You’ve probably heard of overheating CPUs, software crashes, failing hardware, or even malware attacks. But this one? You definitely wouldn’t see coming. Its lesser known, silent, and strikes when you least expect—often during startup, after Windows update, or when copying files to a drive. Meet the iaStorA.sys blue screen error!
Confused already? Well… the iaStorA.sys is a system driver associated with Intel Rapid Storage Technology (RST) and it’s responsible for managing how Windows interacts with SATA, AHCI, or RAID-based drives. When iaStorA.sys fails, your computer will return error codes like:
- DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL—iaStorA.sys
- SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED—iaStorA.sys
It not only interrupts your workflow but can also trap your PC in boot loops, prevent Windows from loading, and if you’re really out of luck, corrupt data, especially when it occurs while reading or writing to the drive.
What is iaStorA.sys Blue Screen of Death?
iaStorA.sys file acts as the translator between your computer’s operating system and its storage hardware. Part of the Intel Rapid Storage Technology (RST), this driver dictates how Windows communicates with your storage controllers (like SATA and AHCI).
It automatically loads upon boot and keeps running in the background. When iaStorA.sys file becomes outdated or corrupted, it can come back to bite you – often forcing a BSoD crash just to stop the driver from accidentally corrupting your files.
What are the Causes Behind iaStorA.sys Blue Screen?
Some usual suspects behind the iaStorA.sys blue screen error on your PC are:
- The RST drivers on your PC are outdated or corrupted
- The SATA operation mode in your BIOS/UEFI settings is misconfigured
- Conflicts due to an incompatible Windows update
- The HDD/SSD connected to your system has bad sectors
- Presence of a virus or malware
- The system files or registry keys related to Intel RST are missing or corrupted
- Some third-party disk management software is conflicting with the iaStorA.sys driver
How to Troubleshoot iaStorA.sys Error?
Before troubleshooting the error, go through some preliminary checks:
1. Update the IRST Drivers
The iaStorA.sys error is directly linked to Intel Rapid Storage Technology suite. While it’s designed to optimize system performance, the crash mainly occurs when IRST drivers become outdated. So update the drivers and see if the issue gets resolved.
- Open Device Manager.
- Go to IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers and expand the entry.
- Right-click on the Intel(R) 7 Series Chipset Family SATA AHCI Controller and click Update driver.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to finish the process.
- Restart your PC and see if the error is resolved.
Using a buggy IRST drivers can be another reason why you could be facing the iaStorA.sys error on your computer. In case the error started occurring after a recent update, go to Properties > Driver and click Roll Back Driver. Chances are your system will stabilize after reverting to an earlier, compatible version.
2. Switch from Intel RST to Microsoft AHCI Driver
In case you don’t need RAID or Intel Optane on your PC, replace the Intel driver with Microsoft AHCI to completely eliminate the iaStorA.sys error on your computer.
Note: But Back up your files first.
- Press Win + R, type msconfig, and press Enter.
- Go to Boot, click Safe Boot and select Minimal.
- Click Apply.
- Restart your PC and enter BIOS/UEFI (press F2, Del, F12, or F10, depending on your OEM).
- Go to Advanced > Storage > SATA Configuration.
- Change SATA Mode from RAID/Intel RST to AHCI.
- Save changes & exit BIOS.
- When your computer restarts, it will boot into Safe Boot and Windows will automatically install Microsoft Standard AHCI Controller driver.
- Repeat steps 1-3 and disable Safe Boot.
- Restart your PC to apply changes.
3. Check for Disk Errors
CHKDSK can scan and repair disk-related errors on Windows. Execute it with a single command in Command Prompt or Windows PowerShell to fix disk errors.
- Search CMD and click Run as administrator.
- Run the following command (replace k with the corrupted drive letter): chkdsk k: /r /x
- Wait for the process to complete and then Restart your PC to see if the issue is resolved.
Suggested Read: How to Fix CHKDSK – An Unspecified Error Occurred
4. Run SFC and DISM Scan to Repair System Files
You may also run into the iaStorA.sys blue screen error due to system file corruption. To fix this, we will run the SFC and DISM scans.
- Type CMD in search and click Run as administrator.
- Execute the following commands one by one:
sfc /scannow
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
5. Run System Restore
If the iaStorA.sys error has started to come up only recently, it could be due to some recent changes made to your system. You can fix it by resetting your system to a previous point in time when it was working fine.
- Press Win + S to launch search and open Create a restore point.
- A System Properties dialog box will appear.
- Under the System Protection tab, click System Restore.
- Choose a restore point before iaStorA.sys error and click Next.
- Confirm the restore point by clicking Finish and you’re good to go. Your PC will restart to apply the changes.
Recover Lost File After the iaStorA.sys
BSoD errors like the iaStorA.sys can interrupt the file writing process on Windows. If the error occurred while writing to the drive, it can result in data loss. In such scenarios, we recommend using a professional data recovery software – Stellar Data Recovery Professional to reclaim your lost files. The software helps you recover data in complex loss scenarios like BSoD errors, logical drive failures, lost partitions, and more.
Summing Up
Fixing the iaStorA.sys blue screen error requires that you update or roll back your storage drivers, fix system files, and switch from Intel RST to Microsoft AHCI Driver. However, should data loss have occurred due to the blue screen of death, you can employ Stellar Data Recovery software.
