How To Fix STOP 0x00000078 Errors

A troubleshooting guide for the 0x78 blue screen of death

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Tim Fisher
General Manager, VP, Lifewire.com
Tim Fisher has 30+ years' professional technology support experience. He writes troubleshooting content and is the General Manager of Lifewire.
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Tim Fisher
Updated on July 22, 2019

The STOP 0x00000078 error will always appear on a STOP message, more commonly called a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD). One of the errors below or a combination of both errors may display on the STOP message:

  • "STOP: 0x00000078"
  • "PHASE0_EXCEPTION"

The STOP 0x00000078 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 STOP 0x78 error, you may be prompted with a Windows has recovered from an unexpected shutdown message that shows:

Problem Event Name: BlueScreen
BCCode: 78

Cause of STOP 0x00000078 Errors

STOP 0x00000078 errors are likely caused by hardware or device driver issues.

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 STOP message that you are seeing.

Don't Want to Fix This Yourself?

If you're interested in fixing this problem yourself, continue with the troubleshooting in the next section.

Otherwise, 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 whole lot more.

How To Fix STOP 0x00000078 Errors

The STOP 0x00000078 STOP code is rare so there's little troubleshooting information available that's specific to the error.

However, since most STOP errors have similar causes, there are some basic troubleshooting steps to help fix STOP 0x00000078 issues:

  1. Restart your computer if you haven't already done so.
    1. 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 0x00000078 error but since most STOP errors are so similar, they should help resolve it.

This Error Applies To

Any of Microsoft's Windows NT based operating systems could experience the STOP 0x00000078 error. This includes Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows NT.