Solved Fresh Win 7 Install, random BSODs (driver irql not < or = and others)

[bgator76]

Fresh Win 7 Install, random BSODs (driver irql not < or = and others)

Hi, I've recently rebuilt my PC and it's driving me crazy with random BSODs all the time. I'm not playing games or doing anything demanding. It crashes when I'm just surfing the web and sometimes even when I'm in the other room and the PC is in sleep mode. Here are the circumstances.

It's a homebuilt PC (I filled in my system specs). It used to use an IDE hard drive, the onboard graphics, and Win XP, but was really slow, but it wasn't suffering from BSODs. I wanted an improvement, so I bought a SATA SSD hard drive, a PCI-Express video card, and Win 7 Home Premium 32 bit.

I installed a fresh install of Win 7 onto the SSD, installed the video card, and soon started having BSOD issues. I thought maybe the Windows install was corrupt, so I reformated and reinstalled but had the same trouble. I thought it was the SSD, so I tried reinstalling Windows on a traditional (disk based) SATA hard drive and had the same problem. I flashed my bios to the latest version and still have the same problem. I removed the video card and it seemed to stop. I blamed the Nvidia GeForce 210 based video card, so I replaced it with the Radeon HD5450 based one listed in my specs, but I still have the same problem. I need the dedicated video card to have dual monitors, otherwise I don't need a powerful graphics card. I saw another thread that recommended running Memtest software, which I ran through several cycles with no memory errors. I've run sfc/scannow with no errors. I'm thinking of buying a USB based video adapter to allow for dual monitors, but I'm tired of part swapping, so I'm turning to this forum for help.

I've attached the output from SF Diagnostic Tool. I would be incredibly grateful if anyone can help me diagnose this issue. After all the money and time I've spent, I'm wishing I would've just bought a damn dell. Thanks, -Anthony

 

[Arc]

Checked the three of your today's dumps. They all are kinda silent about the cause, but some deeper search points out something. Let us see those.

A search revealed that you are using nForce as the chipset driver, and that includes nvstor.sys as the storage controller driver. You need to try to update nForce, as it contains not only the storage controller, but also network controller and a lot of other vital drivers.

Go to Drivers - Download NVIDIA Drivers, search for nForce, as per your motherboard's chipset specifications.

Update your ATI/AMD display driver.
You can get it from the link in our forum, http://www.sevenforums.com/graphic-...alyst-video-driver-windows-7-a.html#post17671, or you may go to AMD Graphics Driver and Software and opt for Automatically Detect and Install the appropriate driver for your card.

During installation, you may opt for advanced installation, and install the display driver only, not the Catalyst Control Center.

Update your BIOS.

BiosMajorRelease = 8
BiosMinorRelease = 15
BiosVendor = American Megatrends Inc.
BiosVersion = V2.7
[COLOR=Red]BiosReleaseDate = 11/22/2010[/COLOR]

For getting the updates, go to MSI's site and match these particulars.

BaseBoardManufacturer = MSI
BaseBoardProduct = K9N6PGM2-V2 (MS-7309)
BaseBoardVersion = 2.0

This BIOS update is really needed there.

Have a look at your Storage drive utilization.

Drive | Size | Free Space
Drive : D : |Size : 63.47 GB (68,154,634,240 bytes)|Free Space : 6.89 GB (7,392,768,000 bytes)
Drive : E :|Size : 64.52 GB (69,273,272,320 bytes)|Free Space : 7.69 GB (8,254,136,320 bytes)
Drive : F :|Size : 21.06 GB (22,611,292,160 bytes)|Free Space : 124.30 MB (130,334,720 bytes)

If those are not the factory made partitions, try to free them up. External backup of stuff is a good idea. Better you post a Disc Management Screenshot so that we can see your partition details.

If you are overclocking, stop. Get back to default CPU and GPU settings at once.

Test your RAM modules for possible errors.
How to Test and Diagnose RAM Issues with Memtest86+
Run memtest for at least 8 passes, preferably overnight.

Stress test the Graphics Card using Furmark.
Video Card - Stress Test with Furmark

Stress test the CPU.
Hardware - Stress Test With Prime95

Let us know the results.

BugCheck 7F, {d, 0, 0, 0}

Probably caused by : ntkrpamp.exe ( nt!KiSystemFatalException+f )

Followup: MachineOwner
---------
BugCheck 1000007E, {c0000005, 8ed74697, 8c8f6c50, 8c8f6830}

Probably caused by : hardware ( dxgmms1!VidSchiSubmitRenderCommand+7 )

Followup: MachineOwner
---------
BugCheck BE, {82d35005, 2d35121, 807e2b44, a}

Probably caused by : hardware ( amdppm!C1Halt+4 )

Followup: MachineOwner
---------

 

[bgator76]

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply. I obtained the latest nforce drivers from nVidia, and the latest catalyst drivers from ATI. Unfortunately, I'm using the latest available Bios for my mobo, which is 2.7 from 2010. I ran memtest with no issues. All of those hard drive partitions are from the IDE HDD which is now just serving as a secondary storage drive so I can retrieve my old files.

Even after applying the updated drivers, my computer blue screened on me so many times that I angrily ripped out the video card and went back to a single monitor using the onboard video. I haven't had any blue screens since then (about 3 days). I'm blaming the MSI mobo (and MSI for lack of bios updates) since it has had problems with 2 completely different video cards. I ordered a Plugable UGA-165 USB 2.0 to VGA/DVI/HDMI Adapter to hopefully allow me to use an external monitor. I hope it works. I've considered replacing the whole mobo, but my original intent was supposed to be a cheap/easy upgrade and it's already gotten out of hand. Thanks again, -Anthony

 

[Arc]

Your plan sounds good .... Best of luck.
And, your analysis is seeming to be right to me, about the mobo.

 

[bgator76]

Hey, just wanted to say thanks again for the help and report on my outcome. I received the pluggable USB video adapter and have been using it for over a week now to allow dual monitors and have had no blue screens. I can feel that it bogs my PC down a little (the USB adapter uses the CPU's power), but it's no big deal for web surfing and office apps that I use it for. Thanks again.

 

[Arc]

Most welcome, mate
If there is any further issue, let us know.