BSOD Crash, Driver issue found

Question

So I kept getting a BSOD with "IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL"

I finally found a program called BlueScreenView to help me diagnose the issue.

This same BSOD happened multiple times, and BSV says that it is being caused by driver "ntoskrnl.exe" for every crash.

I run Windows 7 Ultimate.

Any ideas how to fix this?

Answer 1

A common cause of that error is a bad memory module. Download the Free ISO file and burn it as an image to CD, boot from it and run memtest overnight to stress test the memory.

http://www.memtest.org/#downiso

.

Answer 2

Try:

• applying any outstanding updates and see if that takes care of it.

• run a scan with MalwareBytes and see if any illicit software is installed.

• if you've recently installed software or drivers, roll them back until it no longer gives you this error. Use System Restore to help you.

• Try disabling as many options/special features in your BIOS that you can without affecting your system's ability to boot

ntoskrnl.exe is the Windows 7 kernel. One thing that immediately comes to mind is that if you're running an activation crack that has modified the kernel, that could also be the cause of it.