Why does my computer keep crashing?

[valsgalore]

I'm running Windows Vista on a Dell Inspiron 1525 laptop.

Every few days or so, my computer will crash without warning and show me the blue screen of death! This generally happens when I am running an animation of some sort--for example, it has crashed several times while watching TV on Hulu, once while I was testing a Flash movie I was making, and at least 3 times while doing nothing more than running the bubbles screen saver that came with Windows.

Prior to the crash, there is no noticeable slowing of the system or any other problems. It's very sudden every time.

The error messages that I get vary (and I confess I haven't been reading them carefully because I've been so annoyed and just want to get the computer running again!) but the last one said I should check my memory, check for mismatched memory, and check my graphics card. It also said I should uninstall any new hardware.

Well, I ran two different memory diagnostics, both of which did not indicate any errors. I ran a stress test on the graphics card, and, while it slowed my feeble computer down to a crawl, it did not cause the system to crash (I only ran it for 3 minutes, though). And I have not installed any hardware since buying the computer 2 years ago!

Anyone have any suggestions as to the cause and solution to this annoying problem?

[LightSystem]

If you are getting a BSOD you should write down the specific error you're getting. Normally BSODs are specific enough to tell you wich file caused the crash, or if it was a memory error. If I had to guess I'd say your graphics driver is the issue. Uninstall it and install the newest version of the driver in the manufacturers site.

[valsgalore]

LightSystem, thanks for your answer.

After this happened a few times, I installed the newest graphics driver available, and that hasn't helped. Also, updated the BIOS, which didn't solve the problem either.

The next time it happens, I'll take down more information as to what the blue screen says, but in the mean time, I do remember that the last error message included something about something "not less or equal."

That ring a bell for anyone?

[LightSystem]

It's probably "IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL" error, which is a generic memory error. In my experience its generally associated with a driver not behaving correctly, and accessing memory that's not allowed to access. Check this link for more details: What is IRQL LESS OR NOT EQUAL blue screen error?

[birellar]

It might be your system going virus affected. So be very careful about it keep your system clean with the help of any virus software.

[edensigauke]

Yes the cause is always variating ladies and gentleman, but the focus for this subject is whether or not this will help bring back this persons computer to normal. We all know the many causes lets give many solutions