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0X00020001

Blue Screen (BSOD) HYPERVISOR_ERROR Applies to: Windows 10, Windows 11

What it means

The Windows hypervisor — the low-level layer behind Hyper-V, Windows Sandbox, and Virtualization-Based Security features like Memory Integrity — hit a fatal error it couldn't recover from. Unlike a typical driver crash, this is reported at the platform level, so the crash dump usually points to a generic function rather than one specific named driver.

Also seen as: 0x20001, HYPERVISOR_ERROR (0x20001)

Quick fix steps

  1. Run the diagnostic toggle test: administrator Command Prompt, bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype off, then restart and use the PC normally. If crashes stop, the hypervisor is confirmed as the cause; if they continue, the real problem is elsewhere.
  2. If you run VMware Workstation or VirtualBox, update to the current version — older releases conflicted with the Windows hypervisor rather than working alongside it.
  3. Try disabling Memory Integrity temporarily (Windows Security > Device Security > Core Isolation) as a diagnostic step, and update your BIOS/UEFI and chipset drivers.
For the full step-by-step walkthrough, see HYPERVISOR_ERROR (0x20001) Blue Screen.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this mean my PC can't run virtual machines at all?
Not permanently — this is usually a conflict between different virtualization technologies (like Hyper-V and VMware) trying to use the same underlying hardware feature at once, which is fixable rather than a hard hardware limitation.
Do I need to choose between Hyper-V and other virtualization software permanently?
Not necessarily forever — depending on your specific setup and versions, some configurations allow them to coexist, though the simplest fix is often disabling whichever one you use less.

Other error codes

0X0000001A — MEMORY_MANAGEMENT

Points to a problem with how memory is being handled — faulty RAM, a driver mismanaging memory, or disk corruption.

0X0000000A — IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Almost always a driver issue — most commonly network, audio, or graphics drivers.

0X000000EF — CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED

A core Windows process crashed unexpectedly — often tied to a recent update or corrupted system files.

0X0000001E — KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED

A driver running in kernel mode hit an error it couldn't recover from — usually a specific faulty or outdated driver.