IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL BSOD .. Please help!

mookial

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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
 
Solution



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

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On Wed 8/1/2012 11:18:09 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\080112-10530-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe (nt+0x7F1C0)
Bugcheck code: 0xA (0xFFFFFA818044DD30, 0x2, 0x1, 0xFFFFF800020FD830)
Error: IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
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 Microsoft Windows or a kernel-mode driver accessed paged memory at DISPATCH_LEVEL or above.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem.
The crash took place in the Windows kernel. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver which cannot be identified at this time.


On Wed 8/1/2012 11:18:09 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: 0xA (0xFFFFFA818044DD30, 0x2, 0x1, 0xFFFFF800020FD830)
Error: IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
Bug check description: This indicates that Microsoft Windows or a kernel-mode driver accessed paged memory at DISPATCH_LEVEL or above.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem.
The crash took place in the Windows kernel. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver which cannot be identified at this time.


On Wed 8/1/2012 9:54:34 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\080112-10498-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe (nt+0x7F1C0)
Bugcheck code: 0xA (0xFFFFFA83003902E0, 0x2, 0x1, 0xFFFFF8000210B830)
Error: IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
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 Microsoft Windows or a kernel-mode driver accessed paged memory at DISPATCH_LEVEL or above.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem.
The crash took place in the Windows kernel. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver which cannot be identified at this time.


On Wed 8/1/2012 9:10:57 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\080112-9874-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe (nt+0x7F1C0)
Bugcheck code: 0xA (0xFFFFFA7F9FFFFFD8, 0x2, 0x1, 0xFFFFF800020EA741)
Error: IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
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 Microsoft Windows or a kernel-mode driver accessed paged memory at DISPATCH_LEVEL or above.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem.
The crash took place in the Windows kernel. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver which cannot be identified at this time.



 

mookial

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Since the time of that post it crashed again. Here is the new crash info and the conclusion is at the bottom.

On Thu 8/2/2012 1:18:01 AM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\080112-9984-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe (nt+0x7F1C0)
Bugcheck code: 0x4E (0x2, 0x16122B, 0x22F5FF, 0x1)
Error: PFN_LIST_CORRUPT
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 the page frame number (PFN) list is corrupted.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem. 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.


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

5 crash dumps have been found and analyzed. No offending third party drivers have been found. Consider configuring your system to produce a full memory dump for better analysis.


Read the topic general suggestions for troubleshooting system crashes for more information.

Note that it's not always possible to state with certainty whether a reported driver is actually responsible for crashing your system or that the root cause is in another module. Nonetheless it's suggested you look for updates for the products that these drivers belong to and regularly visit Windows update or enable automatic updates for Windows. In case a piece of malfunctioning hardware is causing trouble, a search with Google on the bug check errors together with the model name and brand of your computer may help you investigate this further.
 

RussK1

Splendid
Create a system restore point...

Open elevated command prompt

Open Start and type "cmd" and right click and run as administrator.

In the CMD prompt type "sfc /scannow"

After that you can run driver verifier.

1) Open an elevated command prompt and run as administrator.
2) Type "verifier /standard /all"
3) Reboot your machine
4) Run machine again until it crashes which shouldn't take long.
5) Verifier should list the faulty driver, once known uninstall the bad driver and re-install a good one.

After the crash & reboot, go into safe mode (during post press and hold F8).

Once into safe mode disable driver verifier
1) Open an elevated command prompt as an administrator.
2) Type "verifier /reset"
3) Reboot your machine


Another way for Verifier:

http://www.pchelpforum.com/xf/threads/how-to-enable-disable-driver-verifier.123478/
 

RussK1

Splendid


Just use the computer till it crashes... Right now it's the waiting game.
 

mookial

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Running NOD32 at the moment, but I've been using it for a couple of years now so I highly doubt it's that (maybe it could be). As far as changes, the only thing that updated/installed recently was an XSplit update and patch to one of my MMO's. Other than that I haven't had any problems. I remember getting some BSODs about three weeks back, but I'm not sure if it was the same error. It eventually went away but I guess it came back.

As far as Memtest, I did some research prior to posting and that was one of the things I found. :)
 

RussK1

Splendid
NOD32 is good so I as well don't think it's the problem.

Anything overclocked? You have that 3570k so naturally why I ask. Temps can be a concern as well with Ivy Bridge although unlikely the root of the problem.
Bios up to date?
 

mookial

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Had it overclocked for a while to 4.2 with a 212 EVO. Never ran at 100% load most I was going was about 70~85 when streaming/playing my MMO. Temps never ran very high, only about 69~72. I have since reset to defaults in the BIOS until this problem is fixed. As for bios I believe it's up to date but how can I be sure o_o
 


Overclocking can damage components even when proper cooling is used, every chip is different. IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL is a pretty common error seen with an unstable CPU. If the Vcore is set to auto try bumping it up a tad bit, not too much though.
 

mookial

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That could possibly be the problem. The ASRock defaults the LLC at auto as well as the voltage. Any idea on what I should change the settings too?
 

mookial

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Ok the computer finally crashed with the verifier set to all. After it BSOD'd the computer restarted itself and I went into safe mode and reset the verifiers. Now I'm back in normal mode with the verifiers reset. What to do next? Where does it tell me what driver was faulty?
 


Leave the LLC at auto for now. LLC can actually damage components by causing voltage spikes if the VRM is junk. Intel specifies a slight voltage drop for a reason, it prevents the chip from being damaged by poor transient handling. Motherboards that try to counter the voltage drop under load conditions yet still have poor transient handling are a recipe for dead chips.

Anyway, Leave LLC on auto because it's motherboard specific and I have no way to tell which setting will result in the most ideal behaviour. As for the Vcore, set around 1.25 to 1.3. There's no reason to leave it here unless you're overclocking but if your overclocking has degraded the chip then you really have no choice but to run it a bit higher if the VID programmed at the factory is too low.
 

mookial

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I don't plan on overclocking anytime soon until I can run the system without these random BSOD. Stated in previous response I did manage to get a BSOD with the verifier after an hour or so but this time the error was PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA instead of the original IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL. I ran WhoCrashed and I still see that ntoskrnl.exe and ntfs.sys are mentioned in the crash reports.
 

RussK1

Splendid


LLC 3
long and short power durations to an arbitrary # - say, 300
Spread spectrum to disabled

120615154354.jpg


This same section above Vcore should be an option for power saving - disable this (not to be confused with "advanced cpu settings" tab).
 

RussK1

Splendid



Did you run the sfc /scannow?
 


PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA is another indicator of instability. The fact that the individual causes are non-deterministic just reinforces that it could be a degradation issue. Overclocking causes chips to degrade many times faster than they would under normal usage. Intel programs chips with a VID at the factory that should supply the chip with adequate voltage from the VRM to last at least through the warranty period and preferably many years after. Over time all chips will degrade due to electromigration and the voltage required for stable operation will creep upward. Non-abused chips will ideally be replaced long before this becomes a problem but heavily overclocked chips and the occasional lemon may experience this earlier on. If the voltage levels requested by the CPU are no longer sufficient to operate the chip the chip will have to be replaced or the voltage levels will have to be specified manually.

Anyway, try boosting your core voltage up to the 1.25-1.3 volt range but run it at stock speed. Also consider giving the VCCSA, CPU VTT, and CPU PLL voltages a slight boost. Your firmware should specify the "standard" values and if you boost these values by 3%-5% you may be able to regain stability without causing any problems for your chip.

Try setting VCCSA to ~1 volt (it should be 0.925 volts by default)

Try setting VCCPLL to 1.85 volts (1.8 volts default)

Try setting VCCIO/CPUVTT (same thing) to 1.1 volts (default is 1.05)

Leave LLC on auto and hope this helps
 

mookial

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Ok I went into my BIOS and set the volts accordingly. I set the volt to fixed at 1.275. Does this seem right:

img3259v.jpg


Also would it cause a problem if my mobo is recognizing my memory as DDR3-1333 while in reality the ram is DDR3-1600?
 


Yeah those look right. A little on the low side (if you haven't restarted yet) but otherwise right.

Since the Corsair Vengeance memory has the DDR3-1600 profile stored in an XMP profile rather than a JEDEC standard profile it won't be selected by default. Instead it will select the highest natively supported JEDEC profile which happens to be DDR3-1333. If you want to enable the DDR3-1600 profile you can enter the speed, voltage and timings manually or enable the XMP profile in the setup there somewhere.