When your monitor turns blue and displays an error message, it paralyzes your computer and prevents you from accessing it. There’s no reason to panic, though, since BSOD errors can be fixed, no matter how complex they are.
What is PFN LIST CORRUPT?
PFN LIST CORRUPT is a Blue Screen of Death stop code on Windows 10 that indicates data corruption in the Page Frame Number (PFN), which is a database list that deals with system memory. Your operating system locks you out in order to protect itself from further corrupted system files and data loss.
The PFN LIST CORRUPT error could be caused by a problem at the hardware or software level. It can be tricky to diagnose but easy to fix by following a series of workarounds that generally apply to blue screen issues.
How to fix PFN LIST CORRUPT on Windows 10
Follow the easy instructions below to get rid of the PFN LIST CORRUPT stop code on your Windows 10 PC. However, before getting started, it’s advisable to create a System Restore point as a backup measure.
1. Check your drivers
If any of your device drivers are obsolete, they could prevent your operating system from working normally, resulting in stop code PFN LIST CORRUPT. Another issue could be that your devices are not properly connected to your PC, or that they are equipped with incompatible drivers.
How to reinstall drivers on Windows 10:
Right-click the Start button and select Device Manager
Expand the hardware categories and look for any devices with a yellow exclamation point. Right-click one and select Uninstall device
Open the Action menu and select Scan for hardware changes
Exit Device Manager and restart your PC. Windows will reinstall the missing drivers automatically
If the PFN LIST CORRUPT error is persistent, you should check for driver updates. We suggest getting started with the graphics and network drivers since these usually have issues.
How to update drivers on Windows 10:
Return to Device Manager
Expand the Display adapters group
Right-click your GPU device
Click Update driver
When prompted with two options, select Search automatically for updated driver software
If the search is unsuccessful, select Search for updated drivers on Windows Update
Do the same for your network driver (in the Network adapters category)
An alternative solution is to visit the website of each device manufacturer in order to locate, download, and install a newer driver. That’s the ideal way to get drivers, but it doesn’t always work well, it typically takes a while, and you risk getting incompatible drivers that will further damage Windows. Another option is to employ the services of a driver updater to bring all your drivers up to speed. They’re extremely useful because most of them don’t make you get the drivers manually; they’ll download and install them for you through the app.
On the other hand, you should immediately roll back a Windows 10 driver to a previous version if it’s unsupported by your operating system. Here’s how:
How to roll back drivers on Windows 10:
Go to Device Manager (right-click the Start button for the shortcut).
Right-click the device that needs the driver roll-back, and select Properties
Switch to the Driver tab
Select Roll Back Driver and follow the on-screen instructions
If the button is greyed out, it means that you can’t perform the rollback since no previous version exists on your PC
2. Run Windows Update
It’s essential to keep your operating system updated to the latest version. Besides improving your PC experience, you will also avoid irritating BSOD errors such as PFN LIST CORRUPT. Here’s what you need to do to fix system files by installing Windows updates:
Press the Win key, search for Check for updates, and press Enter
Windows should autostart the update search. If it doesn’t, Select Check for updates
You can perform a clean system boot to set up a safe environment on your PC where you can further investigate the PFN LIST CORRUPT stop code. It implies turning off all non-essential services, processes, and drivers. Here’s what you need to do:
Search for the System Configuration app and fire it up
Go to the Services section
Uncheck Hide all Microsoft services and choose Disable All
Switch to the Startup tab and select Open Task Manager
Deactivate all startup apps that are currently enabled
Reboot your computer
4. Use the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter
If the PFN LIST CORRUPT error code on Windows 10 was caused by a hardware problem, you can run a built-in hardware troubleshooter to diagnose it. Just head over to Settings > Update & Security > Troubleshoot to find the tool and activate its wizard.
There might be something wrong with your RAM, resulting in the PFN LIST CORRUPT error on Windows 10. But you can check it for errors using a built-in utility, called Windows Memory Diagnostic. Here’s how to use it to your advantage:
Make sure to save any ongoing projects and close all applications
Select the Start button, search for Windows Memory Diagnostic, and press Enter
Choose Restart now and check for problems
During reboot, Windows will find and fix any RAM errors
If you’re looking for more advanced information about the system memory, check out MemTest86.
6. Remove peripheral devices
Some of your hardware devices might not be correctly attached to your computer, triggering BSOD errors instead. You can tell if you started receiving the PFN LIST CORRUPT error after plugging in new gear to your PC, such as a Wi-Fi adapter, webcam, or gamepad.
To easily test this theory and get rid of the stop code, turn off your PC and remove all peripheral devices, except for your mouse and keyboard. In the next step, boot Windows and check if you still get any blue screen errors.
7. Repair corrupted Windows Registry files
The Windows Registry is a delicate place that you shouldn’t be in unless it’s absolutely necessary. When problems arise in the registry, you could, technically, attempt to fix them manually through Registry Editor, a built-in utility in Windows 10. However, that’s rather dangerous if you’re not sure how it’s related to the page frame number problem (i.e., it won’t be clear what you need to do.)
Instead, there are numerous registry cleaning programs you can attempt to use. These will scan the registry for problems and fix them for you.
Ensure that all the scan areas are selected (they are by default), unless you have a specific reason to ignore one.
Choose Scan for Issues at the bottom.
When the scan is finished, select Review Selected Issues > Yes.
Save the registry backup somewhere on your computer. This is what you’d use to restore the deleted registry items to Registry Editor should something go wrong during this process. Please don’t ignore this step.
Back in CCleaner, choose Fix All Selected Issues.
Restart your computer to see if this was the fix.
8. Uninstall third-party software
You might have recently installed third-party software applications that aren’t properly built for Windows 10, resulting in software conflicts and blue screen errors like PFN LIST CORRUPT. Examples include free anti-virus tools, firewalls, VPN services, proxy tools, and web browsers.
If the BSOD error is caused by such programs, you can fix this problem by removing recently installed third-party programs. Here’s how:
Right-click the Windows 10 Start button and go to Apps and Features
Set Sort by to Install date (newest first)
Note: If you’ve been having this BSOD error for a while, you’d be wise to look beyond just the most recently installed apps. Find any potentially problematic software and promptly remove it. You can always reinstall it later if you find that it wasn’t responsible for corrupted system files.
Select the first app in the list and then go to Uninstall> Uninstall
Follow the on-screens instructions
Reboot your PC and check for errors
Unfortunately, the Windows 10 built-in uninstaller is pretty basic when it comes to eliminating unwanted software. If you want to be more thorough, we suggest using a third-party programs uninstaller, designed to also delete any leftover files and restore registry settings.
9. Disable Microsoft OneDrive
Although it’s unlikely, another potential fix is to disable Microsoft OneDrive. It’s actually not uncommon for Windows users to encounter issues with this app, such as high CPU usage. You don’t have to uninstall it, though — just disable it.
Here’s how:
Right-click the OneDrive icon from the system tray.
Choose Settings.
Select Account on the left, and then Unlink this PC on the right.
10. Uninstall recent Windows updates
Even a malfunctioning system update could end up harming your computer. It’s a pretty common scenario that many users have to deal with. The solution here is to uninstall the most recent update:
Search for Control Panel from the taskbar.
Press the Windows key, search for Control Panel, and open this app
Select Programs and Features
Click View installed updates on the left panel
Select Installed On to organize the updates by date of installation (newest first)
Right-click the first update in the list and choose Uninstall
Click Yes to confirm removal
When it completes, make sure to restart your computer
11. Check HDD and OS errors
An easy way to find and fix any errors that might be affecting your hardware and operating system is by turning to three command-line tools built into Windows 10: CHKDSK (Check Disk), SFC (System File Checker) and DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management).
How to fix HDD errors with CHKDSK:
Search for Command Prompt the taskbar, right-click it when you see it in the results, and choose Run as administrator (Select Yes if prompted by User Account Control)
If your operating system is installed on the C: drive, type chkdsk c: /f and hit Enter. Else, make sure to replace c: with the correct partition letter
Type y and press Enter to schedule the task at the next system reboot
Restart Windows and wait until it finds and fixes disk errors
How to fix corrupt OS files with SFC:
Launch Command Prompt as administrator
Write sfc /scannow and hit Enter
After SFC finishes its task, restart your computer to see if the PFN list corrupt BSOD error has been fixed.
How to fix component store issues with DISM:
Open Command Prompt with admin rights
Type DISM /online /cleanup-image /scanhealth and press Enter
If DISM finds any problems, enter DISM /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth and hit Enter
Once DISM completes its task, exit CMD and restart your PC
Launch Command Prompt as admin again and run SFC (sfc /scannow)
Reboot your computer one last time
12. Check your disk space
If you receive the insufficient disk space notification, it could be the reason why you keep getting stop code PFN LIST CORRUPT on your Windows 10 PC. It’s because there isn’t enough free disk space for your operating system to carry out its activities normally.
To fix this, you can allocate more disk space from a large drive you hardly use. To do this, you can turn to a partition manager or the Disk Management app.
How to use Disk Management:
Press Windows key + R, type diskmgmt.msc, and hit Enter
Identify a big partition where Windows is not installed (e.g. D: but this is different for everyone). Right-click and choose Shrink Volume
Set the new volume size and click Shrink
Once returned to the main window, select the Windows drive (e.g. C:), right-click, and pick Extend Volume
Specify the new volume size by adding the amount of disk space you acquired from D:
Finalize the task and restart your computer
Tip: Another way to get more free disk space for your Windows drive is by moving files to another local partition, network drive, or removable storage device. You can also uninstall large applications and games you don’t play anymore. When it comes to junk data, you can turn to Disk Cleanup, a system cleaner.
How to use Disk Cleanup:
Search for and open Disk Cleanup from the Taskbar
Select the Windows drive (e.g. C:) and click OK
Select Clean up system files
Select the C drive again, and then OK
Under files to deleted select all the items and then press OK
Restart your PC and check for BSOD errors
13. Reset BIOS to default settings
It’s possible to control many system settings from BIOS, such as overclocking and caching. But if the new BIOS configuration is not suited for your hardware and operating system, you can expect blue screen stop codes such as PFN LIST CORRUPT on Windows 10. To fix this issue, you have to restore BIOS to factory values. Here’s how:
Restart your PC and, before Windows boots, quickly press the key displayed on the screen to enter BIOS on your PC
Visit the Advanced section
Find and enable the option that resets BIOS configuration data
Save the current BIOS settings and exit to Windows
14. Update BIOS
Just like your operating system and applications, BIOS occasionally needs updates in order to maintain the stability of your computer. Otherwise, your display might turn blue and show stop code PFN LIST and similar errors. Here’s how you can easily update BIOS on Windows 10 ((we also have a video guide here):
Press Windows on your keyboard then search for and open System Information.
Select the System Summary section and write down the information displayed at BIOS Version/Date and BaseBoard Manufacturer
Search for the manufacturer online. Visit their website to see if there’s a new BIOS version for your Windows system
Download the BIOS file to your PC and unzip the archive to a pen drive
Back up the current BIOS version to the same pen drive
Start the BIOS update and patiently wait until it completes
Boot Windows as normal and check for BSOD errors
15. Check Windows 10 for malware
Your computer might be infected with viruses that are powerful enough to cause file corruption and trigger blue screen errors like PFN LIST CORRUPT. To resolve this problem, you can run a malware scan on your computer to find and eliminate any pests.
How to find malware with Windows Defender:
Click the Start button, search for Windows Security, and open this app
Go to Virus & threat protection
Select Scan options
Pick Quick scan and click Scan now
Wait until the scan is complete. If it doesn’t find anything, run another scan using Windows Defender Offline scan mode
Once it finishes, restart your PC and check for BSOD issues
If you have a premium third-party anti-malware application installed, which is in charge of your PC security, just adjust the steps above.
16. Use Event Viewer
It can be challenging to find the guilty program, driver, service, or driver that’s causing issues on your computer. That’s why it’s a good idea to launch Event Viewer and use it to further examine the PFN LIST CORRUPT stop code.
Event Viewer is a tool that comes integrated with Windows 10. It collects log details about all system events, including blue screen problems. Here’s how to use it:
Reboot your PC right after it crashes
Press the Windows key, search for Event Viewer, and launch this app
Go to Windows Logs on the left side
Double-click System to access the section
Click the first entry in the list
In the General and Details tab, you can find out more about PFN LIST CORRUPT. You’ll probably have to click through several items to find the relevant logs.
If you’re willing to install a third-party application that makes it easier to investigate system crashes, we suggest checking out BlueScreenView. It’s free, portable, and extremely easy to use when it comes to analyzing minidump files (.dmp format) left behind by blue screen errors.
18. Use System Restore
Rolling back Windows 10 to a previous checkpoint is a sure way to get rid of the PFN LIST CORRUPT stop code if it was caused by an unfortunate software event. The only condition is that the restore point must have been created before your PC started having BSOD problems.
Keep in mind that, after the rollback, all applications installed after the restore point will disappear from your PC, so it’s a good idea to back up everything important before proceeding with the next solution.
Note: This utility does not delete regular, everyday files you’ve added to your computer. In other words, photos, videos, documents, desktop items, etc., will remain.
How to use System Restore:
Make sure you’re logged in to Windows 10 as admin
Go to Update & Security > Recovery
Press the Windows key + R, type rstrui.exe, and then select OK
Press Next on the first screen to continue.
Select a restore point before the BSOD crash. You can select Show More restore points if the option is available and if you need to see additional points.Tip: To see which apps will be removed while Windows attempts to fix the page frame number error, select Scan for affected programs.
Press Next > Finished, and then follow the on-screen step-by-step instructions.
After your computer restarts, check for blue screen issues
19. Reset Windows 10
If everything fails up until this point, it’s time to reset Windows 10 to factory values in order to get rid of the PFN LIST CORRUPT stop code. It’s not necessary to back up files because they will remain on your hard disk. But all your programs will be removed, so you will need a bit of time after the reset to reinstall everything.
Right-click the Windows 10 Start button and go to Settings
Go to Update & Security > Recovery.
Under Reset this PC, click Get started.
Under Reset this PC, click Get started
When prompted with the Choose an option screen, click Keep my files Important: It’s vital you get this step right. Do not choose the other option unless you’re sure you’re OK with all your files being deleted.
Follow the given instructions
How to recover unsaved or lost data due to stop code PFN LIST CORRUPT Error
The extensive troubleshooting guide above should be enough to fix the error. Whether those directions helped or didn’t, you might still have suffered from data loss. If, so there are free data recovery tools you can use to attempt to get your files back. One such program we recommend is called Recoverit Data Recovery.
Select the file storage location where you lost the data. It’s likely the C drive.
Wait while the scan completes. In our test, it took about 10 minutes.
Select what you’d like to recover. We recommend using the search bar at the top of the program, and the filtering tools, to isolate the files you’re after. For example, pick when the file was last modified to help narrow in on it.
Choose Recover at the bottom, followed by Recover again on the confirmation prompt.
Note: This program can recovery up to 100 MB of data under the free plan. If you’d like to use something else, we recommend Recuva or Windows File Recovery.
Stop code PFN LIST CORRUPT can be fixed
The PFN LIST CORRUPT Windows blue screen error prevents you from using your Windows 10 PC. It’s usually caused by a software or hardware problem, which you can fix without turning to Microsoft tech support.
Get started by checking your drivers to make sure that they’re compatible and updated to the latest version. You should also reinstall devices that aren’t properly connected to your PC, run Windows Update on a regular basis, perform a clean system boot, and check for common problems using the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter.
It’s also a good to check for RAM issues, remove any peripheral devices you recently plugged into your machine, uninstall suspicious third-party apps and malfunctioning system updates, as well as repair any hard disk and operating system errors with ready-to-deploy tools.
A certain amount of disk space must be always available for Windows, so ensure that everything is in working order. Furthermore, you should update BIOS and reset it to default, run a malware scan, use Event Viewer to get more information about the stop code, roll back your OS to a previous restore point, or reset Windows 10 as a last resort.
How did you manage to finally get rid of the PFN LIST CORRUPT error code on Windows 10? Tell us about your experience in the comment section below.
Jon G. Fisher is a seasoned tech writer and graduate from Wichita Technical Institute. He has notable publications in Lifewire, TechNorms, and Online-Tech-Tips. With six IT certifications, Jon continues to simplify complex tech for readers worldwide.
Kind of useless if I can’t get into the OS wouldn’t you say? Actually, completely useless.