KERNEL_STACK_INPAGE_ERROR Blue Screen 0x77: How It Differs From 0x7A

KERNEL_STACK_INPAGE_ERROR is Windows stop code 0x00000077 (0x77). Microsoft's reference says it indicates "that the requested page of kernel data from the paging file could not be read into memory." The sentence is almost the same as the one for KERNEL_DATA_INPAGE_ERROR (0x7A), and Microsoft links the two pages to each other.

The difference is in the first parameter. For 0x77 it first tells you where the page came from, and only if the value is something else does it become an error status.

This page is built from the Microsoft Learn article "Bug Check 0x77: KERNEL_STACK_INPAGE_ERROR" and, where noted, Microsoft's general page on analysing blue screen data, both read on 13 October 2026 and checked against the Microsoft Docs source files. Microsoft marks the 0x77 page as written for programmers and directs customers to https://www.windows.com/stopcode. Anything taken from the general page rather than the 0x77 page is labelled as such.

What do the parameters say?

The four parameters have two possible meanings. If the first parameter is 0, 1 or 2:

Parameter	What Microsoft says it holds (first parameter is 0, 1 or 2)
1	0: the page was retrieved from the page cache. 1: the page was retrieved from a disk. 2: retrieved from a disk, the storage stack returned SUCCESS, but Status.Information is not equal to PAGE_SIZE
2	The value that appears in the stack where the signature should be
3	0
4	The address of the signature on the kernel stack

If the first parameter is any other value, Microsoft lists a second layout: parameter 1 is the status code, parameter 2 the I/O status code, parameter 3 the page file number and parameter 4 the offset into the page file.

What does the first parameter tell you about the cause?

The Cause section turns the parameter into a diagnosis, in three cases:

First parameter	Cause, as Microsoft words it
0 or 1	The stack signature in the kernel stack was not found; this error is probably caused by defective hardware, such as a RAM error
2	The driver stack returned an inconsistent status for the read of the page, for example a success status even though it did not read the whole page
Any other value	The value is an NTSTATUS error code returned by the driver stack after it tried to retrieve the page; the exact cause can be determined from the I/O status code in the second parameter

The first row is the one with a hardware message: a missing stack signature points to defective hardware, "such as a RAM error." This is different from 0x7A, whose first parameter is a lock type.

Which status codes does Microsoft name?

For the third case, Microsoft names five common NTSTATUS values. They are the same codes as on the 0x7A page, with one difference in the wording of the first:

Status code	What Microsoft says it indicates
0xC000009A STATUS_INSUFFICIENT_RESOURCES	A lack of nonpaged pool resources; this indicates a driver error in the storage stack, because the storage stack should always be able to retrieve this data regardless of software resource availability
0xC000009C STATUS_DEVICE_DATA_ERROR	Bad blocks (sectors) on the hard disk
0xC000009D STATUS_DEVICE_NOT_CONNECTED	Defective or loose cabling, termination, or that the controller does not see the hard disk drive
0xC000016A STATUS_DISK_OPERATION_FAILED	Bad blocks (sectors) on the hard disk
0xC0000185 STATUS_IO_DEVICE_ERROR	Improper termination or defective cabling on SCSI devices, or two devices trying to use the same IRQ

The page does not name 0xC000000E (STATUS_NO_SUCH_DEVICE), which is on the 0x7A page. A virus infection is listed as another possible cause.

How do 0x77 and 0x7A compare?

Question	0x77 KERNEL_STACK_INPAGE_ERROR	0x7A KERNEL_DATA_INPAGE_ERROR
Failing read	A page of kernel data (the stack case)	A page of kernel data from the paging file
First parameter	Where the page came from (0, 1 or 2), or a status code	The lock type held, or a page table entry address
Status codes named	Five	Six (adds 0xC000000E)
Hardware pointer	Missing stack signature probably means defective hardware such as a RAM error	Defective storage hardware or failing RAM named as another common cause
Resolution	Bad blocks, defective hardware, failing RAM, virus	Bad blocks, failing RAM, defective hardware, virus, plus a closing checklist

The resolutions are very close. The extra detail on the 0x77 page is a warning about older file systems: if the system partition uses FAT, long file names may be damaged by Scandisk or another MS-DOS-based tool, so Microsoft says to always use the version of Chkdsk that matches your version of Windows.

What Microsoft tells non-programmers to do

The Resolution section groups the customer-side steps by cause. In Microsoft's order:

• Bad blocks: if you can restart, Autochk runs automatically and tries to map the bad sector; otherwise run Chkdsk /f /r on the system partition and restart before the scan begins, or use the Recovery Console and Chkdsk /r.
• Defective hardware: if the I/O status is 0xC0000185 and the paging file is on a SCSI disk, check the disk cabling and SCSI termination.
• Failing RAM: run the manufacturer's hardware diagnostics, especially the memory scanner; check that adapter cards are seated and clean their contacts; check the System Log; you can disable memory caching of the BIOS.
• Make sure the latest Windows Service Pack is installed.
• If the steps fail, take the system motherboard to a repair facility for diagnostic testing.
• Virus: scan with up-to-date commercial software that examines the Master Boot Record.

The page was written for older versions of Windows (it mentions a Service Pack and the Recovery Console). The principles it describes, a bad disk sector, loose connections, failing RAM, still read the same today.

Checklist before changing anything

• The four parameters from the System Log, especially parameter 1
• Whether parameter 1 is 0, 1 or 2 (hardware or inconsistent status) or a status code
• Result of Chkdsk on the system partition
• Result of the manufacturer's memory scanner
• Cables and adapter cards seated and clean (where the hardware has them)

How to work through a 0x77 blue screen

• Read parameter 1: is it 0, 1, 2 or a status code?
• For a status code, match it to the table above
• Run Chkdsk or the memory scanner depending on the cause
• Check cables and cards, then scan for viruses

Registry edits and paid tools. Microsoft's page does not mention them, so neither does this one.

Every stop code covered here is listed in our Windows blue screen stop code index.

What does the page say when Windows will not start?

The disk-scan advice has a second branch that only matters once the machine stops booting. Microsoft says that if the computer can be restarted after the error, Autochk runs automatically and tries to map the bad sector so it is not used again, and that if Autochk does not scan the disk you can run Chkdsk /f /r on the system partition, which begins after a restart. If the system cannot be started because of the error, the page's instruction is different: use the Recovery Console and run Chkdsk /r. Microsoft also lists a virus infection among the causes of this bug check, alongside the disk, memory and cabling faults.

Sources and how to check

• Microsoft Learn, "Bug Check 0x77: KERNEL_STACK_INPAGE_ERROR" — https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/debugger/bug-check-0x77--kernel-stack-inpage-error. Source file in the MicrosoftDocs/windows-driver-docs repository.
• Microsoft Learn, "Analyze bug check (stop code error) data" — https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/debugger/blue-screen-data (general guide).
• Bug check code reference, Microsoft Learn: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/debugger/bug-check-code-reference2
• Troubleshoot blue screen errors (for regular users): https://www.windows.com/stopcode
• Licence and credit: Microsoft Learn documentation is published under CC BY 4.0. This page selects, rewords and reorders it, adds a plain-language reading, and is not endorsed by Microsoft. The original is linked above.
• Checked as of 13 October 2026.