How to Fix the “Unexpected Store Exception” Error in Windows 10 and 11
While Windows 10 is a remarkably stable operating system compared to older releases, it isn’t bug-free by any means. From time to time, any computer system can crash or fail, and Windows is no different. For most Windows users, this is often combined by a blue screen of death (BSOD).
BSOD errors often come with hard-to-decipher names, and the unexpected store exception error is one example of that. Unfortunately, there isn’t a single or obvious cause for this kind of BSOD. That said, if you’re trying to fix an unexpected store exception error in Windows 10, this article explains how to troubleshoot the “Unexpected Store Exception” error to determine what causes the Error in Windows 10.
What is a “Blue Screen” Error?
When your system suffers a fatal error, you get a “blue screen” error. It’s a relatively common issue that immediately stops your system, and forces it to reboot.
Most blue screen errors are associated with system-related issues that cause Windows to receive a “STOP” error, leading to a system crash. This happens without a warning, meaning that work can be lost, and files can occasionally get corrupted. Make sure to save frequently!
COPYRIGHT_NOVA: Published on https://www.novabach.com/i/how-to-fix-an-unexpected-store-exception-error/ by Daniel Barrett on 2022-06-27T10:29:18.000Z
Check the Health of Your Hard Drive
The error often indicates that you’re using a failing hard drive. It’s easy to check this with a free program like CrystalDiskInfo. Download the standard edition, run the installer, and open the program.
The tabs at the top let you change between drives if you have multiple. Look at the Health Status, which is being determined from the values listed in the table beneath.
Good means exactly that and shows your drive is in fine health. Bad or Caution is obviously negative.
If you see either Bad or Caution status, then you need to replace the drive as soon as possible because it’s at risk of failing imminently. In fact, even if you see Good, it’s worth switching the drive if you have a spare—the number one cause of the Unexpected Store Exception stop code is a faulty hard drive. If the error stops appearing with a different drive, you’ve found the problem.
Update Your Display Driver
A simple way to fix the Unexpected Store Exception error is by updating your display drivers.
- Press the Windows + R keys on your keyboard at the same time to bring up the Run utility.
- Type in “devmgmt.msc” without the quotations marks, then hit the OK button. This is going to launch the Device Manager in a separate window.
- Expand the Display adaptors section by clicking on the arrow icon next to its name in the list.
- Right-click on your driver, then select the Update option from the context menu.
If the update is unsuccessful through the Device Manager, you should head to the manufacturer’s website and download the latest drivers from there. Some popular pages are Intel Drivers & Software page, NVIDIA Driver download page, and the AMD Drivers and support page.
Scan For Corrupted System Files
If you’ve checked your hardware and you’re confident that there are no faults or issues, an unexpected store exception error could point to another likely option: corrupted system files.
You can quickly test this using Window’s built-in system file checker (sfc) command from an elevated PowerShell terminal or command line. The instructions below refer to using PowerShell for this, but they will also work for cmd, too.
- Open a PowerShell window by right-clicking the start menu and clicking PowerShell (Admin). Once PowerShell is open, type sfc /scannow and press enter to begin the scan.
- It’ll take a bit of time for Windows to scan your PC. The sfc tool should automatically fix any problems it detects, but you may need to hit Y to accept any prompts before the process ends.
Run System File Checker
Faulty system files could also cause the Unexpected Store Exception error. Handily, Windows includes an easy way for you to scan your system and have it automatically attempt to repair any problematic files.
- Press Windows Key + X.
- Click Command Prompt (Admin).
- Once opened, type sfc /scannow and press Enter.
This will initiate the scan. It’ll display a message once completed. It might “not find any integrity violations”, which means all is fine. Alternatively, it might say:
- Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them. Details are included in the CBS.Log %WinDir%\Logs\CBS\CBS.log
- Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them. Details are included in the CBS.Log %WinDir%\Logs\CBS\CBS.log
If so, input the following in Command Prompt to view that log:
This will output the log to your desktop, where you can review the problematic files. If the errors can’t be fixed, as per the second message listed above, you may want to consider a factory reset of Windows to get fresh copies of system files.
Disable the Fast Startup Feature
While Fast Startup was implemented with the purpose of making your boot times better, some users have reported that it causes issues on their devices. Luckily, you can disable this option quite easily
Here are the steps you need to take to disable fast startup on Windows 10.
- Press the Windows + R keys on your keyboard. This is going to bring up the Run utility.
- Type in “control” and click on the OK button. This is going to launch the classic Control Panel application.
- Make sure that your view mode is set to either “Small icons” or “Large icons.” This will list all of the Control Panel items on one page.
- Click on “Power Options.”
- Click on the “Choose what the power buttons do” link from the left-side panel.
- Click on the “Change settings that are currently unavailable” link. You may be prompted to enter administrator credentials.
- Uncheck the “Turn on fast startup (recommended)” option and click Save changes.
- Restart your computer.
Disable Your Antivirus
Your antivirus software could be interfering with your system and causing the error. Try temporarily disabling your antivirus and see if the error still occurs. How to disable it will vary depending on your software, but chances are it’ll be somewhere in the program’s settings.
If you’re using Windows Defender, disable it like so:
- Press Windows key + I to open Settings.
- Go to Update & Security (Windows 10) or Privacy & security (Windows 11).
- Select Windows Security > Virus & threat protection.
- Beneath Virus & threat protection settings, click Manage settings.
- Slide Real-time protection to Off.
Alternatively, if using any third-party antivirus software, you could try uninstalling it entirely. Press Windows Key + I to open Settings and go to Apps > Apps & features. Find your antivirus on the list, click it, then click Uninstall.
Of course, it’s not the best practice to leave your system unprotected. If this doesn’t fix the Unexpected Store Exception error, enable your antivirus again to help keep your computer secure.
Reset Or Reinstall Windows 10
If you’ve tried everything else, a last-ditch effort to reset or reinstall Windows can sometimes wipe away underlying issues with your system configuration that you haven’t been able to previously diagnose.
Unlike older Windows versions, it’s now possible to quickly reset Windows to its default settings without needing to resort to a full disk wipe and reinstallation (although this option does remain available).
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