Windows crashes with DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION or stop code 0x00000133. This means a driver took too long to complete a deferred procedure call. The most common culprit is the storage controller driver, especially on systems with SSDs running in the wrong SATA mode.

The Fix

Update your storage controller driver. For NVMe drives:

Check current storage driver

Get-WmiObject Win32_PnPSignedDriver | Where-Object {$_.DeviceClass -eq "SCSIAdapter"} | Select-Object DeviceName, DriverVersion, Manufacturer

Download the latest driver from your SSD manufacturer: - Samsung: Samsung Magician includes NVMe driver - Intel: Intel RST or VMD driver from intel.com - WD/SanDisk: WD Dashboard from westerndigital.com

Check SATA Mode in BIOS

If you have a SATA SSD (not NVMe), verify the controller is set to AHCI mode, not IDE or RAID (unless you're actually using RAID):

  1. Restart and enter BIOS/UEFI setup
  2. Find SATA Configuration or Storage Configuration
  3. Set mode to AHCI
  4. Save and exit

Warning: Changing from IDE to AHCI after Windows is installed can cause boot failures. You may need to enable the AHCI driver first via registry before switching.

If That Doesn't Work

Run the System File Checker to repair Windows files:

sfc /scannow DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Also check for firmware updates for your SSD. Outdated firmware is a known cause of watchdog violations.

DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION fires when a driver's interrupt handler runs longer than Windows allows. Storage drivers under heavy I/O load are the usual suspects, but GPU and network drivers can also trigger this.

Related Reading

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