BSOD/crashes. IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

I've been looking at it for a few weeks now thinking that for sure I'll understand it. There's a lot of steps. Do I need to check the readout for the corrupt files and then pick those out by hand, drag them to the desktop then drag them into the system folder to replace the corrupt ones? Or can I just drag them all off the DVD and replace them all?

I find my brain just going blank when thinking about this too hard :S

Either of those methods will work. You will have to follow the tutorial for replacing the files to set the proper permissions for replacing the files.

And yes, you want to get the files that are said to be corrupt in that list and take them from the disc.

Sometimes this method does not resolve the issue, so you will want to run sfc /scannow again in an elevated command prompt to see if no errors occur after replacing the files.

If you still get errors after manually replacing corrupted files, you will want to repair install Windows 7.

Ah, I'm having trouble getting into the install.wim file. 7zip is telling me Can not open file INSTALL.WIM as archive. I have tried copying the INSTALL.WIM file to desktop but I still get the same error message.

I also tried Windows KB947821 HotFix, as it claimed to fix registry files, but after installing it didn't seem to do anything.

It is just the iassdo.dll.mui file that is the problem, right? It's only about 5KB big, could this really be the cause of all my problems? I've Googled iassdo.dll.mui for a few hours now and it looks like it has something to do with language. It also seems to be associated with problems involving Windows 7 for years now for many people.

I downloaded an iassdo.dll file from dllguru.com, but this file is about 255KB, which is much bigger than my corrupt file. It also was missing the ".mui" at the end, so I'm guessing its not the same. I didn't do anything with the file.

You need to replace the file from the installation DVD. If that is not possible, you will have to consider doing a Repair Install of Windows 7.

I'll look into any other ways to get into that file and failing that I will try the repair. I hope the drivers and updates survive the repair, guiding the machine through all of them is very tedious

I also might have a look at the Apple Store tomorrow and explore my credit options. With the new year starting up, I'm going to need a computer that I can rely on. There is noooo way I'm going through all this again with another Windows machine. I haven't been able to game on this machine for over a year anyway, so it's not like I would be giving up gaming by switching to Mac.

Okay, I'm going to have to try the repair install. I can't get to that file and I'm not confident that I can manage the command lines to move the file in any case. I've also picked up a MacBook Air for classes, it seems to be running fine, it's very speedy actually. Also picked up an 11 inch AppleCare which should cover me from these kind of crashes for three years. I wanted to avoid buying a new computer but I've run out of options. I need an OS that I can count on.

I've downloaded every single update available, so will those updates survive the repair install or will I have to download them again? The Air is fine for study, but I don't think it will run games like the old Windows machine I've been trying to fix. So although there isn't any urgency to get it running again, I would still like to fix it if its possible. I did pay a lot of money for it so it would be a waste if it never worked properly again. If the repair doesn't fix the problems I could start replacing the parts one by one, but I don't want to throw good money after bad. If it comes to the realisation that this machine will never work, I'll transfer the Windows 7 license to the Air under bootcamp and probably sell the machine for scrap on Craigslist.

You will need to re-install all Windows updates and probably update some drivers.

I got it :3 I figured out how to open the install.wim with Winrar, found and replaced the file and scannow passed the check. It didn't work the first time, but after I restarted it and ran it again it passed.

I'll run the memtest for a few days and then attempt to restart it, that seemed to trigger the problems last time. Assuming this language file was the cause of my problems it will be fixed, and I could even return the Air (although I am very impressed with the Air too, it's incredibly light and fast). But if this hasn't fixed the problem it will be square one, I'll have to try and capture a crash log.

Nice work. Congrats on getting the corruption fixed. :) Keep us updated with how the system responds to the fix.