCEPTION error

The MACHINE CHECK EXCEPTION error can cause multiple serious issues on your computer and can appear in different situations, but you don’t need to worry about it too much because there are several methods mentioned in this post that can fix the error.

Causes of the MACHINE CHECK EXCEPTION Error

To begin with, you need to know the causes of the MACHINE CHECK EXCEPTION error. Actually, most BSODs appear because of hardware issues. There are also some other reasons, and the detailed causes of the MACHINE CHECK EXCEPTION error are listed below:

  • CPU is overheating because there is too much dust on the CPU heatsink and fan.
  • Hardware is overlocking.
  • Motherboard and memory fail.
  • Drivers are out-of-date.
  • System errors relating to hardware appear.

Then how to fix the MACHINE CHECK EXCEPTION error after knowing the causes of the error? Before you fix the error, there are two things you need to know:

Method 1: Disconnect Your DVD and Additional Hard Drives

If you meet the MACHINE CHECK EXCEPTION error when you try to install Windows 10 using an external device, then you can try to disconnect your DVD and any other additional hard drives that you have installed.

And this is because sometimes the operating system you try to install is not compatible with the drivers of external devices or the Windows cannot find out the driver of the installation hard drive.

Therefore, in order to solve the stop code MACHINE CHECK EXCEPTION Windows 10, you’d better remove all the unwanted external devices and only leave the installation hard drive connected.

Then try to install Windows 10 again and then check if this error still appears. And if this method doesn’t fix this error, then you can try the following ones.

Method 2: Check Your Hardware Physically

The culprit of the MACHINE CHECK EXCEPTION error may be the faulty hardware. Therefore, you’d better physically check your hardware such as RAM, motherboard and so on.

Tip: If your computer’s RAM is insufficient or occupied by other applications, then you can read this post to clear RAM – How to Clean RAM? Here Are Several Efficient Methods for You.

You should check if the RAM is put correctly, the CPU heatsink is installed in place, and the GPU is shifted. Besides, you should remove the dust from your fans.

When you confirm that there is no problem with your hardware, then you can reboot your computer to check if the error is fixed.

What’s more, if the error appears after you installed new hardware, then you can try to uninstall it to check if the error still occurs.

If this method doesn’t work, try the following methods.

Method 3: Update Windows

Making your operating system up to date can avoid many problems appearing and also can fix a number of errors. Therefore, you should check if there is any available Windows update for your computer. And if there is, install it.

Now follow the instructions below to install available Windows updates:

Step 1: Press the Win + I keys at the same time to open Settings and then choose Update & Security.

Step 2: Click Windows Update and then choose Check for updates on the right side of the screen.

Step 3: If there are updates available, Windows will start to download them automatically. Then restart your computer to perform the installation process.

click Check for updates

Step 4: After your operating system is up-to-date, then reboot your computer to see whether the MACHINE CHECK EXCEPTION error is gone. If not, try the next methods.

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Method 4: Update Your Drivers

The outdated driver is the most common cause of many errors, so updating your drivers may help you to fix the Windows 10 MACHINE CHECK EXCEPTION error. Here is the tutorial:

Step 1: Press the Win + X keys at the same time to choose Device Manager, and then right-click the problematic driver to choose Update driver.

Step 2: Choose Search automatically for updated driver software.

Step 3: Follow the on-screen instructions to finish updating the driver.

Step 4: Reboot your computer and then check if the error is gone.

Method 5: Run the BSOD Troubleshooter

There is a powerful built-in feature on Windows 10 – Troubleshoot, and you can use this tool to get rid of many kinds of problems, including the BSOD errors. Thus, you can use this tool to fix the MACHINE CHECK EXCEPTION error. Here is a quick guide:

Step 1: Click Start and then choose Settings.

Step 2: Choose Update & Security and then click Troubleshoot.

Step 3: Choose Blue Screen under the Find and fix other problems section to click Run the troubleshooter.

click Run the troubleshooter

Step 4: Follow the on-screen instructions to finish the troubleshooter.

Step 5: Restart your computer and then see if the error is fixed.

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Method 6: Run the SFC Scan

As you know, missing system files or corrupted system files can cause a lot of serious errors, including the MACHINE CHECK EXCEPTION error. But luckily, there is a powerful built-in feature that you can use to scan and repair the system files – the System File Checker (SFC).

But before you run this tool, you should run the DISM to make sure that the SFC can work properly. Here is a quick guide:

Step 1: Type cmd in the search box and then right-click Command Prompt to click Run as administrator.

Step 2: Type DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth in the Command Prompt window, then press Enter.

Step 3: Type sfc /scannow in the Command Prompt window and then press Enter.

Step 4: Wait for your computer to scan whether you have damaged system files. If there are, Windows will fix them automatically.

Step 5: Restart your computer and then check if the MACHINE CHECK EXCEPTION error still occurs, if it does, try the following methods.

Tip: If you find that the SFC scan isn’t working, then you can read this post – Quickly Fix – SFC Scannow Not Working (Focus on 2 Cases).

Method 7: Run CHKDSK

You can also run Windows Check Disk to scan and repair any errors with your hard drive that cause BSOD. Here is the tutorial:

Step 1: Open Command Prompt as administrator as mentioned above.

Step 2: Type chkdsk /r in the Command Prompt window and then press Enter.

Step 3: Wait for the command to finish and then restart your computer to check if the MACHINE CHECK EXCEPTION error is fixed.

Method 8: Reset This PC

If none of the methods above can help you to fix the MACHINE CHECK EXCEPTION error, then you’d better reset your computer. There is a useful built-in tool you can use on Windows 10 – Reset this PC. Follow the instructions below to reset your PC:

Note: You can also try to reinstall your operating system.

Step 1: Click Update & Security on the Settings page.

Step 2: Choose Recovery and click Get Started under the Reset this PC section on the right panel.

click Get started

Step 3: Choose whether to Keep my files or Remove everything while resetting your PC.

Step 4: Follow the prompts on the screen to finish the process.

Step 5: Restart your computer and then check if the error still appears.

I finally have found the useful methods to fix the MACHINE CHECK EXCEPTION error in this post and I also know the causes of the error.Click to Tweet

Useful Suggestion

When you use your computer, you could encounter a number of unpredictable troubles such as system crash, power failure, BSOD, virus attack and so on that can cause data loss. Therefore, you should back up your files regularly in order to protect your data.

Note: You can read this post – How To Recover Data From Hard Disk Without OS – Analysis & Tips to get detailed information to recover your data when system crashes.

But how to back up data safely and quickly? It is highly recommended that you should use MiniTool ShadowMaker – a piece of professional and wonderful backup and restore software.

There are multiple useful features of MiniTool ShadowMaker and some of them have been listed below:

  • Backup: You can use it to back up files and folders, disks and partitions, and even the operating system. And there are four different backup locations that you can choose: Administrative, Libraries, Computer, and Shared.
  • Restore: You can use it to restore everything you have backed up before.
  • Sync: You can use it to sync files and folders to other locations.
  • Disk Clone: You can use it to create a bootable external hard drive and clone simple volumes in the dynamic disks.

What’s better, you can use MiniTool ShadowMaker for free within 30 days, so just download it and have a try.

MiniTool ShadowMaker TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Here are the detailed instructions about how to use MiniTool ShadowMaker to back up files:

Step 1: Install and launch MiniTool ShadowMaker, then click Keep Trial.

Step 2: Choose Connect under This Computer to enter the main interface.

Note: You can manage a remote computer if you know the remote computer’s IP address and the computers are on the same LAN.

click Connect

Step 3: Go to the Backup page. Click Source and then select Files and folder.

Step 4: Select all the files and folders that you want to back up and then click OK.

choose files and folders to back up

Step 5: Click Destination to choose where you want to save the backup image and then click OK. And it is recommended to save the backup image to the external hard drive.

choose destination

Step 6: After you have confirmed the backup source and destination, then click Back up Now to start backing up files and folders.

Tip: You need to go to the Manage page to click Back up Now if you click Back up Later.

back up files and folders

After you have finished these steps, then you may have backed up your important files to the external hard drive successfully.

Bottom Line

To sum up, if you encounter the MACHINE CHECK EXCEPTION error, you should find out what causes this error and try these methods mentioned above to fix it. In order to avoid data loss when encountering this error or some other errors, you should back up your data regularly.

If you have any better suggestions to get rid of the MACHINE CHECK EXCEPTION error or have any confusion about the methods, leave a comment below or send an email to [email protected].

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