Unfortunately, there are many different potential errors that can affect Windows computers. If ever get the BAD_POOL_HEADER error in Windows 8, 10, you should know that this error relates to memory.
The BAD POOL HEADER error is one of those insidious blue screen of death errors. In this case, it mostly affects Windows 10. If you get this error, the first thing that you will need to do is not to panic. Mostly because there is no real reason to do so.
As with other blue screen of death (BSOD) Windows errors, there are ways to fix this issue and stop it from ever happening again.
We have done all the necessary research so you do not need to. All you really need to do is read this article through.
Also, as is the case with other BSOD errors, which one of the different fixing methods will work for you, will depend on what is actually causing the error.
Because it can be difficult to know what could be possibly causing the problem, we would recommend that you try out all the methods we will go over in this article until you stumble upon the one that works for you.
So, What Is the Bad Pool Header Error?
Before we go over all the different methods to fix this error, let’s make sure that you understand what the error this and that you are indeed dealing with this specific error.
Recognizing this error is just as easy as reading the error message you will get. When your Windows 8 or Windows 10 computer encounter this error, the screen will go blue and the following message will display on it.
“Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart. We’re just collecting some error info, and then we’ll restart for you. (0% complete). If you’d like to know more, you can search online later for this error: bad_pool_header blue screen”
As we said in the introduction to this article, getting this error means that there is a problem with your computer’s memory. Specifically, this error means that your computer is struggling to allocate memory.
“I think Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space. I think we’ll lose some of the top-tier PC/OEMs, who will exit the market. I think margins will be destroyed for a bunch of people.” – Gabe Newell
There are a few different reasons that could be behind the error. Each of the possible fixes that we will go over in this article relates to one of the possible causes. Therefore, if you have a strong suspicion of what may be causing the error in your case, you could just as well go ahead and zero in on the method that tackles it.
Otherwise, you should skim read all the possible methods at least just to make sure that you are in a position to tackle them. Once you have made sure of that, the best way to use this tutorial is to follow all the possible methods one by one in the order they are presented here. You will not have to try them all out as one of them should do the trick with you. You may be as lucky as to stumble on the right method early on.
5 Possible Fixes:
Possible Fix #1:
This error is very often linked to antivirus applications. It is amazing how many different software errors, this one included, are caused by antivirus applications interfering.
So, the first method that we would strongly recommend would be something as simple as disabling your antivirus program to check whether this is what is causing the error for you.
We are not able to offer you specific instructions for disabling your antivirus application because each program works in a different way. Therefore, we’d recommend you go back and check your documentation for instructions on how to disable your antivirus safely.
Once you have disabled your antivirus program, you should check whether the problem has gone away. If it has, you will know that the problem was indeed caused by your antivirus program. If that is the case, then you will need to check with your antivirus vendor for a solution or switch to a different antivirus.
If, however, the problem persists then you should immediately enable your antivirus program again and move on to the next possible fix in this article.
There is something that is really important when disabling any antivirus application is to make sure that you are extra careful while your antivirus is disabled. What does this mean? Stick to safe websites and be careful when opening emails. If you do not feel too comfortable deciding what websites to visit or what emails to open while your antivirus program is temporarily disabled, then your best option would be to simply stay offline while you check whether your antivirus is causing the problem or not.
Possible Fix #2:
If the error is not caused by your antivirus application, then it is very likely that you could be experiencing driver problems.
The only issue with this method is that checking all your drivers one by one to verify which one needs updating can be incredibly demanding both in terms of the time and the effort that you will need to invest on this.
Luckily, there are third-party programs that will do that automatically for you. We will not recommend one here but if you head over to Google or any other major search engine and search for a Driver update program, you should be able to find a program that will do this for you.
These third-party programs tend to have either free versions or premium (or pro) versions that are available for free during a trial period. Normally, using one of the free versions or taking advantage of the free trial period will do the trick for you.
All you will need to do, to begin with, is to download the Driver update program of your choice.
Once you have downloaded and installed the program, you will need to use it in order to scan all your drivers. This action will detect any potential problems with your drivers. Once the problematic drivers have been located through this scanning process, you would need to use the Driver update program to update them.
Updating the drivers will get rid of this error. If the third-party program that you have downloaded did not detect any problems with your drivers, then you should go ahead and attempt the next method.
Possible Fix #3:
We are now about to begin exploring much less likely scenarios. But if nothing else has worked so far, you should try to disable fast startup. If you do not know how to do this, do not worry, just follow these simple steps:
- Grab your Windows computer.
- Hit the following two keys simultaneously: the Windows logo key and the R key. This action will cause a menu to display on your screen.
- Then, from all the issues in the menu displaying, select Power Options. This action will then display a new Window menu on your screen.
- Look at the different options on the left-hand side and click on the following one: “Choose what the power button does”.
- Once your System Settings display on your screen, then click on “Change settings that are currently unavailable”.
- Then remove the check from the following Shutdown setting: “Turn on fast startup (recommended)”.
- Finally, restart your Windows computer.
Once you have restarted your computer, see if the error bad pool header 0x00000019 still occurs. If it does, then move on to the next method.
Possible Fix #4:
Sometimes, this error could be caused by external devices that you may have connected to your Windows computer. By “external devices”, we mean anything except the bare essentials: keyboard and mouse.
If you would like to check whether an external device could be causing this error, then turn off your Windows computer. Once your computer is off, then disconnect all external devices except, as we said, your keyboard and your mouse.
Then turn your computer back on and if the error seems to have disappeared you will have to check which one of your external devices was causing it. If you only have one external device, then you will know the culprit.
But if you have more than one external device, then you will need to check one by one. How? You will need to plug them all back in one by one. Each time you plug in a device, you will need to restart your computer to check until you have identified the device that is causing the error.
Once you identified the device, you will need to update the driver for it and verify if the problem persists (it shouldn’t).
Possible Fix #5:
If nothing else has done the trick for you, then you should check your RAM (Random Access Memory).
You may need to take it out and clean it carefully. Often, this and other errors are caused by something as simple as a dusty RAM. So, just dust it and put it back in.
If you do not feel comfortable doing this and you have already tried everything else on this tutorial, then you should contact a professional and get him or her to look at it for you.
So this has been Fixed the bad pool header error in Windows 8, 10. If you have any feedback about this article or would like to share your own experience fixing this error, please leave us a message in the comments section below.
