How to fix INVALID_PROCESS_ATTACH_ATTEMPT?

We can safely assume you ended up on this page because you saw an error of this form:

INVALID_PROCESS_ATTACH_ATTEMPT

STOP: 0x00000005

Well, you just encountered a blue screen of death error. If this is your first time of having to deal with such a problem, then there a few things you might be interested in knowing about blue screen of death errors.

Blue screen of death errors (commonly abbreviated as BSODs) make up a special class of critical errors. They typically occur when your system suffers a fatal crash. The crash is so severe in that Windows is forced to stop running because it is no longer safe for it to operate without issues or complications.

What are the causes of the INVALID_PROCESS_ATTACH_ATTEMPT Windows 10 error?

Faulty or malfunctioning hardware drivers cause most blue screen of death errors. Damaged hardware components are also in play as one of the causes of BSODs, but they are not that common.

The INVALID_PROCESS_ATTACH_ATTEMPT error as a specific BSOD is no exception as to the common causes of blue screen of death errors. In most cases, the drivers that control and manage the operations of your mouse or pointing device probably have something to do with the error.

Some reports also indicate that the blue screen of death error in view is sometimes a result of corrupted system files, but as far as we can tell, such events occur rarely.

It is time we moved on to show you how to fix the INVALID_PROCESS_ATTACH_ATTEMPT Windows 10 error since we have spelled enough details about this BSOD to further your knowledge of the matter at hand.

How to fix the INVALID_PROCESS_ATTACH_ATTEMPT blue screen of death error on Windows 10 PCs

You will do well to go through the fixes in the order that they have been listed here. Of course, you must begin with the first one on the list. Subsequently, if you are still struggling with your problem after you have used it, you are free to move on to the next solution. It is important you continue things this way until you end up on the perfect one for your condition.

1. Remove the driver for your touchpad:

We already established issues affecting drivers as one of the causes of the INVALID_PROCESS_ATTACH_ATTEMPT BSOD error, and here, we will guide you to fix the problem in this specific case. The problematic driver is most likely the driver for your touchpad. The driver is probably corrupted, damaged or outdated.

On most Windows 10 PCs, the Synaptics touchpad driver is the driver users need to check. To stop seeing the blue screen of death, you need to remove the driver. Follow these instructions:

• Open the Device Manager application: Press (and hold) the Windows button on your system, then follow up this move with a tap of the letter X key. Select Device Manager once the list of programs and options shows up
• On the Device Manager program window, you should see the list of categories housing your drivers. Go through them and locate the Synaptics touchpad driver operating on your PC
• Once you have found the required driver, you must right-click on it and select Uninstall to get rid of it. At this point, Windows should display a dialog box to seek confirmation for the operation you initiated

There, you must tick the checkbox for Delete driver software for this device (if Windows has made this option available).

• Click on the Uninstall button and Windows will take this as confirmation. The driver will be removed now. Finally, you are free to exit the program windows you launched earlier and reboot your system.

After your computer comes on, you must move on to check if the INVALID_PROCESS_ATTACH_ATTEMPT blue screen of death error is still active. Re-attempt the operation you were on earlier and see if the error comes up again. In general, you must do best to recreate the error.

If you cannot get your PC to blue screen no matter what you do, then the issue has probably been resolved. And in that case, you must move on to install a replacement for the driver you removed. We believe your touchpad stopped functioning after you uninstalled your Synaptics touchpad driver, so it is imperative you put things in order.

If you prefer not to bother yourself with the complications operations and risks associated with the search and installation of an updated driver for your touchpad, then you must consider a different approach of solving the issue. For one, Auslogics Driver Updater can carry out all the required operations on your behalf in a safe, convenient, and efficient manner.

You have to download and run the recommended program and let it go through your PC. This way, it will identify the missing, corrupted or outdated drivers operating on your system. Subsequently, you move on to use the app to fetch and install the necessary drivers.

Anyway, regardless of how you get your system to install the latest Synaptics touchpad driver, a restart of your PC is required. After a reboot, you can be sure the drivers have begun their work, and everything should go smoothly now.

2. Uninstall the Synaptics program on your computer:

If you encountered the blue screen of death even after you successfully got rid of the Synaptics touchpad driver, then there is a good chance that your PC is still running some Synaptics software. Perhaps, your system came preinstalled with a Synaptics program you know little about as at now.

In any case, if you find any application that has something to do with the Synaptics touchpad, you must get rid of it. These instructions will guide you to do the right thing:

• Open the Control Panel app by right-clicking on the Windows Start icon that is always visible on your desktop screen, and then selecting Control Panel from the list that shows up.
• Once the Control Panel program window shows up, you must go through the sections or categories you see to enter the Uninstall a program menu (usually under Programs).

If you cannot find a direct link to the required menu, then you must search for it in the text field available (on the upper right section of the Control Panel program window) and select the appropriate result.

• In the Uninstall or change a program menu, Windows will display all the applications currently installed on your PC. Locate the Synaptics touchpad app. You might see the Synaptics Pointing Device Driver application or something similar. They are more or less the same thing.
• Once you have identified the Synaptics app that must be removed, you have to right-click on it to see a short menu list, then select Uninstall. Windows might bring up a window to prompt you to confirm the operation. Do the needed and follow the instructions that come up to complete the uninstallation process.
• Restart your PC once Windows finishes uninstalling the app. After the reboot, you have to wait for Windows to settle down, then check if the INVALID_PROCESS_ATTACH_ATTEMPT blue screen of death still disturbs your computer.

3. Run some troubleshooters:

Troubleshooters are generally known to provide help when users encounter an issue they cannot resolve on their own in the Windows operating system environment. Windows 10 is equipped with a good number of them, so in general, if you encounter a difficult problem, there is a good chance your system has a troubleshooter that is capable of getting rid of it. You still have to ask for help first, anyway.

Since we are dealing with a blue screen of death, we are going to run the BSOD troubleshooter that made its debut on Windows 10. This tool is designed to deal with a wide range of system issues or serious problems, and it might just deliver the result you need. Follow these instructions:

• Open the Settings app. You can do this by pressing the Windows button on your keyboard (a click on the Windows Start icon does the trick too), then selecting Settings once the expected programs and options show up.
• Once the Settings program window appears, you must click on Update and Security. After you enter the selected menu, you will see a list of options or tools on the left pane. Go through them and select Troubleshoot.
• Now, on the right pane, under the Troubleshoot menu, Windows will display a good number of troubleshooting tools grouped in specific categories based on the programs, events or conditions they were created for.
• Locate the BSOD or Blue Screen troubleshooter, then click on it to highlight it. The Run the troubleshooter button should be visible now, and you must click on it.
• At this point, the troubleshooter will initiate the necessary operations, and you must do your part by following the instructions that appear to ensure the tool does its job correctly.
• Once the troubleshooter is done with its work, you must restart your system. After Windows starts up and reaches stability, you must check if the BSOD problem persists.

Besides the Blue Screen or BSOD troubleshooter available in the Troubleshoot menu in the Settings program, we know of one other troubleshooter tool you can run to fix problems. Perhaps, specific bugs, operations, or programs, are triggering the INVALID_PROCESS_ATTACH_ATTEMPT blue screen of death error and so on, and in that case, you must put things in order.

Help from the System Maintenance troubleshooter is the best shot you have at getting your system back in shape or in a state where the disturbing blue screen of death stops appearing.

Continue with the instructions below:

• First, you must launch the Control Panel application. We provided the steps on doing this earlier, so we decided to leave them out here.
• After the Control Panel app comes up, you must click on the option at the right corner of its window and select Small icons. This way, the Control Panel menu will be presented in the classic view. Navigation should be easier this way.
• From the menu or options list displayed, locate Troubleshooting, then click on it. Go through the links you see on the left pane and click on View all. Windows will now move to list all the troubleshooting tools available for use on your PC for different programs, events or situations.
• Go through the list and locate System Maintenance. The System Maintenance window should show up on your screen soon. Click on the Advanced link there to continue.
• The Run as administrator option should be visible by now. You should also see the checkbox for Apply repairs automatically. We recommend you select both options before you initiate the primary operation.
• Once you are ready to let the tool begin its work, click on the Next button. The main operation will commence, and the troubleshooter will try to detect the problems affecting your PC. Where possible, it will resolve the issues and handle the complex tasks.

There is no guarantee that the troubleshooter will be successful with all it does, though. So, if you still encounter the blue screen of death after running the tool and restarting your PC, you will do well to check the troubleshooting report to see if there is anything that the troubleshooter failed to fix or ignored.

4. Uninstall your antivirus:

Understandably, you are used to running an antivirus on your Windows device. However, if you are yet to resolve the INVALID_PROCESS_ATTACH_ATTEMPT blue screen of death error (or struggling to fix the problems associated with this particular BSOD), then it might interest you to know that your antivirus might have something to do with your current situation.

The security job is hardly an easy one, so we are often mindful of passing blame on programs meant to protect computers, but given the severity of a problem like a blue screen of death, we have no choice but to tell it as it is.

Your antivirus, while trying to protect your PC, might have interfered with operations it is not supposed to be disturbing. In other words, it might have prevented other applications from doing their job or stopped them from engaging in specific activities.

Programs are not faultless or infallible. For one, they are designed by humans, and this should tell you a lot. Your antivirus might perceive a normally harmless program as a threat, or it might see a simple operation as a malicious process. Or even sometimes, it might just go too far in terms of what it does to keep out threats, and along the way, causing your PC problems.

It is time you found out if your antivirus is responsible in any way for the issue are you are struggling to resolve. Well, if it is proven that it has a hand in your troubles, then you must move to get rid of it, and this might seem like a difficult task.

Fortunately, the process involved in finding out if an antivirus is culpable in the appearance of a blue screen of death error (like the one defined as INVALID_PROCESS_ATTACH_ATTEMPT) requires users to get rid of the program itself or severely reduce its powers or capabilities. This approach provides all the push you need.

Follow these instructions:

• First, you must open your antivirus app. You must find a way of getting into its program settings. There, you have to make some changes to reduce your antivirus powers or capabilities.

We recommend you disable every feature or functionality you see. This way, your antivirus will become inactive. If you find a button or switch to turn it off completely, you will do well to take advantage of it.

Save all the changes you make.

• Now, you must round up this operation by exiting your antivirus and restarting your PC. After Windows reboots, the changes that occurred will undoubtedly go into effect. Therefore, at this stage, given the moves you have made against your antivirus, you must check if the blue screen of death comes up.

If you somehow manage to trigger the blue screen of death, then you move on to the next operation.

Here, you are left with no choice but to uninstall your antivirus. After all, this is the only way you can be sure that your security program has nothing to do with the blue screen of death. Continue with the instructions below:

• Press (and hold) the Windows button on your keyboard, then follow up this move with a tap of the letter I key. Windows will launch the Settings program, and from the options or menus displayed, you must select Apps and Features.
• Once you enter the selected menu, Windows will display all the apps currently installed on your computer. You must go through them, locate your antivirus app, then click on it to highlight it.
• The Uninstall button should be visible now, and you have to click on it. Another click is required on the Uninstall button on the dialog box (that comes up to get confirmation for the uninstallation operation).
• After Windows finishes removing the app, you must restart your PC and test for the blue screen of death error like you did numerous times. If you cannot get it to show up no matter what you do, then your antivirus has been fingered to be the cause of the problem in view.

If your antivirus is no longer active on your PC, then the fix you applied is more or less permanent as regards its effect on the issue. However, you cannot allow Windows to operate without any form of credible protection.

You will do well to try out other antiviruses or security programs that are capable of keeping your PC safe, especially those that are not known to cause complications or problems while they do their job. Auslogics Anti-Malware is one of such apps.

Other things you could try to resolve the INVALID_PROCESS_ATTACH_ATTEMPT blue screen of death error on Windows 10 devices

If you end up struggling with the problem even after you went through the well-detailed fixes we provided, then you might be glad to know that there are still a couple of solutions left for you to try.

5. Trigger the automatic startup repair and go into safe mode:

Perhaps, none of the fixes above applied to you because your PC is inaccessible due to the BSOD or you simply could not get your system to allow you to run them. In any case, safe mode will provide you with the platform where you get to work and resolve your problem.

6. Run scans using the SFC and DISM tools:

We could not rule out corrupted system files as one of the causes of the INVALID_PROCESS_ATTACH_ATTEMPT BSOD earlier, and if you are still struggling with the problem, then it is only reasonable you moved on to check for corruption in system files, repair or replace the corrupted items with good copies, and so on. Well, we have just recommended the best tools for getting the job done.

7. Get rid of the apps you installed recently:

The proposed operation is hardly a direct fix to the BSOD problem, but if the problem is still active at this point, then it is difficult to refuse help from unorthodox procedures. Perhaps, one of the applications you installed recently is incompatible with your PC, its drivers, or even other apps on your computer. It is difficult to say; all you have to do is find out and see things for yourself.

8. Download and install all the available Windows updates:

Here, we could assume the BSOD only got triggered because your PC is lacking some crucial updates. Download and install all the available updates, and the INVALID_PROCESS_ATTACH_ATTEMPT blue screen of death might finally stop coming up on your Windows 10 computer.