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What can cause an IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL error message on a Workstation. Before the error, I configured the Workstation to write a memory dump in the System app. I know this could be the cause, however, I’d like to know what else, besides IRQ conflicts, could cause this?

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This a pretty common BSOD error. According to Billy, here is the definition of the code:
“An attempt was made to touch pageable memory at a process internal request level (IRQL) that is too high. This error is usually caused by by drivers using improper addresses. If the kernel debugger is available, get a stack back trace.”

Alot of the causes of this error have been fixed in SP4. If you don’t already have it installed, try installing that. If it is already installed, try disabling caching in the BIOS. Also check the drivers on the BSOD. Sometimes this error can indicate that a disk or disk controller is failing.

Here is a Technet article refering to this issue. Alot of the troubleshooting tips pertain to this error during the installation ofNT, but there are some tips for existing installations at the end of the article.

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q165/8/63.asp

Good luck!

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Blue Screens can also be caused by faulty hardware. Bad memory or hard drives are the main causes of blue screens caused by hardware failures that we see.

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coily2 just about covered it. Also check Programs/Admin tools/nt diags. It will list out all device drivers, irq’s, memory addresses, dma’s, etc. You might find something overlapping there.

Also I’ve found that some hardware device drivers have flaws and are never fixed.

I have the same error on SEVERAL Compaq Deskpro XL 5133 machines. They have built in AMD SCSI and AMD PCNET NIC. I’ve tried all the service packs, 3-5. Actually, SP3 is the most stable for this machine. SP5 causes this machine “blue screens” all the time. With SP3, the “blue screen” only appears if copying fairly large files over the network [using tcp/ip]. Even though I have plenty of RAM and swap file, there is a buffer overrun somewhere. Technet and Compaq supportoffers no solutions. They are not too interested in supporting older machines.

Good Luck! J.R.

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if your system supports BIOS-level IRQ configuration, I would o in there and manually assign separate IRQs for each of my devices (NIC, controllers, sound cards, etc). Reaset all the devices, including the RAM. Then I would be sure to update the drivers for ALL my devices, especially the NIC. If this prob doesn’t go away after that, I’d try removing one device at a time and running NT for a while to see if I’m able to isolate the source. If still no go, then you are looking at RAM or cache prob.

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I like deji’s solution in part (removing one device at a time and running NT for a while to see if I’m able to isolate the source)…I have seen this BSOD most often when an incorrect or corrupt driver is being used and usually for a scsi device. But itcould still be hardware related.

I just feel you should isolate the problem before fixing it. If not, you could hide a monor problem that will become a serious problem in the future.

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If you have more memmory that than hd space. say half a gig of ram and a partition that is less than that. You can get an error if you try a dump onto that partition.

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This is one of the most common cause’s of the BSOD. It is probably a resource conflict, check NT Diagnostics in the Admin tools. Install the latest service pack and upgrade your BIOS. Remove unsupported hardware and check your memory (mix and match can cause problems). By replacing the hardware bit by bit you should identify the problem.

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