Driver_irql_not_less_or_equal 0xd1

[MRcaudill]

I'm doing this for a friend so I might not have all the info needed but I got him to send me his .dmp files and I've copied everything that the BSoD had.

Basically it said as the titles shows that he had a problem with:

"driver_irql_not_less_or_equal"

and then a list of instructions that are pretty much useless.

At the bottom of the blue screen there was this:

0x000000D1(0x6B2D7118,0x00000002,0x00000001,0x8FB22550)

He also just told me there was another BSoD saying something about fault_page something (it restarted his computer without giving him time to read it)

He says it almost always skips the blue screen without giving him time to read so it's possible there are even more problems I'm unaware of.

I did upload 2 .dmp files that I hope will shed some light on this, this problem started on Vista but even after wiping and installing Win7 we still have a BSoD problem.

The problem occurs while gaming, and also while sitting on the desktop not even in use, sometimes it takes several tried for the computer to even boot properly.

If anyone could tell me if this is fixable and if not what I would need to replace in his computer for it to be fully functional please let me know.

Thanks in advance.

EDIT: If anyone knows a way to stop the blue screen so we can have time to read it that would also help possibly.

 

[Archean]

One of your crashes was caused by DirectX component (i.e. dxgmms1.sys 0x7E) and the other one by Avast AV (i.e. aswSP.SYS, 0xA).

I also noticed that your running Win7 RC, which isn't the ideal situation IMHO. Anyway, please uninstall your currently installed display driver, remove any left traces of it using Driver Sweeper or Driver Cleaner Pro, and download the latest driver from manufacturer's site to install it.

Regarding AVAST, check whether its up to date?

 

[red1776]

Hi MRcaudill,
The other error that disappeared to quickly to see was a 'Page_Fault_in_Nonpaged_Area'

the error means that your PC asked for a page of memory , and the page was not available. when the operation could not continue, it BSOD'd and shut down. Its usually happens as a result of a hardware that is misfiring or failing. The 'Page_Fault_in_Nonpaged_Area' and "driver_irql_not_less_or_equal" BSOD's often show up consecutively and alternately. Things to try to correct or identify the problem are to restore your machine to the last know working configuration. if the problem keeps appearing run disk check for errors on your HDD. if that shows nothing, the next most likely suspect is a problem with the Ram. You can download any number of programs that will test your ram for errors. Win 7 has a built in memory test (not sure about the RC though) and you do not have to burn a disc to run it. Hope that helps some.

 

[MRcaudill]

I had my friend bring over the computer so I could take a look at it.

It's a HP Media Center m8400f if you would like to look up the specs.

I've taken out all the RAM and ran it at one stick at a time in hopes of finding a bad stick, I've heard the likely hood of it being a bad RAM slot is little to none.

This computer randomly BSoD's and sometimes it has a very hard time starting the boot up process (I have to restart it dozens of times before it finally brings up windows)

Some times it crashes without a blue screen and it happens at random times, it may run fine for hours which has made it hard to find an exact problem.

If I get any more minidumps I'll upload them but I did update Avast and install DX.

I've noticed that this computer came with a 300W PSU (or so it says on the side of the PSU) and I know for a fact that the Nvidia 8500 in it requires 400W, combine that with a quad core and all the other stuff that needs power in this machine and I feel that it's way underpowered.

I lost a GPU to underpowering in the past so I think that may be what has caused this problem.

Is it possible that the RAM has died from lack of power? I ran some sort of windiag program that ran it through 11 tests I don't remember the names but it was like "walking zeros and ones" and "checkerboard zeros and ones" but everything said success and it gave no errors.

I had my friend run a chkdsk but he told me that nothing came up so I'll probably do that and continue to inspect the RAM. does anyone know any other possible causes from what info I've given here?

 

[red1776]

The cause being from a faulty ram module is by no mean rare. I believe it is the most common single reason for it (not by majority but rather a plurality) I listed the hardware to check first because if you find something you stop and have to fix or replace it. so eliminating it first makes sense. as far as your PSU under-powering your machine, yes that most definitely can cause this fault. Remember that your Ram modules are the most delicate component of your system and are the most sensitive to under/overvolting. As an example, I worked on a machine that had an overclocked north-bridge. The voltage was not set high enough to support the frequency and caused a 'Page_Fault_in_Nonpaged_Area' BSOD/code. Once the voltage was increased via the NB VID, the error stopped reoccurring. The same can happened from Voltage not supporting higher ram frequencies or lowered timings. So if your PSU is not sufficient for your system and or operating with high ripple (almost all PSU's supplied with OEM machines do) that could very well be the problem.Not only that, but with the usually terrible quality of PSU's supplied with OEM machines, if the sticker on the side says 300W, there is a fighting chance that is optimistic.An system being starved of power can be damaged just the same as one that is getting to much. An underpowered psu works very hard to pull power that isn't there, it creates an exponential amount of heat and damages the components. when enough damage is done it will no longer have the ability to provide precise voltage to the various components. It sounds as if you need to replace the PSU anyway. If you have eliminated the HDD, and Ram as the suspects. I would get a quality PSU, and see if the BSOD's cease.

 

[MRcaudill]

I'm looking for a new PSU, anyone have an idea as to how much power this machine would need?

also if I do get this new PSU is there a chance that the RAM will start working properly or is it already too late?

 

[Archean]

Red's advice is spot on with regard to PSU issues. In addition to his comments, please ensure that you are getting good quality branded PSU. If, you can let us know the budget you have for this purpose, we will be in better position to make some suggestions. Regards

Edit:
Unfortunately you can't guarantee that everything will work just fine with addition of new PSU, e.g. couple of months ago I replaced my older 500W PSU with a newer Corsair 500W PSU, and few weeks later while I was using my PC it got stuck and crashed with a BSOD, long and the short of it, it turned out that one of my 2GB RAM modules went bad which eventually I had to replace.

 

[red1776]

I've taken out all the RAM and ran it at one stick at a time in hopes of finding a bad stick,

And in addition to Arc's comments. simply removing a stick at a time may not (and most likely) not reveal a faulty ram module. they need to be stressed to find errors. as I said, it sounds as if you need a new PSU either way, however I would run your memory through a test like prime95 or at least the windows memory test.
****BTW I entered your machine into Antec;s PSU calculator, at 90% it came up requiring at least 327W. The calculator is by no means perfect, but you do have a PSU problem. A quality 400 -450W like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139003 would work well.

 

[MRcaudill]

I've got a budget of around 100$ give or take I was thinking a 600W would suffice. (I'm new to quadcore but it sounds like it would be power hungry? probably wrong)

I figured I would have to stress the RAM but given the fact that I had a GPU go bad overnight from underpowering I'm afraid to test it until I get that replaced.

I know newegg has great deals but my friend doesn't want to wait for shipping so I have to ask, could we find a good deal on PSU at office max/depot? we have those in town here.

If not then I will get him one with my newegg/tigerdirect account.

Thanks to everyone for the help, this forum is great.

 

[red1776]

I figured I would have to stress the RAM but given the fact that I had a GPU go bad overnight from underpowering I'm afraid to test it until I get that replaced.

Very good idea, I should have stated that you should not stress anything until you have the machine properly supplied.

I know newegg has great deals but my friend doesn't want to wait for shipping so I have to ask, could we find a good deal on PSU at office max/depot? we have those in town here.

Unless you spot a great discount deal, probably not. Some of those places carry the Antec line (like Best Buy)which are decent (stay away from the 'Basiq' series) but you will do much better in selection,quality and price online. the max's and depot's just cant compete.

 

[MRcaudill]

I've stressed the RAM by playing Aion with a lot of browsers and applications open and playing videos and such...

not sure how else to stress it, I kept my eye on task manager and I got close to using all 512/1024mb of each stick I think I got at like 480 and 960 but coudn't get it maxed.

I didn't have time to run it for very long but I figured it wouldn't take too long to see if anything was bad... I'm probably wrong about that but oh well.

If the computer does blue screen again how would you suggest finding the bad ram stick/slot

 

[Archean]

You can use memtest, run it on individual modules to find out whether there is issues with them. Run at least 8 passes on each stick.