How to Fix STOP 0x00000078 Errors

A troubleshooting guide for the 0x78 blue screen of death

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Tim Fisher
VP and General Manager, Lifewire.com

Tim Fisher has more than 30 years' of professional technology experience. He's been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the VP and General Manager of Lifewire.

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Tim Fisher
Updated on May 28, 2021

STOP 0x00000078 errors are likely caused by hardware or device driver issues. The STOP 0x00000078 error will always appear on a STOP message, more commonly called a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD).

Any of Microsoft's Windows NT based operating systems could experience the STOP 0x00000078 error, including Windows 10, Windows 8, etc.

The STOP 0x00000078 Error

One of the errors below or a combination of both may display on the STOP message:

  • STOP: 0x00000078
  • PHASE0_EXCEPTION

The error may also be abbreviated as STOP 0x78 but the full STOP code will always be what's displayed on the blue screen STOP message.

If Windows is able to start after the error, you may be prompted with a Windows has recovered from an unexpected shutdown message that shows:

Problem Event Name: BlueScreen
BCCode: 78

If STOP 0x00000078 isn't the exact STOP code you're seeing or PHASE0_EXCEPTION isn't the exact message, please check the Complete List of STOP Error Codes and reference the troubleshooting information for the message that you are seeing.

How to Fix STOP 0x00000078 Errors

This STOP code is rare, so there's little troubleshooting information available that's specific to it. However, since most STOP errors have similar causes, there are some basic troubleshooting steps to help fix these issues:

  1. Restart your computer if you haven't already done so. The STOP 0x00000078 blue screen error may not occur again after rebooting.

  2. Perform basic STOP error troubleshooting. These extensive troubleshooting steps aren't specific to the STOP 0x78 error but since most STOP errors are so similar, they should help resolve it.

Need More Help?

If you're not interested in fixing this problem yourself, see How Do I Get My Computer Fixed? for a full list of your support options, plus help with everything along the way like figuring out repair costs, getting your files off, choosing a repair service, and a lot more.

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