Fix Drive Firmware Crash Loop – Boot Loop After Update

Your storage drive's firmware keeps crashing in a loop when booting Windows 10 or 11. This usually happens after a failed driver update or power loss.

When This Error Shows Up

You're booting your Dell XPS 15 (or any modern PC with an NVMe SSD) and it gets stuck in a loop. You see a blue screen with IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL (ntfs.sys), then it restarts, tries to boot, and crashes again. Sometimes you see a message like "Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart." This often happens right after a Windows update or a firmware update for the SSD itself. It can also happen after a sudden power loss—like the laptop battery died while writing data.

I've seen this on Windows 10 version 22H2 and Windows 11 version 23H2. The real trigger is the storage drive's firmware getting corrupted or misconfigured. The drive can't talk properly to the operating system anymore. The ntfs.sys file is the driver that handles NTFS file system—it's crashing because the drive firmware is giving it bad data.

Root Cause

The problem is the drive's firmware got into a crash loop. Firmware is the low-level software inside the drive itself—it controls how the drive reads and writes data. When it crashes, the drive can't respond correctly to the OS. The OS then throws a blue screen because it can't access the file system. This is different from a corrupted Windows installation—the drive is physically fine, but its internal programming is broken.

The Fix – Step by Step

Here's the fix that works for most people. You'll need a second computer to create a bootable USB drive. If you don't have a second computer, skip to the alternative method at the end.

Create a Windows 10 or 11 installation USB. On a working computer, go to Microsoft's download page. Download the Media Creation Tool. Run it, choose "Create installation media for another PC." Pick your language and edition (usually Windows 11 Home or Pro). Choose USB flash drive—use one with at least 8GB. Wait until it finishes. After clicking Finish you should see the USB drive in File Explorer labeled ESD-USB or something similar.
Boot from the USB. Plug the USB into the crashed laptop. Turn it on. When the Dell logo appears, press F12 repeatedly until you see the boot menu. You should see a list of devices—pick the USB drive (usually named "UEFI: USB Drive"). Press Enter. The PC will load files from the USB—this takes 30-60 seconds. You'll see a blue screen with a Windows logo and language settings.
Open Command Prompt. On the Windows Setup screen, click "Next" then click "Repair your computer" in the bottom-left corner. You'll see a blue screen with options. Click "Troubleshoot," then "Advanced options," then "Command Prompt." A black window opens.
Check if the drive is visible. Type diskpart and press Enter. Then type list disk and press Enter. You should see your SSD listed—usually as Disk 0 with a size like 476 GB for a 512GB drive. If you see it, the drive is physically okay. If you don't see any disk, the drive might be dead—skip to the end. Type exit to close diskpart.
Run a firmware check. Type wmic diskdrive get model,firmwarerevision and press Enter. Write down the firmware revision number (like "XF2A" or "4110"). This tells us what version the drive is currently running. If the firmware is blank or shows garbage like "????", the firmware is corrupted.
Patch the firmware. Type bcdedit /set {default} recoveryenabled No and press Enter. This stops Windows from trying to auto-repair—those auto-repairs often make the loop worse. Then type bcdedit /set {default} bootstatuspolicy ignoreallfailures and press Enter. This tells Windows to ignore the crash and try booting normally. Close the Command Prompt window.
Try booting normally. Click the red X on the blue screen to close it. Then click "Continue" to exit and restart the PC. Remove the USB when the PC starts to shut down. Wait for it to boot. If it boots to Windows, you're done. If it still crashes, go to the next step.
Update firmware from the manufacturer. If the crash loop continues, you need to update the SSD firmware manually. Go back to the Command Prompt (repeat steps 1-3). Type wmic diskdrive get model and press Enter. Note the model name—like "Samsung PM9A1" or "Toshiba XG6." On a working computer, go to the manufacturer's support site. For Samsung, use their Magician tool. For Dell, use their support site for your exact model. Download the firmware update ISO or executable. If it's an ISO, burn it to another USB using Rufus. Boot from that USB and follow the on-screen instructions to flash the firmware. After flashing, restart—the drive should now boot normally.

What to Check If It Still Fails

If the drive still crashes after all this, the hardware might be failing. Check these things:

Drive temperature. In Command Prompt, type wmic /namespace:\\root\wmi PATH MSStorageDriver_FailurePredictStatus and press Enter. If "PredictFailure" says TRUE, the drive is about to die—replace it.
Check for physical damage. Open the laptop and reseat the SSD. Unplug the battery first. Remove the SSD, clean the gold contacts with a soft cloth, and put it back. Sometimes a loose connection causes this loop.
Try a different drive slot. If your laptop has two M.2 slots, move the SSD to the other slot. Some boards have one slot that's picky about firmware.
Try booting from a Linux USB. Download Ubuntu ISO, create a bootable USB with Rufus. Boot from it. If you can see the drive and access files, the hardware is fine—the issue is just the Windows boot process. In that case, back up your data and do a clean Windows install.