Status System Process Terminated: Know Causes and Fixes Here

What does Status System Process Terminated mean?

Error code 0xC000021A means STATUS_SYSTEM_PROCESS_TERMINATED. When you are doing Windows 11/10 upgrade or installation, this error may occur. Or if there is a critical process, such as WinLogon (winlogon.exe) or the Client Server Run-Time Subsystem (csrss.exe) fails.

▶ What causes stop code 0xc000021a?

The STATUS_SYSTEM_PROCESS_TERMINATED error may be caused by the following possible reasons:

• A mismatched system file was installed.
• Driver conflicts after Windows OS upgrade or installation of new hardware.
• Mismatched, missing, or corrupted system files.
• You get the c000021a (fatal system error) error when Windows detects a security vulnerability in a user-mode subsystem such as WinLogon or CSRSS (Client Server Runtime Subsystem). When such a system process is terminated, then your system switches to kernel mode. Because it can't run without CSRSS or WinLogon.

No matter why you received 0xc000021a (STATUS_SYSTEM_PROCESS_TERMINATED) error, this guide will offer you with the most working methods to get you out of trouble.

How to fix Status System Process Terminated error

While this error may seem tricky to worry about, take it easy, the next section will walk you through the recovery to fix your PC couldn't start properly error.

• #1. Uninstall Windows updates
• #2. Run System File Checker and CHKDSK
• #3. Rebuild Boot Configuration Data (BCD)
• #4. Run DISM to repair corrupted system image
• #5. Disable Driver Signature Enforcement
• #6. Disable Secure Boot

#1. Uninstall Windows updates

Since you may have upgraded to an incompatible version of Windows causing this error, you can uninstall the latest updates to check if the issue is resolved. Let's learn the detailed steps below.

1. Start with the computer completely shutting down, press the Power button to boot your PC. When it starts loading, press and hold the Power button to force shutdown the computer again. (Repeat 2 to 3 times).

2. After the third interrupted reboot, you’ll boot into WinRE. In the Windows recovery environment, choose Troubleshoot > Advanced options.

3. In the Advanced options window, select Uninstall Updates > Uninstall latest feature update.

4. Then follow the screen to uninstall any update that may have caused error 0xc000021a (STATUS_SYSTEM_PROCESS_TERMINATED).

#2. Run System File Checker and CHKDSK

SFC (System File Checker) checks integrity of protected system files. If some of them are corrupted or missing, SFC will replace them with correct versions located in C:\Windows. Follow the steps below to run SFC commands.

1. Boot your computer from Windows installation media.

2. When the Windows setup wizard shows up, press the Shift + F10 keys to open the Command Prompt window.

3. When the Command Prompt opens up, type chkdsk C: /r and press Enter.

4. Enter sfc/scannow and tap the Enter button.

5. Once you have done with the above steps, don't forget to restart your system.

#3. Rebuild Boot Configuration Data (BCD)

1. When you boot your computer from Windows installation media, in the Windows setup wizard, select Repair your computer > Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Command Prompt in order.

2. Type the following commands in order and press Enter after each.

• bootrec /FixMbr
• bootrec /FixBoot
• bootrec /RebuildBcd

#4. Run DISM to repair corrupted system image

1. Open an elevated Command Prompt as mentioned in the previous methods.

2. Check the Windows image for issues with the following commands:

• DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
• DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth (a more advanced scan)
• DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

#5. Disable Driver Signature Enforcement

If you disable Driver Signature, Windows will use drivers that aren’t signed by Microsoft directly too. Here are steps on how to disable it.

1. Start your PC into WinRE, it will take you to an options screen. Choose Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Startup Settings.

2. Click the Restart button to reboot your computer into the Startup Settings screen. Press the F7 key to boot into Windows with the driver signature enforcement disabled.

3. Then restart your computer to see if you fix your PC couldn't start properly.

#6. Disable Secure Boot

1. In the Troubleshooting menu, go to Troubleshoot > UEFI Firmware Settings > click Restart.

2. Once in the BIOS, select the Authentication section or Boot, Security tab.

3. Set Secure Boot to Disabled.

4. Save the BIOS settings and exit.

Protect your PC from such system errors with best freeware

Above are all the listed solutions, you can try them to check if this error is solved successfully. What you should know is that not all problems can be solved accordingly, so to avoid unnecessary troubles, it is recommended that you always backup your computer to get better protection after updating to a new version.

Therefore, it is recommended that you get into the habit of backing up your system regularly, so that even if your system becomes unusable due to any issues with Windows update files, you can quickly restore it with the previously created system backup file.

The free backup software AOMEI Backupper Standard can be your exact choice. It allows you to backup system/file/disk/partition to different locations such as external hard drive, USB flash drive, and network share, etc. and set different backup frequencies to automatically backup your system on a regular basis. And it is compatible with all Windows PC OS (Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP, 32 bit and 64 bit).

Now, follow the illustrated steps and have this freeware downloaded and installed on your PC to have a try.

Step 1. Open the software and click Backup > System Backup.

Step 2. It will select system partition and boot-related partitions automatically. And you just need to select a destination.

Step 3. Click Start Backup to backup the Windows system.

✄ Options: You can write comments, choose the compression level for your system backup or set email notifications.
✄ Schedule Backup: This feature allows you to set the frequency of your backup, such as Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Event trigger and USB plug in. The professional version supports the last two features.
✄ Backup Scheme: You can select different backup methods such as full backup, incremental backup, differential backup (paid). You can also Enable Automatic Backup Cleanup feature (paid) to save disk space. 

Summary

That’s all for how to deal with Status System Process Terminated error with the provided top X fixes from this page. Keep in mind the errors are not always fixable, you need to backup your Windows OS regularly for better protection. Luckily, there’s one powerful software that can do you a big favor, which is AOMEI Backupper Standard. Once you encounter a system error, you can use the image file created with this tool to restore your PC to previous date.

It is more that a backup and restore software, it also comes with sync, clone and other tools as well. As the best Integral SSD clone software, it supports you clone HDD/SSD to Integral SSD with just a few mouse clicks. Don’t hesitate, it is worth a try!