Kernel-Power 41: why the PC shut off without warning
Kernel-Power 41 is not a cause. It is Windows noting, the next time it starts, that the last shutdown never happened. What the record holds says which of a few things it was: a blue screen, the power button held down, the PC dying in its sleep — or nothing recorded at all, which usually means power.
Updated 10 November 2026
Read what is inside it
Open Event Viewer, then Windows Logs, System, and find the Critical event from Kernel-Power with ID 41 (its task category is 63). Open the Details tab:
- BugcheckCode is not 0: it was a blue screen. The number is the stop code written in decimal — 292 is 0x124 (WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR), 278 is 0x116 (VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE), 257 is 0x101 (CLOCK_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT). Windows’ Calculator in Programmer mode converts any other. Follow that code’s guide.
- PowerButtonTimestamp is not 0: someone held the power button down — usually because the PC had frozen.
- SleepInProgress or ConnectedStandbyInProgress set: it happened while the PC was asleep.
- Everything is 0: the PC stopped without Windows writing anything down. The power went, it froze so hard nothing could be written, or it was reset.
The error that follows it, event 6008 from EventLog (“The previous system shutdown at … was unexpected”), gives the time the PC was last known to be running — which tells you what you were doing.
When it shuts off while gaming
A PC that switches off under load, with Kernel-Power 41 and no stop code, most often has a power problem. Microsoft’s advice for this case is to check that the power supply has enough wattage for the parts, then the memory, overheating and any overclocking.
- The power supply. Check its size against the parts with the PSU calculator. Modern graphics cards draw brief spikes well above their rated power, which an ageing or borderline supply can switch off on.
- The cables. Every power cable fully home at both ends: the motherboard’s large 24-pin plug, the processor’s 8-pin and the graphics card’s.
- The socket. Plug the PC straight into a wall socket rather than an extension lead, or a UPS too small for it.
- Heat. A processor or graphics card that overheats can switch the PC off to protect itself. Run a stress test and watch the temperatures.
- Settings. Switch off any overclock, undervolt and the memory profile (XMP or EXPO) as a test, and update the BIOS.
When it happened while the PC was asleep
If the power went while it slept, or someone switched it off at the wall, that is the whole story and it does no harm. If not, a PC that dies in its sleep, or fails to wake, usually needs a BIOS and chipset driver update from the motherboard maker; the graphics and network drivers take part in sleep too. To sidestep it, set the PC to hibernate or shut down instead of sleeping.
When you held the power button
The PC had frozen. Freezes without a blue screen most often come from the graphics driver, unstable memory or the processor; why is my PC crashing covers how to tell which.
Let Windows show the stop code
If the PC blue-screens and restarts too quickly to read the code, stop it restarting by itself: System, About, Advanced system settings, Startup and Recovery, Settings, and clear Automatically restart. Microsoft suggests the same. The code then stays on screen.