BAD_POOL_CALLER (0xC2)
What is this error?
The current thread is making a bad pool request. A driver is using incorrect memory management routines.
Common causes
- buggy driver
- incompatible driver
- antivirus filter driver
- corrupted RAM
How to fix it
- Identify faulting driver from minidump
- update drivers
- test RAM
- uninstall recently added software
Too many steps? Crashless can diagnose this automatically — checks your drivers, temps, VRAM, and 400+ known error patterns.
Get free AI diagnosis Detailed analysis
Bug check 0x000000C2 (BAD_POOL_CALLER) indicates a thread made a bad memory allocation or deallocation request. This is usually a driver passing invalid parameters to pool allocation routines. Common causes: a driver trying to free memory it already freed (double-free), requesting a zero-size allocation, or corrupting the pool header. Often caused by antivirus or VPN kernel drivers. Fixes:
- Check minidump for the faulting driver,
- Update or remove the identified driver,
- If recently installed software: uninstall it,
- Run memtest86 — RAM errors can cause pool header corruption,
- Run sfc /scannow,
- If persists: enable Driver Verifier to catch the specific driver.
When to seek help
If this error keeps happening after trying the fixes above, it may point to a deeper hardware or system issue. Consider professional help if:
- The crash occurs across multiple games or applications
- You see the same error after a clean Windows install
- Your PC is less than a year old (could be a warranty issue)
- You smell burning or hear unusual sounds from your PC
Or let Crashless do the deep analysis for you -- our AI checks drivers, temps, event logs, and 400+ known patterns automatically.
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