How to Fix LiveKernelEvent 117 Error

If your computer (or just your keyboard and mouse) freezes from time to time, its screen flickers, or it reboots itself often, then you check Event Viewer or Reliability Monitor, and you see many LiveKernelEvent with code 117 errors in the crash logs, don’t worry, we have some fixes for you.

Even though the crash logs in Reliability Monitor or Event Viewer may mention hardware problems, there are still chances that certain software or device driver changes can help to fix the LiveKernelEvent with code 117 error. So before you invest in new hardware components, here are some troubleshooting methods that you can try first.

Try these fixes for the LiveKernelEvent 117 error

You don’t have to try all the following methods; simply work your way down the list until you find the one that does the trick to fix the LiveKernelEvent with code 117 error for you.

1. Try an older graphics card driver
2. Clean reinstall graphics card driver
3. Make sure your computer is not overheated
4. Stop overclocking your GPU and/or CPU
5. Repair damaged or corrupted system files
6. Update BIOS
7. Consider a system reset

1. Try an older graphics card driver

The LiveKernelEvent with code 117 error can sometimes caused by some glitches with the latest display card driver, which was reported by some Nvidia display card users. So to make sure that you’re using a correct and well-tested driver, you can try an old one from your system. To do this:

1. On your keyboard, press the Windows key and the R key at the same time, then type devmgmt.msc and hit Enter.
   
2. Double-click to expand the Display adapters category, then right-click your display card and select Update driver.
   
3. Select Browse my computer for drivers.
   
4. Select Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer.
   
5. Make sure that you have Show compatible hardware ticked, then select the second to last driver from the list. On this screenshot, it’s Microsoft Basic Display Adapter. You should have some drivers with the same description, which is totally normal. Then click Next to continue.
   
6. The older driver should then be installed.
7. Restart your computer for the change to take effect.

Then see if your computer still freezes or crashes with the LiveKernelEvent 117 error in Event Viewer or Reliability Monitor. If the problem still remains, please move on.

2. Clean reinstall graphics card driver

If an older display card driver doesn’t help to fix the LiveKernelEvent 117 error, then it’s probably related to a faulty or missing graphics card driver. So making sure that you have the latest and the correct graphics card driver installed is one of the first things you should do.

To make sure that there are no old bad graphics card driver files left in your system, here’s what you need to do first:

1. On your keyboard, press the Windows key and the R key at the same time, then type devmgmt.msc and hit Enter.
   
2. Double-click to expand the Display adapters category, then right-click your display card and select Uninstall device.
   
   
3. Tick the box for Attempt to remove the driver for this device and click Uninstall.
4. Repeat the same to remove the driver for your other display card if you have one.
5. Then update your graphics card driver.

There are mainly 2 ways you can update your graphics driver: manually or automatically.

Option 1: Update your graphics driver manually

If you’re a tech-savvy gamer, you can spend some time updating your GPU driver manually.

To do so, first visit the website of your GPU manufacturer:

• NVIDIA
• AMD
• Intel

Then search for your GPU model. Note that you should only download the latest driver installer that’s compatible with your operating system. Once downloaded, open the installer and follow the on-screen instructions to update.

Option 2: Update your graphics driver automatically (Recommended)

If you don’t have the time, patience or skills to update the driver manually, you can do it automatically with Driver Easy. Driver Easy will automatically recognize your system and find the correct drivers for it. You don’t need to know exactly what system your computer is running, you don’t need to be troubled by the wrong driver you would be downloading, and you don’t need to worry about making a mistake when installing. Driver Easy handles it all.

You can update your drivers automatically with either the FREE or the Pro version of Driver Easy. But with the Pro version it takes just 2 steps (and you get full support and a 30-day money back guarantee):

1. Download and install Driver Easy.
2. Run Driver Easy and click the Scan Now button. Driver Easy will then scan your computer and detect any problem drivers.
   
3. Click Update All to automatically download and install the correct version of all the drivers that are missing or out of date on your system. (This requires the Pro version – you’ll be prompted to upgrade when you click Update All.)
   Note: You can do it for free if you like, but it’s partly manual.
4. Restart your PC for the changes to take effect.

Then see if there are still freezes and crashes seen on your computer that are marked with the LiveKernelEvent 117 error. If the problem remains, please move on.

3. Make sure your computer is not overheated

According to some users, the LiveKernelEvent 117 error happens to them when their CPU and GPU is running hot. So if the ventilation for your computer is rather poor, or not strong enough for all your hardware components, then there’ll be problems like sudden computer shut down and constant computer or keyboard and mouse freezes, among many other PC performance issues.

If you can feel the heat on your computer case or on your computer itself, or you can hear the fan(s) running very loud when you run resource-hungry software programs (like games), you need a cooler environment for your machine to make sure that the LiveKernelEvent 117 error doesn’t happen again.

Here is a detailed post for your reference if your computer is overheating: How to Know Your CPU Overheating and How to Fix It

4. Stop overclocking your GPU and/or CPU

Overclocking your CPU and GPU can enhance your PC performance, especially if you’re a gamer. But doing so will also add more pressure to your hardware components, and therefore cause instability, overheating, and damage to them if done excessively or improperly. The LiveKernelEvent 117 error could then be a result of overclocking.

So if you’re doing it, please stop now to see if it helps to eliminate the LiveKernelEvent 117 error from your computer. If not, please move on.

5. Repair damaged or corrupted system files

Repairing corrupted or damaged system files could help fix issues like the LiveKernelEvent 117 error. This is because the integrity of Windows system files are essential for proper operation and stability, while errors in critical system files can cause crashes, freezes, and problems that affect the overall computer performance.

You can run SFC and DISM checks to see if there are damaged system files to repair, but there are chances that these tools can’t fix the corrupted files either. Tools like Fortect can automate the repair process by scanning system files and replacing corrupted ones.

1. Download and install Fortect.
2. Open Fortect. It will run a free scan of your PC and give you a detailed report of your PC status.
   
3. Once finished, you’ll see a report showing all the issues. To fix all the issues automatically, click Start Repair (You’ll need to purchase the full version. It comes with a 60-day Money-Back Guarantee so you can refund anytime if Fortect doesn’t fix your problem).
   

Tips: Still unsure if Fortect is what you need? Check this Fortec Review!

6. Update BIOS

The LiveKernelEvent with code 117 error could also be caused by outdated BIOS, according to some users. Even though a BIOS update won’t usually boost your computer performance, it can, however, fix problems or bugs related to certain hardware, and thus stop problems like LiveKernelEvent 114.

You can refer to this post we have regarding how to update the BIOS.

7. Consider a system reset

If the LiveKernelEvent with code 117 error still remains unfixed at this point, we’re afraid that the last resort would be a system reset. It wipes out all software incompatibilities and problems, it’s also the rule of thumb in telling a software problem from a hardware one: if the problem remains even after a system reset, then it’s definitely a hardware problem.

To reinstall or reset your computer, here’s a post for your reference: Reinstall/Reset Windows 10 [Step By Step]

If the LiveKernelEvent with code 117 error is still seen after a reset, then the next thing you should do is seek help from a hardware technician to see if your hardware components are at fault.

Hope one of the above methods helps to fix the LiveKernelEvent with code 117 error for you. If you have other suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment below.

• Windows