BSOD - IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL (Windows 7/64 Bit)

[KleptoDaGod]

Ok Windows started back up! I'm uploading the minidump from the Driver Verifier now.

 

[Mark56]

Success. Now get all your files backed up before we try anything else to cure the BSOD's.

I'll see what I can find in the minidump in the morning, it's getting late where I am.

 

[KleptoDaGod]

Success. Now get all your files backed up before we try anything else to cure the BSOD's.

I'll see what I can find in the minidump in the morning, it's getting late where I am.

Alright. Thanks for everything so far, I really appreciate the help with or without the obstacles in between. Have a good night.

 

[KleptoDaGod]

So far I've been using my computer without safe mode. It's been running for about 8 hours without a single crash surprisingly. I just restarted it a few minutes ago so I suppose it could still crash at any moment now but the last 8 hours before I restarted was the longest it's ran without crashing outside of safe mode since I upgraded to Windows 7.

 

[Mark56]

That minidump is dated 31st July, if that is the latest one that has been saved then the C4 crash when using Driver Verifier was obviously not saved, just have a check on that.

Can you now get everything backed up, do you have something to back up to?

Once your back up is done then it's time to open the case and do the manual check on the memory. But first run these two tests.

1. Press Start > type cmd in the search box. A box will open with CMD at the top, right click on it and select run as administrator. Another box will open, at the prompt, type chkdsk /r and press enter. (Note the gap between the k and the /)

2.Check disk will start to run but then it will say:

Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N) Type Y for yes, and press enter. Then reboot the computer into normal mode. Chkdsk will start when Windows begins loading again. Let all 5 phases run and don't use or turn off the computer. (The chkdsk process may take an hour or more to finish.)

3.Chkdsk finds any corrupted files and fixes them. Read the results of each phase as it finishes. During the final phase, it will notify you if it finds any corrupted files. It will also report on finding any bad sectors on the hard drive, these will be blocked from further use and the data on them moved.

4.When the Check Disk is done, it will finish loading Windows.

Let us know what happens.

Then go to the Command Prompt again (as above) and type in sfc /scannow and hit the Enter key, it will start to run straight away and display it's progress in the box. Make sure you have no programs running and your internet browser is turned off so nothing can interfere with its progress. If it asks for the Windows 7 disc insert it into the drive.

Let me know the results.

After the above have completed follow this to post the logs.

To get log after running sfc /scannow type this at the command prompt

findstr /c:"[SR]" %windir%\logs\cbs\cbs.log >%userprofile%\Desktop\sfcdetails.txt

To get the disk check log Go to Start - type in eventvwr.msc into the search box and hit enter.
When Event Viewer opens, click on "Application", then scroll
down to "Winlogon" and double-click on it to open it up. This is the log
created after running chkdsk. Click on the icon that looks like two pieces of paper to copy it and then paste it here please.

Now for the memory test.

Remove all but one of the memory sticks and then run the PC and play videos or anything that uses a lot of memory. See if you get another BSOD.

Try to keep it going for about 10 hours and then if it hasn't crashed swap the memory sticks around. The idea is to see if any particular memory stick will produce crashes. If the first or subsequent sticks do not produce crashes it is important to continue and repeat the test with all sticks.

While you have the sticks removed please check the numbers and makers name on the sticks and tell me what they are.

 

[Mark56]

You made your last post while I was putting my last one together. It sounds good but we don't know what the cause of the BSOD's was and nothing has been changed.

I would still complete the tests above, get the back up done and then Driver Verifier can be used again. Driver Verifier does not cause crashes unless there is a bad driver and it is the quickest way to find it.

 

[KleptoDaGod]

You made your last post while I was putting my last one together. It sounds good but we don't know what the cause of the BSOD's was and nothing has been changed.

I would still complete the tests above, get the back up done and then Driver Verifier can be used again. Driver Verifier does not cause crashes unless there is a bad driver and it is the quickest way to find it.

At the moment I don't have anything to back my files up to. I'll be buying a new hard drive on Sunday though. Should I hold off on the tests until then?

As for the minidump I uploaded, that's kind of odd. It's the only minidump I have from the day of the crash that temporarily prevented me from using Windows. It was the only crash that occured that day and after that I wasn't able to get on until earlier today.

At any rate, surprisingly enough my computer hasn't crashed once since you helped me get Windows 7 back up and running and I haven't gone into safe mode yet, not that I'm suggesting my problem is solved yet. So should I run the memory tests today or should I wait until I get my new hard drive and can back up everything?

 

[Mark56]

Just to be on the safe side I would hold back on any further testing until you have the back up drive fitted and all your files are safe.

The crash you sent in was code A but the image of the Blue Screen showed a C4 which is expected when running Driver Verifier so I assume it didn,t save it. Something went seriously wrong to have corrupted the Boot Record. Great that everything is working now but the Boot Record is all that has been changed and that would not have been causing the previous BSOD's.

This could be one of those cases where the error dissapears and never returns but we will have to see how it goes.

 

[KleptoDaGod]

Alright. Well in that case I'll post back Sunday after I've gotten my new hard drive.

On the bright side though, this is day 2 I've been running my computer without a single crash. Hopefully this continues.

 

[Mark56]

I think if it lasts up until Sunday without a crash you can think of it as fixed.

Personally I would still run the last two tests in post 30, after you have done the back up.

And then run Driver Verifier again just to be sure there are no remaining errors.

 

[KleptoDaGod]

So far my computer hasn't been off since you helped me get Windows back up and running and still no crashes. I can't help but wonder what could have fixed the problem. The Startup Repair came to mind but then I've been through several Startup Repairs since the day I upgraded to Windows 7 and it never solved whatever was causing the crashes. Any thoughts?

 

[Mark56]

As the only thing that has been changed is the boot sector I can only guess some minor corruption in the original one was causing issues, not something I have ever seen before.

Previous startup repairs don't go as deep as the repairs you last used. The commands you followed have deleted and re-written the boot sector.

Still going good after several days so I would think the problem is solved.

 

[KleptoDaGod]

Well if the issue is truly resolved as all signs point to at the moment, I guess we're done here. Thank you for all of your help. I truly appreciate it. I suppose I'll return here in the future if I have any more computer problems I can't figure out on my own. You were a great help Mark.

 

[Mark56]

Your most welcome.