Kernel Security Check Failure

[Benji2115]

My desktop  is not even 2 years old, 8 megabytes of RAM.  Starting on the date of Windows Update on July 14, 2026, I have been getting random black and then blue screen error 0x139 with the message "Your computer has encountered a problem and needs to shut down".    Prior to July 14 it was working just fine.   It is a hard-wired internet connection.  It does not matter how many programs are running, etc.    It occurs daily, sometimes multiple times per day.  All drivers have been updated through the HP support assistant and machine has been thoroughly checked for malware, viruses etc. by an IT professional who cannot find the source of the problem.  Computer works fine in between blue screens, but this makes it extremely unreliable.   I have read recently that Dell computers have experienced issues with the July 14 Windows Update due to proprietary software on their machines.  Is it possible that this could be happening with my HP desktop.  I think I am going to have to get another computer if this cannot be fixed.  I would be very hesitant to buy another HP computer again as the blue screens have rendered it useless and the money spent on it is a dead loss.

[Bill_To]

Greetings,

This Microsoft Support Link provides Kernel Security Check Failure troubleshooting tips.

The above Microsoft document seems to point to a hardware driver problem or system disk corruption. System disk corruption could be caused by malware.

Did you install any third party hardware in this PC? Have you run a malware scan or a Check Disk lately?

Check Disk

Open an admin command prompt. Enter or copy the following command:

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

Then enter or copy:

sfc /scannow

The command prompt output should now indicate the system disk is good to go.

I'm sure the IT Pro would have: referred to the above Microsoft Support document link, uninstalled the 7-14-26 Windows update or tried a system restore point prior to the July, 2026 Windows update, and used HP UEFI Hardware Diagnostics to perform extensive hardware checks.

Try a non-destructive W11 in-place upgrade using Windows Update if this was not done. But, to be safe, back up system disk data prior to doing the W11 upgrade.

Go to: Settings>System>Recovery>Fix problems using Windows Update.

Last resort would be to install W11 clean after backing up data.

HP Cloud Recovery option or do a W11 install using W11 Installation Media.

Regards

[Benji2115]

Thank you Bill for your reply.  I will pass this on to my IT professional.   I have confidence in him;  he is trusted in my community with years of experience.  He has not uninstalled the July 14 Windows Update so far, but these are the things he has already done: 

-Scan for Malware, clean.

-SFC clean repair system files.

-Check HD status - healthy.

-Windows Update, 5 items updated.

-Hard drive running a bit hot, no heat sink.  Install heat sink.

-Bitlocker registers one error, but boots - disable Bitlocker (confirmed not needed)

-Check bios, check with HP, bios is newest available (2026 -3- 19).

-Run HP system update, many items cleared from list - system is current.

-Stress test system, SSD temps look good, CPU/RAM are stable.

Despite this, the Kernel Security Check Error continues to occur with random shutdowns.   Everything can be running just fine, and then you get a black screen followed by a blue screen with Kernel Security Check Error, and you are faced with the Windows Sign In screen again and your work has been lost.    I do not do gaming at all, only use Microsoft Office and two other business programs, but it does not seem to matter which  programs are running; it happened once when I was right in the  middle of paying bills online and the only program  running was Internet Explorer.

Fortunately I still have my 7-year-old Acer desktop which also has Norton 360, took all the Windows Updates just fine, and has no issues, and it has saved me, but I'm sure this will not last forever, which was the reason I purchased the new HP desktop.   So very frustrating!   

Thanks again for your suggestions.

[Bill_To]

Greetings @Benji2115 

My pleasure.

I hope you get the bluescreen error sorted out.

I've done quite a few non-destructive W11 in-place upgrades on various OEM and custom built PCs.

No data loss and all installed programs survive the upgrade.

This upgrade should fix system file corruption and other W11 anomalies if they exists.

The hardware should be okay if stress tests passed.

You seem have a perplexing head scratcher PC problem.

Regards

[Benji2115]

Thank you Bill for your suggestions. My IT professional suggested uninstalling the July & August Windows Updates, but I have been the barrier so far because I am hesitant to uninstall the July 14 Windows Update, and also I think the August Update would have to be uninstalled as well. Doing so would render my computer useless for doing anything but casual browsing (and maybe not even that) because of security holes that would not be patched. I have two additional programs that I use in addition to Microsoft Office, and have had them on both my Acer computer and HP computer since the outset. Both desktops have Norton 360 installed as well.  No other additional software has been installed. My 7-year-old Acer computer has accepted July and August updates without any problem. I do understand that in order to determine if the July Windows update instigated the problem, the updates would have to be uninstalled, but have been hesitant thus far, though it is probably inevitable as we have reached a roadblock.  The Kernel Security Check Failure occurs once or twice daily (when I work a full 8 hours), and the computer always restarts.  All drivers have been updated and disk has been checked for errors as well.  I am still considering what to do and realize that I will probably have to rule out Windows Update as the source of the problem.  Thanks again Bill for your helpful suggestions.

[Bill_To]

Greetings @Benji2115 

My pleasure.

I'm not an advocate for running Windows without the latest security updates.

As you have stated it may be necessary to do this for a short period of time. Maybe a couple of days to a week to check OS stability.

Remove the Windows August update. Test the PC.

Remove the July update if the PC is unstable after removing the August update. Test the PC.

Try an in-place Windows update if the PC is unstable after removing the July update.

I would tend to think the PC has an undisclosed hardware driver problem or system disk corruption if the PC is unstable after doing an in-place upgrade.

It's also possible your PC has a really unusual hardware problem. PCs are complex beasts.

Again, sometimes you have to bite the bullet. Back up system disk data.

Do a clean Windows installation.

An unknown hardware problem would be indicated if the PC is unstable when running a clean OS installation.

Regards

[Bill_To]

Greetings @Benji2115 

Hey, check this HP Forum Thread.

The OP did extensive Windows debugging using troubleshooting steps at this Microsoft programmer's site.

The OP's findings indicate HP software is causing the problem.

Again, as I have previously stated your PC's probable cause of instability is very unusual and unexpected. 

Regards

[Benji2115]

Thank you so much for this information Bill, I appreciate it so much.  I had a blue screen and restart yesterday when there were no programs running in the foreground, only the desktop visible.  I had another one today, a blue screen and then quick restart with "Kernel Security Check Failure" in the Event Viewer.  

Yesterday morning I had the time and was poking around in Event Viewer which I'm very klutzy at, but I noticed that there was an Error message in Event Viewer just after the initial July 14 Critical WinREagent Error which occurred once and seems to have started the whole fiasco.

"Installation Failure: Windows failed to install the following update with error 0x800704C7: 2026-07 Security Update (KB5101650) (26200.8875)."

This is strange because the Windows Update history says "Successfully Installed".

This Error message occurred right after the initial WinREagent Critical Error on July 14 at 2:37:24 p.m.

Another Error message occurred after a Kernel Security failure error on July 16, as follows:

"The computer has rebooted from a bugcheck. The bugcheck was: 0x00000139 (0x000000000000001d, 0xffffd0046348f160, 0xffffd0046348f0b8, 0x0000000000000000). A dump was saved in: C:\windows\Minidump\071626-10578-01.dmp. Report Id: 7027e03f-8fa3-4355-891e-2b2e7b8d7b4e."

Despite this, the Windows Update History says that KB5101650 was "successfully installed".

It sure looks to me it is either a faulty July 14 Windows Update installation, or a problem with my HP computer and the update, as my Acer desktop took the update without any problem.  The blue screens have happened approximately 20 times since July 14.   Hopefully they can come up with a solution soon, as this has been so very frustrating and in all my life I have never had a problem with any of my desktops until this one and it is not even 2 years old!

[Bill_To]

Greetings @Benji2115 

I think it would be prudent to remove the Windows: August and July updates to check your PC's stability.

Then consider removing the affected HP software if instability continues after removing both Windows updates.

Then reinstall the required Windows updates and test the PC without the indicated HP software to see how it goes.

Or your IT associate could use a debugger to further analyze the blue screen dump files. It's possible some other installed software is causing the blue screen error.

It could take HP a long time to become aware of, and fix this error if the HP software is causing the problem and the kernel security check errors are limited to a small group of PCs.

I don't think any of the optional HP software in question are required to successfully use Windows.

Regards

[Benji2115]

Thank you again so much Bill.  I totally agree with you.  The problem mentioned by polo897 sounds so very similar to what I have been experiencing.   I had the computer on for about 1 1/2 hours this morning and was in the middle of sending an email, and then all of a sudden the Blue Screen appears, followed by a very quick shutdown and restart.   I have been doing a manual restart myself after this happens as it boots back up very quickly, and this seems to lessen the frequency with which the Blue Screens appear.  It happened once yesterday, and I did a manual restart and it did not recur for the rest of the day.  The computer functions normally in between these Blue Screens.  According to the Event Viewer, the blue screen Kernel power event has happened 23 times since July 14!  This cannot be good for your computer either! 

Despite the error message in Event Viewer on the date of the July 14 Windows Update, the Windows Update Log says that that specific update was "installed successfully", so maybe Windows Update tried again after the initial error and was successful?

HP One Agent is definitely installed on my machine.  It is in the Apps category under Settings, and also it is also listed under Processes in the Task Manager.    I may just try uninstalling the HP One Agent myself to see what happens, and will have to keep checking to make sure it is not reinstalled.  

Thanks again Bill_To, you have been so helpful!