Reboot at random times - IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL - ntoskrnl.exe

Ok, things are running smoothly - no reboots. I'm not sure if this is enough time to be able to declare the problem is with either the hard disk and/or Windows?

To answer your earlier questions:

Just to clarify: You did run Factory Recovery to reset the PC back to HP Factory condition, correct? This is not the same as a Clean Reinstall because it reinstalls all of the factory bloatware which on HP's is the worst in the industry. These in addition to the duplicate utilities which have better versions built into the OS throttle the OS and can cause numerous problems.

I did do a factory reset to HP factory condition for sure (1st and 2nd time I re-installed Windows). The 3rd and last time, however, I used a retail version of Windows 7 (not from HP), so it didn't have any of the bloatware delivered with the HP OEM version.

It may be buried somewhere earlier but have you run the present install without the hard drive attached to test it?

I'm not sure what you mean by "present install" - Windows? If so, then no. The only test I've run without the hard drive is with Peppermint - which is running right now.

Did you run Recovery or reinstall since you uninstalled Norton which was traced to the BSOD's, and did you use the Norton Removal tool?

Yes, I did reinstall after uninstalling Norton, but I did not use the Norton Removal tool.

After exactly doing what did the restarts begin?

Originally, months ago, restarts were occurring for my mother in law and she does not know what may have happened to cause them. I figured reintalling Windows would take care of it and after having reinstalled the retail version of Windows 7, I'm not getting BSODs with minidumps anymore, but instead I just get random reboots with the Event 41. So the symptom has changed from BSODs with minidump to just Event 41 with no minidump. It will reboot while nothing's going on, or while doing something -- completely random from my perspective.

Shall I wait longer to determine there is no issue with the hardware? I think it's been about a day and a half. I would say the problem would have shown up by now.


Thanks!

What I meant was when you reinstalled Windows the last time - which was the Clean Reinstall Windows 7, correct? - did you unplug the hard drive? This is important.

Let us see a screenshot of Disk Management - Post a Screen Capture Image as something may be obvious like your Boot Manager being on the hard drive.

The next thing I would do is try running HP Diagnostics by tapping the ESC key at boot to choose Diagnostics from the menu.

If Diagnostics won't run or casts doubt on your hard drive then test your hard drive using the maker's HD Diagnostic extended CD scan. You can look on the hard drive to see who made it. Follow that up with a full Disk Check .

Please take the time now to look over the steps for a Clean Reinstall Windows 7 to compare the perfect install compiled there with the one you actually did. A Clean Reinstall should result in a vastly better install than Factory Recovery, not with problems like you experienced. The steps include everything that works best in tens of thousands of installs we've directly helped with here. It has been used by 1.5 million consumers who haven't had a single complaint.

When you tell me you don't even have the Optional Updates installed then I can see you have serious deficiencies in your install, which may be best remedied by wiping the tested hard drive with Diskpart Clean Command then following the steps for a Clean Reinstall Windows 7.

You can also try running HP System Recovery to see if it will still run and resolve the problem, then Clean Up Factory Bloatware which will regain some performance lost to the bloatware and problematic utilities that duplicate better versions built into Win7.

If Recovery will not run from its hotkey after the reinstall you did, then you can use the Recovery disks which should have been made first, or try to Boot Recovery Partition using EasyBCD.

If Recovery cannot be made to run and you want to do a Clean Reinstall Windows 7 anyway, then delete all partitions during the reinstall to get it cleanest.

What I meant was when you reinstalled Windows the last time - which was the Clean Reinstall Windows 7, correct? - did you unplug the hard drive? This is important.

Yes, I did follow the Clean Reinstall Windows 7 and have installed all optional updates and the problem persisted. I did not unplug the laptop's hardrive during the reinstall - is this even possible?

I also did delete all partitions per the instructions.

I also did the hard drive chkdsk with no errors. The harddrive is a Toshiba - the link to Toshiba diagnostic doesn't seem to work. I can start with that, and then wipe the hard drive and try to do the clean install again. I'd rather use the retail version rather than the OEM version.

Thanks!

How is your laptop set up to have two drives? You removed the SSD to do the Peppermint test, correct? Did you see access to the hard drive to unplug it?

It is always best to unplug all other drives during install but if this is not possible nor can you disable in BIOS setup, then just leave it since it was attached during the Peppermint test and didn't cause reboot. However unplugging it was an important test that needed to be done to see if it was interfering, and may still yet.

Make sure you identify which disk is the hard drive (by size) so you don't touch it while running Diskpart Clean Command on the SSD. If you can move the data off the hard drive, however, it would probably be best to wipe it too since that is the remedy for if it was in fact interfering.

Hi again,

I wiped the hard drive (there is no SSD) and did a new re-install, following the instructions completely.

I'm still having reboots.

[Sorry for the delay. I just used the laptop in safe mode for the past couple weeks with the internet and there have been NO reboots that entire time. BTW, prior to using safe mode, I did follow the Clean Boot instructions and unfortunately it rebooted, so there was still some driver/service/?? causing an issue.]

Should I start a new thread in the Windows 7 installation forum, or continue with this thread related to IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL (which is no longer an issue)?

I need to figure out why it works with no problem in safe mode and how to identify what causes it to reboot in Clean Boot and Normal mode.

Thanks!

Read carefully through Clean Reinstall Windows 7 again to ask back any questions ahead and make sure you have absolutely everything backed up that you need.

Then unplug all other hard drives and peripherals, boot into Win7 disk System Recovery Options Command line to run Diskpart Clean All Command which takes about an hour per 320gb.

Then do the Clean Reinstall Windows 7 stretching out the steps to try to determine at what point the problem returns if it does: Test performance after you get online and Check for Updates, then after each group of Updates has its requested restart. Once all Updates are installed, check Device Manager for any missing drivers to import and test performance after each one is installed. Then test performance after each program is installed.

If you want you can install TeamViewer Download immediately after you get online and begin installing your first group of Updates, private message me the TeamViewer ID and password, and I will connect and go over your install to help set it up and optimize it perfectly.

Thanks! I will probably request your assistance as I've done this so many times with unsuccessful results.

I did the "diskpart clean" but not the "all" option since the instructions seemed to indicate that would only be used for privacy reasons (needs 0s written to drive).

But, I can give that a try......

Thanks!

I'm only recommending Clean All As extra precaution because of the seriousness of the infection on the hard drive. No code can survive with that command whereas only the partition table and boot sector are cleared with a simple Clean command