Q. Over the past month my home server machine (Lenovo Thinkserver + Windows 10) has started to BSOD every so often.  About 3 days ago the latest Windows Creator update was installed and I am now getting the BSOD every 15-20 minutes causing a reboot.  

I have looked at the minidumps and it is identifying ntoskrnl.exe as the culprit. Whether this is true or it is another driver causing an issue beforehand I am not sure.  I have booted into safe mode, but this has not stopped the issue.  My boot disk is a Crucial SSD, which reports now problems when using CHKDSK.  I have also run a memory test which came back ok

Answer.

Ntoskrnl.exe (Short for Windows NT operating system kernel,) also known as kernel image, provides the kernel and executive layers of the Windows NT kernel space, and is responsible for various system services such as hardware virtualization, process and memory management, thus making it a fundamental part of the system. It contains the cache manager, the executive, the kernel, the security reference monitor, the memory manager, and the scheduler.

If you’ve experienced this error, it might also be related to a driver related issues. We suggest updating all the drivers on your device. You can also run the troubleshooter for blue screen errors.

You can also perform a Memtest. Follow the steps below to know how:

The ntoskrnl.exe BSOD is usually related to memory, possibly caused by a faulty driver. It is suggested that you run the following memory test to verify your memory and find out which driver is causing the problem.

Note: If you are over-clocking anything, please shut them down first before you run the tests. You will need to reboot your computer to perform the test. During the test, you won’t be able to use your computer.

1. Click Start button, then type Windows Memory Diagnostic in the search box and hit Enter.
2. Click Restart now and check for problems(recommended). Be sure to save your work first because your computer will start immediately.
3. Your computer will restart and the Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool screen will appear. Just let it perform the test. You don’t need to stay and watch the test finishes.
4. Your computer will automatically reboot and return to the Windows desktop. The test result will show up after you log in. If the result doesn’t show up automatically, you can check it manually.
   Press Win+ R at the same time, then type in eventvwr.msc and hit Enter. Click System option under category Windows Logs on the left pane. On the right pane, click Find….
   Type MemoryDiagnostic in the search box and hit Enter, you will be able to see the result displayed at the bottom of the window.
5. If the result of your memory diagnose shows that there are certain drivers are at fault, or that you see some error, you have bad RAM. It is very likely that you need to get your RAM changed. If you don’t see anything here, your memory is good.