Windows 7 BSOD IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Status
Not open for further replies.

chinoroy

Distinguished
Feb 5, 2011
291
0
18,810
hi, im having blue screen on my computer when i shut down or restart it. not all the time, but i think 6 times already. my computer is kinda new. so im not really sure if the hardware is to blame. im getting the IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL in Windows 7 32-bit. anybody knows how to fix this?

my computer specs are ECS G41T-M6, Core 2 Duo E7500, GeForce GT240, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 500GB HDD, Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit.
i already memtested my computer for about 3hrs. it didnt get any errors. i also changed my previous video card (HD 5550) to GT240. im still experiencing blue screen unexpectedly.

btw, my computer runs fine and i can use it like everyday. its just that, i dont wanna leave it unrepaired.
 

Alaskan_IT

Distinguished
Feb 4, 2011
185
0
18,710
When did it first start to happen? I would also suggest clearing out your old video drivers and installing the newest one. You can use driver sweeper to effectively clean out any remnants of old drivers. http://www.guru3d.com/category/driversweeper/
 

John_VanKirk

Distinguished
Hi there,

BSOD's are frustrating for everyone and many times difficult to find the cause. The BSOD IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL usually is from a hardware driver, or a hardware conflict. Next time you get the BSOD, look it over carefully. Take a screen shot of it with a digital camera to print out, It is divided into 4 parts. The last section sometimes lists a driver by name that could be causing the problem. If so, uninstall that driver and reinstall the latest driver from the manufacturer web site.

I agree, it is probabliy the video card driver. Download the latest video driver for the card you want to use. Then go to the device manager, and locate your present video card, go to properties, and you can uninstall the video driver. Once done, reboot, then install the latest video driver, and see it that fixes your problem.

A more tedious way to possibly ID the culprit, is to write down the memory address in the 4th section of the BSOD, that was involved with the stop error. The in the device manager, of your display adapter, see it that memory address in within the range assigned to the video card driver. Is so you know the that's it.

Hopes that helps
 

chinoroy

Distinguished
Feb 5, 2011
291
0
18,810
hi Alaskan_IT and John_VanKirk. i already downloaded the latest drivers for my computer

including the video card and the motherboard from their websites, still blue screens. i

bought my computer December 23rd, and then i experienced the first blue screen at the

25th of December and it started happening until now but in different days. (e.g december

25, january 2, january 15, january 26, january 31 etc) i replaced the HD 5550 to GT240

cause i thought it may be the one thats causing it. but still no luck here.

here's a photo of the blue screen im getting
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/8274/bluscreenirqlnotlessore.jpg
 

Alaskan_IT

Distinguished
Feb 4, 2011
185
0
18,710


^that would be my next suggestion. But i would definitely download driver sweeper to remove any old drivers still left from previous installs of video drivers. Installing the new video driver is good, but if the old one is there still (and it probably is), it will cause problems. Also, remnants of the ATI driver and catalyst control center may still be on the machine. CCC has quite a few compatibility issues. So, yes, run Memtest86+, but also download driver sweeper, then boot safe mode, launch the program, then have it remove all the nvidia and ATI drivers. Then restart and install the newest nVidia driver.
 

chinoroy

Distinguished
Feb 5, 2011
291
0
18,810
hi, like i said i already tested my ram using memtest. i had it running for about 3hrs
and it didnt get any errors. and i did not return it because i thought that i could fix
it by myself and maybe its not that big of a deal. after some research, some guys told
me that leaving blue screen errors unrepaired could damage your computer. that is why i
want it to be fixed.

some say that my motherboard could also be the problem. so i called the store where i
bought my rig, and asked if i could still return it and replace it to a different brand
(im targetting the Asus P5G41T-M LX). they said Yes but they said that it'll cost me
$25.

Price Differences:

ECS G41T-M6 - $50
ASUS P5G41T-M LX - $59

-------------------------

ok i'll try to run memtest again and try the driver sweeper and update you guys.
 

Alaskan_IT

Distinguished
Feb 4, 2011
185
0
18,710
My mistake, I did not notice that you had already run memtest. It is possible that the issue is intermittent due to a bad sector on the HDD. If it is just a few bad sectors, then an intermittent BSOD is highly likely, as opposed to a constant one. If you haven't already, run chkdsk /r /f and see what happens. Also, what is the brand of the hard drive? I can find some diagnostics for you.

-What software did you install on the computer when you got it? what AV, firewall, etc...
 

Alaskan_IT

Distinguished
Feb 4, 2011
185
0
18,710


I understand about the return thing. Sometimes it's more of a hassle to try and return something than to just deal with it or fix it. lol
- And that isnt a bad deal for the new mobo either. I have always been a fan a ASUS products. If you were to get a new board, are they going to replace it for you and re-install windows with the new drivers or just put the board in?
 

chinoroy

Distinguished
Feb 5, 2011
291
0
18,810
the hard drive is a 500GB Hitachi. my anti-virus is AVG 2011. the firewall is the
windows firewall. and i installed programs that i frequently use, and some games. im not
sure to replace my motherboard yet. i need to know the problem thats causing it first. i
dont wanna make mistakes.. i just wanna be contented.

i think they're only responsible for the motherboard. so i will be the one to reinstall
the drivers. do i also need to reinstall the OS if i got a new board?
 

Alaskan_IT

Distinguished
Feb 4, 2011
185
0
18,710
You don't HAVE to, you just need to install the proper motherboard drivers. But, with a new board, especially a different one, it is reccomended to do a fresh install. It will probably save you some headache in the long run.

It may be AVG causing the issue. Having trouble shutting down a service possibly. I would either disable it or uninstall it and install a different AV ( Avast or Microsoft Sec. Essentials.)

Give chkdsk a try first.

For Hitachi, you can use Drive Fitness Test (DFT). http://www.hitachigst.com/support/downloads/#DFT

download the CD image and burn the iso. Then boot off the DVD drive. It is pretty easy to run the Diag from there. Run the long test, not the short one.
 

John_VanKirk

Distinguished
Hi again,

If this is a commercial new computer purchased just before Xmas, and you began having BSOD screens 2 days later, it's either a hardware defect or driver defect.

I would take it back and get a new one and hopefully be done with the BSOD. Unusual to see BSOD on Win-7 computers.

The BSOD won't physically harm your computer, they are just system stop errors that can't be recovered.

Academically, you might try two other things if you really wan't to know if this is a driver or installed software issue. You probably installed several programs just after you purchased the machine. So you could run the restore disk to place the computer back just the way it was at time of purchase without any end user installed programs or windows update patches, and see if you still get a BSOD. If so, it goes back for sure.

Other thing is to take the memory address of the offending resource, in your case Ox 834198B3, and check the resource tab in the device manager (hardware manager) for address ranges of several hardware items are using, and if this mem address fall within one of the ranges, that is the offending product.

Either way, when a BSOD occurs, you have to reboot your computer, and may lose data you were working on, or even end up with a corrupt open file, which is not cool, so I'd replace the machine.

 

chinoroy

Distinguished
Feb 5, 2011
291
0
18,810


hi, i ran the check disk, no bad sectors and eveything. can i ask why would be the AVG involve thats causing it? i've been using it for my entire life and i had no problems using it before in my other computer using windows xp. no BSOD's, no crashes.
 

chinoroy

Distinguished
Feb 5, 2011
291
0
18,810


hi there, yes i would also do the same and return almost all of it and be replaced to a new ones or different brand. i'll do everything just to get it fixed. but im hesitating cause of the additional cost. plus i dont really trust them that much cause i had an experience they gave me a broken product. and sometimes they recommend the expensive but not-so-good products.
 

Alaskan_IT

Distinguished
Feb 4, 2011
185
0
18,710


As far as AVG causing issues, you are now using it on a different OS with a different combination of software. Also, AVs are constanlty updating and with as many variations of PCs, drivers, etc... it is hard for any company to make their software completely compatible with every other piece of software/drivers. Also, I would still suggest running the Hitachi Drive Fitness Test.

- And if you are not against it, you can format and reinstall your OS. If it happens after that and you don't install any software, then it has been narrowed down to a hardware issue.l
 

chinoroy

Distinguished
Feb 5, 2011
291
0
18,810


hi do you think its the memory? i have 2x 2GB DDR3 1333MHz Kingston while my motherboard only supports DDR3 1066MHz.
 

chinoroy

Distinguished
Feb 5, 2011
291
0
18,810


ok i'll try it either. thanks. i'll still update you guys for the result.
 

d1rtyju1c3

Distinguished
Sep 1, 2010
874
0
19,060
I would uninstall. I use AVAST for my anti virus and I would recommend it to anyone http://filehippo.com/download_avast_antivirus/. I would also use malwabytes http://filehippo.com/download_malwarebytes_anti_malware/ as it will find stuff that anti virus programs wont.
 

Alaskan_IT

Distinguished
Feb 4, 2011
185
0
18,710

He already ran memtest an I have suggestd that he run drive fitness test (for a hitachi HDD) and a few other possibilities along with it that may eliminate the issue. The suggestions were things that commonly cause this BSOD. I'm not just yelling out random components and software.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.