What is ntkrnlpa.exe?

Ntkrnlpa.exe is NT Kernel & System.

This file is part of Microsoft® Windows® Operating System. Ntkrnlpa.exe is developed by Microsoft Corporation. It’s a system and hidden file. Ntkrnlpa.exe is usually located in the %WINDOWS% sub-folder and its usual size is 3,974,720 bytes.

Ntkrnlpa.exe is the kernel image for the Microsoft Windows NT operating systems family that runs on systems with Physical Address Extension support. It provides the Kernel and Executive layers of the Windows NT kernel space and is responsible for various system services such as hardware virtualization, process and memory management, etc. Among other things, ntkrnlpa.exe contains the Cache Manager, the Executive, the Kernel, the Security Reference Monitor, the Memory Manager, and the Scheduler. All this makes ntkrnlpa.exe a fundamental part of the system.

Ntkrnlpa.exe BSOD Error

Ntkrnlpa.exe is known to cause the Windows stop error (BSOD) when a Windows 7 or a Windows R2-based computer exits hibernation (error code Stop 0x0000009F). This happens when drivers don’t handle power state transition requests in the correct way. Microsoft is aware of this problem and a hotfix has been released. If you are experiencing this ntkrnlpa.exe error, download the hotfix from Microsoft Help and Support Center.

The ntkrnlpa.exe BSOD error can also be caused by third-party driver incompatibility with Windows 7. If the Microsoft hotfix doesn’t help, update all your drivers and all your software to the latest versions. If the error persists, run Startup Repair after installing all the necessary updates.