IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL BSOD .. Please help!

[mookial]

Random times throughout the day I seem to get a BSOD with the IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL error. I can't pinpoint exactly what it is but I've uninstalled my video card drivers and ran Memtest, which passed - yet still have the issues. Anyone have any ideas! My computer is not even a month old and these is really bugging me.

Specs:
Intel i5-3570K
8 GB 1600 MHz Corsair Memory
EVGA GTX 670 FTW
128GB Crucial m4 SSD
1 TB HDD
ASRock Extreme4 Z77 Mobo
750W Corsair Professional PSU

 

[mookial]

Did the page file steps. Checked BIOS and it's at 1.3 while the most recent is 2.0, so I'll update that. Do you recommend the flash/DOS or Windows update type?

 

[Pinhedd]

Do you have another hard drive that you can test on?

 

[mookial]

No I only have two HDDs at the moment. The SSD and HDD, which are both installed on the computer.

 

[Pinhedd]

No I only have two HDDs at the moment. The SSD and HDD, which are both installed on the computer.

Damn. If you can shrink the HDD by 50GB or so and install Windows on that you'll be able to see if the SSD is the problem. I had an SSD fail on me with similar symptoms. Does it tend to BSOD more often when you're actively using the SSD such as when downloading, installing, playing a game, etc...?

 

[RussK1]

Did the page file steps. Checked BIOS and it's at 1.3 while the most recent is 2.0, so I'll update that. Do you recommend the flash/DOS or Windows update type?

Don't use Windows... if you were stable I would say it's fine but it's not. Use instant flash by formatting a USB in FAT32, download the bios and extract it to the drive and restart into bios and flash.

 

[mookial]

Damn. If you can shrink the HDD by 50GB or so and install Windows on that you'll be able to see if the SSD is the problem. I had an SSD fail on me with similar symptoms. Does it tend to BSOD more often when you're actively using the SSD such as when downloading, installing, playing a game, etc...?

I've noticed it crashes when playing a game (MMO, Tera to be exact). Now that I think about it -- the crashes (from what I remember) almost always occur while it's open. Could it be due to the game being so processor intensive? On default settings the game uses about 65~80% CPU usage, with itself, Teamspeak and Firefox open.

On the other hand, I updated my BIOS to the latest (2.0 from 1.3) and set the Vcore settings accordingly. I'm going to grab some food, but once I'm back I'll use it as normal and post if anymore BSOD's happen.

 

[RussK1]

I'm not ruling out the drive but I'm leaning towards CPU and/or board or bios.

You can also look into the task manager and check the system interrupts.

 

[mookial]

Well after updating the BIOS and having the VCores set up, I ran Prime95 for about 50 minutes. The temps were around 67~70C and I didn't get BSOD. Now I'm not sure if 50 minutes is sufficient enough to rule out the CPU. I'm going to run my game and other programs I normally use when it crashes to see if I can create another crash.

 

[mookial]

Just got yet another BSOD. This time the error was 'MEMORY_MANAGEMENT'. Here's what WhoCrashed posted:

On Thu 8/2/2012 6:50:50 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\080212-10062-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe (nt+0x7F1C0)
Bugcheck code: 0x1A (0x403, 0xFFFFF68000718600, 0x8B5000001469D867, 0xFFFFF68004718600)
Error: MEMORY_MANAGEMENT
file path: C:\Windows\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: NT Kernel & System
Bug check description: This indicates that a severe memory management error occurred.
This might be a case of memory corruption. More often memory corruption happens because of software errors in buggy drivers, not because of faulty RAM modules.
The crash took place in the Windows kernel. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver which cannot be identified at this time.


On Thu 8/2/2012 6:50:50 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\memory.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: ntkrnlmp.exe (nt!KeBugCheckEx+0x0)
Bugcheck code: 0x1A (0x403, 0xFFFFF68000718600, 0x8B5000001469D867, 0xFFFFF68004718600)
Error: MEMORY_MANAGEMENT
Bug check description: This indicates that a severe memory management error occurred.
This might be a case of memory corruption. More often memory corruption happens because of software errors in buggy drivers, not because of faulty RAM modules.
The crash took place in the Windows kernel. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver which cannot be identified at this time.

 

[mookial]

Sorry for so many posts. But after receiving that MEMORY_MANAGEMENT error I went and ran Memtest86+ again. To my surprise it came up over 1,500 errors within a couple minutes. Can these BSOD's (IRQL,PAGE_FAULT & MEMORY) all been caused by fault memory?

1.) If not due to faulty sticks, can the original problem cause the sticks to malfunction? Or problems such as mine are independent of one another.

2.) Before I started this thread I stated I ran Memtest, for one test, and came up with no errors. Now I run it a second time and have thousands.

Once again I appreciate everything and sorry if I'm spamming, I just want to get my rig fixed.

EDIT: I ran Memtest with one stick at a time and to my surprise one passed and one failed. I have since taken the bad stick out and running on one stick. Will post back if I get another BSOD.

 

[RussK1]

Sorry for so many posts. But after receiving that MEMORY_MANAGEMENT error I went and ran Memtest86+ again. To my surprise it came up over 1,500 errors within a couple minutes. Can these BSOD's (IRQL,PAGE_FAULT & MEMORY) all been caused by fault memory?

1.) If not due to faulty sticks, can the original problem cause the sticks to malfunction? Or problems such as mine are independent of one another.

2.) Before I started this thread I stated I ran Memtest, for one test, and came up with no errors. Now I run it a second time and have thousands.

Once again I appreciate everything and sorry if I'm spamming, I just want to get my rig fixed.

EDIT: I ran Memtest with one stick at a time and to my surprise one passed and one failed. I have since taken the bad stick out and running on one stick. Will post back if I get another BSOD.

Take out the video card and use the integrated graphics and remove the RAM. Install one module at a time and run memtest to find the faulty stick(s).

When you had run memtest before the modules were running at JEDEC speed right? 1333mhz? You set the XMP now memtest is coming up with errors?

Retest one at a time using XMP and if errors are found contact the reseller for replacement or Corsair themselves (they have good customer support).

**Don't worry about the multiple posts... but there is an edit feature. FYI

Also what are the exact modules and recommended voltage for them?

 

[mookial]

Take out the video card and use the integrated graphics and remove the RAM. Install one module at a time and run memtest to find the faulty stick(s).

When you had run memtest before the modules were running at JEDEC speed right? 1333mhz? You set the XMP now memtest is coming up with errors?

Retest one at a time using XMP and if errors are found contact the reseller for replacement or Corsair themselves (they have good customer support).

**Don't worry about the multiple posts... but there is an edit feature. FYI

Also what are the exact modules and recommended voltage for them?

When I ran the memtest everything was at JEDEC speed. I didn't recieve any errors at that time which I found odd but when I ran it back I had an error with one stick. Everything is at stock and haven't crashed yet with one stick in. I will post if get any more.

My sticks are 2x4GB Corsair LP 1600 MHZ. 9-9-9-24 1.5V

 

[RussK1]

When I ran the memtest everything was at JEDEC speed. I didn't recieve any errors at that time which I found odd but when I ran it back I had an error with one stick. Everything is at stock and haven't crashed yet with one stick in. I will post if get any more.

My sticks are 2x4GB Corsair LP 1600 MHZ. 9-9-9-24 1.5V

I'm fairly certain the problem is solved as being RAM... bad RAM can cause all kinds of havoc in Windows including file corruption. If Memtest is coming up with errors and bios set at default then you have the culprit. Isolate the faulty module(s) and file for RMA.

 

[mookial]

I'm fairly certain the problem is solved as being RAM... bad RAM can cause all kinds of havoc in Windows including file corruption. If Memtest is coming up with errors and bios set at default then you have the culprit. Isolate the faulty module(s) and file for RMA.

Yea I think so. Like I stated before if I crash again I will post, but for now I have filed for RMA and a new stick is on its way. Once again I appreciate everything and thank you guys for taking the time out to help.

Best of luck in the future with your computer prowess

 

[RussK1]

Yea I think so. Like I stated before if I crash again I will post, but for now I have filed for RMA and a new stick is on its way. Once again I appreciate everything and thank you guys for taking the time out to help.

Best of luck in the future with your computer prowess

You're welcome, keep us posted and good luck.

 

[mookial]

Best answer selected by mookial.

 

[mookial]

Also would it be safe to OC my PC back to 4.2 or could the OC have been the cause of the fault stick? I ask because when streaming/gaming I saw a large difference with 4.2.

Also any OC tips or settings that can get me a good clock. Also do the settings Pinhedd suggest in terms of voltage still apply?

 

[RussK1]

Thanks for the BA, but you should have kept the thread opened just in case.

As for the OC? Sure why not although you'll be in single channel.

Mine:

You can enable "no-execute memory protection" and anything over 4.5 you'll want to enable "PLL overvoltage". I don't recommend OC'ing RAM but if you do, upping VCCIO (VTT) voltage is a good idea say, 1.1v. Esp. when using 4 DIMMS with a high speed.

Remember, Ivy likes lower voltage.

 

[mookial]

May I ask whats your heatsink?

 

[RussK1]

May I ask whats your heatsink?

HAFX Blue Edition | i7-2600K (4.5GHz) | ASRock P67 Extreme 6 | H100 | 16GB Vengeance | 6990 QUAD CF-X | Eyefinity 6040x1080
OCZ Vertex 3 240GB SSD | Intel 510 120GB | 4.5 TB HDD's | 2 x LG Super multi-blue | HX1050 | Cyborg R.A.T. 7 | SteelSeries Merc Stealth

BF3 machine... Does well enough.

 

[mookial]

Just an update for readers (and posters ), the computer has not crashed since taking that stick of memory out. Aside from a little lag due to single channel 4GB of memory, everything else is fine and the computer has yet to act abnormally. =)

 

[Pinhedd]

Just an update for readers (and posters ), the computer has not crashed since taking that stick of memory out. Aside from a little lag due to single channel 4GB of memory, everything else is fine a computer has yet to act abnormally. =)

Glad to hear it!

 

[mookial]

Uh oh! Got two new sticks today and put them in. First day went smooth and the next day (today) it crashed with MEMORY_MANAGEMENT.

I ran WhoCrashed and came up with this:

On Thu 8/9/2012 9:56:08 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\080912-10826-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: unknown_module_00000000`00000001.sys (Unloaded_Unknown_Module_00000000`00000001+0x19)
Bugcheck code: 0x1A (0x41287, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0)
Error: MEMORY_MANAGEMENT
Bug check description: This indicates that a severe memory management error occurred.
This might be a case of memory corruption. More often memory corruption happens because of software errors in buggy drivers, not because of faulty RAM modules.
A third party driver was identified as the probable root cause of this system error. It is suggested you look for an update for the following driver: unknown_module_00000000`00000001.sys .
Google query: unknown_module_00000000`00000001.sys MEMORY_MANAGEMENT

I'll post more if it crashes again. For now I switched the sticks to slots A1 & A2, instead of B1 & B2. The A slots are for stability while the B slot were for overclocking, as stated in the mobo manual.

 

[RussK1]

Dual channel A0/B0 or A1/B1.

EX:

Rules to enable dual channel mode
To achieve dual channel mode, the following conditions must be met:

Matched DIMM configuration in each channel
Same density (128 MB, 256 MB, 512 MB, etc.)
Matched in both Channel A and Channel B memory channels
Populate symmetrical memory slots (Slot 0 or Slot 1)
Configurations that do not match the above conditions revert to Single Channel mode.

The following conditions do not need to be met:

Same brand
Same timing specifications
Same DDR speed
Memory channel speed is decided by the slowest DIMM module populated in the system.

http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/sb/cs-011965.htm

Remove the memory but one and test each socket one by one with memtest to find out if you have a defective socket.

 

[gamerk316]

Yeah, all the BSOD's you are getting can be caused by bad RAM. But I find it unlikely two new sticks are bad [its happened to me before though].

Right now, I'm leaning toward a faulty socket OR a power distribution problem [could be mobo or PSU in this case]. I'd test using the other two sockets. If you still get problems, test the new sticks one at a time to see if one or both come up faulty.