My computer is crashing!

[Rox2]

Hi,

This is the second time my computer has crashed.

and the most I can get down is:

DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Can someone please explain what it is, and how I can stop it from crashing. :S

Hope you can help!

Thanks!

 

[vacunita]

Need more info

1. Windows Version
2. Any updates be them hardware or software done to the machine recently.

3. Machine specs and age.

4. Any relevant entries in Event viewer?



----------------------------------
Phil AKA Vacunita
----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

Behind the Web, Tips and Tricks for Web Development.

http://behindtheweb.blogspot.com/

 

[edfair]

Google wants to be your best friend.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[Rox2]

Thank you Vacunita for taking your time to reply.

Highly appreciated

1- It's Windows Vista.

2- Updatess- umm.. I'm not sure, occasionally my system and Maintanance says that I need to update my computer, which I do, but haven't done the most recent one.

My aunti virus isn't updating for some weird reason, and is saying my computer is at risk, so I then downloaded 'avast' anti virus, and hasn't showed anything harmful on my computer :S

3- Um.. I've had it for abotu a year and a haalf, maybe 2 years now, it's SONY VIAO

4- No idea what that means


Thanks again

 

[vacunita]

Usually that message i related to hardware issues sometimes with drivers.

To get the full message go into Control Panel, System / Maintenance / System / Advanced system
settings / Startup and Recovery, and uncheck automatically restart.

The next time it crashes it should stay at the blue screen so you can read it in its entirety, and post the rest of the error message. and maybe which driver is causing the issue.

for the Event viewer just type Event Viewer into the search box in start menu, and double click the Event Viewer result. See if there are any errors there that may point to an issue.

----------------------------------
Phil AKA Vacunita
----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

Behind the Web, Tips and Tricks for Web Development.

http://behindtheweb.blogspot.com/

 

[BadBigBen]

[b]0x000000D1: DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL]/b]

The system attempted to access pageable memory using a kernel process IRQL that was too high. The most typical cause is a bad device driver (one that uses improper addresses). It can also be caused by caused by faulty or mismatched RAM, or a damaged pagefile.

source: aumha.org

with the above info, you will need to do the following:

1. run Memory tests, e.g. MemTest 86+ or the one from the Vista install, if it finds bad RAM, then you will need to get new RAM modules for further testing (could also be the memory controller or mainboard messing up)

2. UPDATE all DRIVERS on the Vista Install...

3. Delete the Pagefile and recreate it...

4. run the manufacturers DIAG tools on the drive (e.g. if it is a Seagate then use SeaTools)...

5. uninstall OLD AV and Firewall applications, then install updated versions of them or others... e.g. Comodo Firewall, AVG or AntiVir Personal AntiVirus programs... as most of these will install DRIVERS/SERVICES that can cause the above fault, if they are outdated or damaged...

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[Rox2]

Thanks you guys,

but to be quite honest, I don't really understand all these terms you're using >.<

I think I need simple instructions like where to go, and what to put on or put off.

It's happened twice and I'm not sure if it is a virus ?

is it ?

If it isn't, how harmful is this to my computer then ? =/

Thanks

 

[goombawaho]

honestly, it' time to call in a professional. That's what we do - fix things so you don't have to. We can't reach out through the internet and fix your computer. Well, actually we could, but that's not part of these forums.

 

[Rox2]

Oh man =/

Okay.

Thank you for all your help then

 

[vacunita]

Its not likely to be a Virus. Its probably just a simple matter of updating Drivers, but if you don't think you are up to it, then I think I'd agree with Goomb, to call in the geek squad or at least a PC knowledgeable friend to help you out.

The BSOD error should tell you what driver is causing this.

----------------------------------
Phil AKA Vacunita
----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

Behind the Web, Tips and Tricks for Web Development.

http://behindtheweb.blogspot.com/

 

[Rox2]

OHH THANK GODDD FOR THATT

Okay, so it's not a virus--- that makes me feel better.

I'll try and update my stuff.

Thank you all for the help

 

[flyboytim]

Another thing to check is Device Manager - Right-click Computer, and in the menu select Device Manager. If any device shows a warning yellow triangle with a ! or a red X then the device driver needs installing or the device has been disabled.

You may be able to determine the source of the problem.

Up-to-date device drivers for major manufacturers' hardware are still available for Vista at the Windows update site, I believe. Otherwise the original computer manufacturer should have sets of working device drivers for each model, or from the device manufacturer's own website. At a last resort go to one of the driver download sites like DriverMax and register to be eligible for free driver downloads. It's a pain. Used to be easy - just head over to driverguide.com, find what you wanted, put in the username of 'drivers' and password of 'all' and you got what you wanted, sadly no more.

http://www.fxxxingcomputers.co.uk

 

[Rox2]

Omgoodness! Thank you for that because guess what I've just found!

I have about 7 yellow things next to Bluetooth Peripheral Device, and 1 for Ethernet Contoller!

Thank you very much flyboytim!

So what shall I do now ?
How do I get rid of it ?

 

[flyboytim]

First thing is to write down what the offending devices are, or press <alt - PrtScr> and save the information as images in a document for reference later if you need it. Right-click each device and select properties, to see what is reported. Note the name of the device driver for each if possible.

MICROSOFT bluetooth troubleshooting:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/941997

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/883258

one for ethernet:

http://www.home-network-help.com/network-or-wireless-adapter-driver-status.html

Ok - do you have or have ever connected a bluetooth peripheral device? If not, then try removing the device and the other problem items in the tree, and reboot. The device may want to be reinstalled at startup. If it reinstalls, and continues to be a problem, try disabling it.

I have not experience with bluetooth devices on PCs, but I guess they need to be properly disconnected like USB devices. They seem to have a lot of configuration options.

As far as the ethernet controller (EC) is concerned, wait until the bluetooth anomaly is at least disabled if not fixed. It may disappear if there was a conflict with the misbehaving bluetooth device.

If the warning for the EC remains, then delete that and reboot the PC, and odds are that the ethernet controller will be correctly identified and installed. If not, with the information you have try and find a device driver. Microsoft update site, the original computer manufacturer, the ethernet device manufacturer or a driver site should be able to help.

http://www.fxxxingcomputers.co.uk

 

[Rox2]

Okay, so for the first bit, I went into properties after having print screened my screen, and I got the description thing for the bluetooth it says:

The drivers for this device are not installed. (Code 28)

There is no driver selected for the device information set or element.


To reinstall the drivers for this device, click Reinstall Driver.

Yes, recently I was trying to connect my phone and computer, and it said it had to install the driver or something, but it wasn't working, so naturally as 'no so computer-ish' people would do- is cancel it all and walk away like nothing ever happened.

Which I did, and even without it being connected, it keeps saying 'FOUND NEW HARDWARE' and I have 3 options:

Locate and Install driver (recommended) - which I'm doing but it doesn't work and the same message comes up again.

Ask me again later- which I've done numerous time, but it doesn't understand how late later is.

Don't show this message again for this device- which I've done tooo, and it still doesn't go away!

As for the Ethernet thing, I didn't quite get that :S
I'm sorry for being this dopey person when it comes to computing, but seriously =l

Thank you ever so much!

 

[flyboytim]

Ok. You attempted to connect phone and computer, the hardware was recognised, but no correct version of the device driver was installed. Your PC is waiting to complete this process, unsuccessfully.

Is the ethernet controller an actual device on your system or is it also part of your phone bluetooth connection? If it is the latter, select it and delete it. Otherwise leave it alone for now.

Select the first bluetooth device that has a warning against it, and press delete. There will be a confirmation dialog, so click ok. Do this for all the bluetooth devices with warnings, then immediately shut down and restart.

Check the device manager again to see if the problems have all gone - If there is still a warning - what is it, and what is the properties dialog saying about this device, does it still have a need for troubleshooting?

If it does, it may need a

http://www.fxxxingcomputers.co.uk

 

[goombawaho]

Nobody can swear that it's NOT a virus yet, until that has been verified. A whole other set of troubleshooting steps required.

A missing driver is NOT likely going to cause the DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL error.

Usually it's an old or bad driver that ]b]IS[/b] installed that's causing that error. Better a missing driver than a bad one.

If I had to guess, I'd say wireless network card, video or sound are the most likely offending drivers. But if that blue screen has any type of blahblahblah.SYS, that would direct you to a specific device driver causing the problem.

 

[goombawaho]

I'm going to amend my comment above IF the following is true:

Did your problem start shortly after or after the first reboot AFTER having tried to connect your phone to your computer?

I'm thinking that no drivers were installed which usually means "no harm, no foul", but that could change if there was a partial install of drivers.

 

[Rox2]

@Flyboytim: Okay, I'm just in the process of deleting it, and once I resart my computer, I'll let you know.

I'm not even sure what the EC is. =/

@goombawah: Um.. Not right after, probably a few days, perhaps a week after ?

Okay- so far, it hasn't happened. Not since, I posted my first post, which is presumably good news.

I'll delete the warning thing.

 

[Rox2]

Okay guys, so I deleted that thing from the device manager, and THE FOUND NEW HARDWARE THING IS GONNEEE DDDDD

Thank youuuuu, thankk youuu and thankk youuuu all so much

Buttt- question: Was that the cause of the problem ? Or is that just one of many problems that was solved ? =/