Before resorting to the nuclear option

There is no such thing as a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) error that isn't scary. Yet "critical structure corruption" has to be one of the scariest sounding errors we know of.

Don’t panic! While this fatal error could indicate a serious problem, it’s not like your computer will suddenly burst into flames. Take a deep breath and work through the various troubleshooting options below.

If this is your first run-in with the dreaded Blue Screen of Death (officially a “fatal error”), it deserves a little explanation. These are errors that Windows cannot correct and, if left alone, can lead to data corruption and other serious system damage or instability.