Member Avatar for Rekenber

After the progress bar in Vista, a Blue Screen of Death appears and my PC restarts (both in a fraction of a second, so I can't provide screenshots). I was installing Google Chrome, Updating An AV Database, and updating Adobe Reader (I had my built-in Wifi running), then I left my PC running for lunch. When I returned, the PC was on screensaver mode, I swiped my mouse, it won;t go to login screen (as I configured the PC to ask for a PW when running a screensaver. I initiated a sleep, waited, then, since the whole thing won't work, I did a hard-reset, which now gives me this error.

I am running Vista Home Premium SP2 on a NEO VIVID V3163 with standard features. I can't seem to find the error.

I ran the PC in Safe mode and it would continue. I really don't understand.

What can I do to repair my PC? I don't have my Installation CD for I am at the field...

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Short expert summary and a practical triage sequence.

IRQL_LESS_THAN_OR_EQUAL usually means a kernel‑mode driver or bad memory tried to access memory at the wrong IRQL. Because the machine at one point boots to Safe Mode, a software/driver cause is more likely than outright hardware failure—but don’t rule RAM out. and pointed at restores and drivers; below is an ordered, low-risk workflow to identify the culprit and preserve data before reinstalling.

  1. Capture the crash text and the dump. At boot press F8 and choose “Disable automatic restart on system failure” so you can read the STOP code and any driver filename. If you can reach Safe Mode, copy the newest files from C:\Windows\Minidump to a USB stick for analysis on another PC (BlueScreen viewers or WinDbg will show the offending driver).
  2. If a scheduled CHKDSK is blocking Safe Mode, skip it or exclude the drive for the next boot. From an elevated command prompt or Recovery Console run:
    chkntfs /x c:
  3. In Safe Mode, do targeted actions (in this order): remove or disable the recently updated antivirus or any kernel‑level filter drivers, use Device Manager to roll back or uninstall suspect drivers, then run system checks:
    sfc /scannow
chkdsk c: /f /r
  4. If the dump names a driver, update or remove that specific driver. If you cannot see a clear software culprit, test RAM (boot memtest86 from USB) — repeated memory errors point to bad RAM. As a last diagnostic, use Microsoft’s Driver Verifier to stress suspect drivers, but beware it will provoke crashes; reset it with verifier /reset from Safe Mode if needed.

If repair fails or you cannot boot, create a Linux live USB on another computer to back up personal files, then use your laptop’s OEM recovery or a Vista recovery DVD to run Startup Repair or reinstall. If memtest or repeated crashes occur during a clean install, treat it as hardware failure (RAM, motherboard).

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Member Avatar for mjdodd

If the PC runs in safe mode, have you tried using the restore facility to go back to before you did the insallations.

Also you may be able to uninstall those installations, then run a clean up program and then shut down normally (dont just turn off) and try a normal restart, if that doesn't work try the safe mode and go back to last good known working config from the boot screen.
M

Member Avatar for Omni

Sounds like something you installed if you are able to boot into Safe mode without a blue screen crashing your system.

Are you getting an error message that says IRQL_LESS_THEN_OR_EQUAL_TOO? If so conflicting drivers maybe the cause of your personal anguish. Following mjdodds advice and initiating a system restore usually would correct this problem. Booting into safe mode and running a registry cleaning program is also a good idea to clean up any lingering registry files that could also be causing driver conflicts in your system.

Member Avatar for Rekenber

Yup, I get IRQL_LESS_THAN_OR_EQUAL. System Restore won't work, for the last restore point was the crash, should I re-install my OS?

I can't run Safe Mode, after stupidly scheduling a disk error check.

Thanks for the advice

Member Avatar for Omni

Do you have any earlier restore points saved on record, or just one restore point? Your restore directory should contain numerous scheduled restore points even if you never made them personally yourself. Does your laptop have a recovery partition that allows you to perform a windows recovery or repair?


As far as I can see it, you have two options available to you. One being harder and more time consuming then the other.

Option 1: Circumvent disk check, Scan your system, Update any conflicting or out dated device drivers.

You should be able to skip any disk error checks upon boot up. They are segmented by about a 5 second keystroke intervention interval, then you hard reset your computer (holding down the power button until the unit shuts off) and reboot. That should over ride the disk scan and prompt you with a list of boot options.

When you're in safe mode you need to determine if drivers are in fact causing an OS conflict. Downloading a program like Everest (http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/System-Info/Everest-Home-Edition.shtml) and scan your devices for any missing or outdated drivers and then use the recommended download sites on Everest to update the software (or find them free via search engine).

Reboot your system normally and your Blue screen problem should be fixed. Maybe run windows update or a registry cleaning program just to tie up any loose ends.

Option 2: Back up all your data, Reformat your C:, reinstall windows.

Basically as easy as it sounds and usually works the best. Back up all pertinent data using an external hard drive or secondary networked computer. Insert windows disc and reinstall a fresh copy of Windows. Run all hardware related window updates afterwards. This is generally a better idea because a fresh copy of the OS ensures that no conflicting drivers are present and you can narrow down actions if one suddenly pops up later on.


If during the reinstallation process you encounter a Blue Screen, then your system is suffering from a hardware problem (most likely over heated CPU or bad RAM) and not a software conflict. But in my experience that error code almost always refers to a driver conflict. Good luck!

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