BSOD Random Occurrence - Suspected driver fault but unable to identify

[Killieman]

Hello all,

I just got a new PC but have been suffering from what appear to be totally random BSoD occurrences. It has occurred when a wide variety of programs are being run and I cannot find any commonalty between the events. Based on the error codes (driver irql_less_or_not_equal is the most common) I suspect it is a driver fault but I am not savvy enough to identify what one(s) is/are at fault. I've updated every driver I know of to what appears to be the latest verison and done a clean reinstall on graphics drivers to 353.30. I've unplugged all peripherals barring my mouse, keyboard and monitor and had the same result. Sometimes it will go hours without failing and sometimes it will occur multiple times during startup. I've also ran SFC /scannow as an admin with no faults found in 5 attempts. Malwarebytes has turned up no threats.

My current specs are:

Mobo - Asus Gryphon Z97 Armor Edition
CPU - Intel i7- 4790K
RAM - TeamGroup Vulcan Gold 16GB @ 2133MHz
GPU - EVGA GTX 980 Ti Superclocked ACX 2.0+
SSD - Samsung 850 EVO 250GB
HDD - Seagate Barracuda 3TB
OS - Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I've attached every minidump I have received but if you need more information please just say.

Cheers!

 

[Arc]

Stray dumps are not enough.

:ar: Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) Posting Instructions

 

[Killieman]

I'm really sorry about that. I've ran the tool and attached the generated file to this post.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Arc]

Many a lot of things are contributing to BSODs there.

Make it sure that your SSD has the latest firmware.
How to Upgrade Samsung SSD Firmware | StorageReview.com - Storage Reviews

Test your RAM modules for possible errors.

How to Test and Diagnose RAM Issues with Memtest86+
​

Run memtest86+ for at least 8 consecutive passes.

If it start showing errors/red lines, stop testing. A single error is enough to determine that something is going bad there.

Let us know the result. A camera snap of the memtest86+ window will be nice.

 

[Killieman]

Memtest turned up 10 errors late in the second pass before stalling. I presume that means the RAM is bad and should be completely replaced by the manufacturer then? I can attach a picture of the error screen if that helps.

 

[Arc]

Memtest turned up 10 errors late in the second pass before stalling. I presume that means the RAM is bad and should be completely replaced by the manufacturer then? I can attach a picture of the error screen if that helps.

The screenshot will be better.

Now follow the "Part 3: If You Have Errors:" of How to Test and Diagnose RAM Issues with Memtest86+

Errors/red lines means one or more RAM is faulty. But the fault may occur due to a faulty DIMM slot, too, which is a motherboard component. Using memtest86+, you can discriminate between a faulty RAM and a faulty motherboard.

How? Say you have two RAM sticks and two DIMM slots. You obtained errors at the test with all RAM sticks installed. Now, remove all the sticks but one. Test it in all the available slots, one by one. Continue the same procedure for all the available sticks.
How to make the inference that is it a RAM issue or it is a motherboard issue? Suppose you have got the result like that:

test|Slot1|Slot2
RAM1| Error | Error
RAM2|Good|Good

It is a RAM, a bad RAM.

But if you have got a result like that:

test|Slot1|Slot2
RAM1| Error |Good
RAM2| Error |Good

It is a motherboard issue. The particular slot is bad.

If it is a bad RAM, you need to change the RAM. Take the other existing (good) RAM to the shop and get one of the exactly same specification. The best is, get a totally new RAM KIT.

If it is a bad slot, it is a motherboard issue. But changing the motherboard needs a preparation for most of us; so dont populate that slot for the time being.