IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR

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IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

2003-05-10 22:54:47

I am running WXP Home Edition and getting crashes (blue screen of death) with the"IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL" message and the usual hex string. The associated driver is portcls.sys. I have two on my system. One is dated 8/29/2002 at 1:01 AM and the other at 8/29/2002 at 3:01. I found another in the internet dated 5/10/2003 2:42 PM.

Who has had the "IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL" and will one of thse drivers cure the problem?

Thanks

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Reply #1 – 2003-05-10 23:05:16

I had that on Win2000, and fixed it by reinstalling the OS. :B

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Reply #2 – 2003-05-10 23:29:48

Boonjum,

First of all - I would be surprised if replacing that file cures your problem.

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL is most certainly caused by faulty drivers or hardware. It can be any driver though, and USB / videocard / soundcard is what you should try to disable first (in the control panel).

If this doesn't cure your problem, try deinstalling (not just disabling !) your anti-virus.

If the problem is still there - it can be your RAM.

Then, it all comes down either to your mainboard, or a corrupted driver file (very unlikely if you're using NTFS).

I, personally wouldn't reinstall NT/2k/xp right away.
Good luck...

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Reply #3 – 2003-05-11 03:20:44

I've had this a few times now. And I've yet to really find a definite cure for it. Last time I suspected it was my Hercules Game Theatre sound card, but couldn't be exactly sure. I tried a number of different things, removed drivers, removed cards, swapped cards and nothing would seem to make it go away. In the end I found it much quicker to just do a complete reinstall. All of which my XP setup worked fine after I reinstalled it, so its not a hardware issue that causes the prob, but an XP issue.

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Reply #4 – 2003-05-11 03:52:59

I had this problem before, it drive me crazy , sometime it crash instantly after load windows, sometime it crash after 3-hours playing CS --> After a few day I found that for some strange reason my mainboard conflict with the NIC

some suggestion may help
1 : Switch PCI card slot

2 : BIOS = default

3 : change new hardware ( that what I did), I have 2 computers and I just bring the NIC card from the other install to this computer, and vice versa --> no problem until now

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Reply #5 – 2003-05-11 04:40:15

OK - the sound card is a Creative SB Extigy which has functioned quite well up until recently. The crashes are random as Mgz mentions: sometimes at boot, sometimes after running a while. I will come home after leaving the system up to be greated by the BSD. Other times it runs for quite a while. I would like to postpone a re-install as that seems to invite a host of new problems and possibly lost data which I already have out on "C" drive. Sheesh. where is OS/2 when you really need it?

I appreciate the feedback for suggestions and re-inforcing that others have had the same Redmond (MS) induced errors.

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Reply #6 – 2003-05-11 04:59:23

I recommend that you run the program Memtest86, found at www.memtest86.com , because if system crashes after a period of time (not at boot or shutdown) it might be a memory corruption issue. See if there are any errors detected by the program and tell us the results. I had this issue with a Windows XP Pro machine, and it was caused by the WPRSET program I used to edit the memory interleaving settings in my bios. Good luck.

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Reply #7 – 2003-05-11 05:12:47

Hmm, ok now about my problem. I had no issues with my computer until recently as I was trying to upgrade my Athlon, I damaged the motherboard with a slipped screwdriver (I dented it at many places visually) because of a stupid stubborn heatsink. Now my machine works still almost flawlessly but I have problems with 0.1% of the memory (after I run memtest I realized I did). From some other rigorous test benchmark suites my computer passed flawlessly though. But once in a long while I have problems with my applications (memory access error)

Is there a way to mark this memory (through BIOS, etc) so that no access will be made to that portion of the memory?

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Reply #8 – 2003-05-11 05:27:30

atici - This problem does not seem to be caused by the slip of your screwdriver. If it was the screwdriver, I doubt that the motherboard would function at all, or the problem would be much larger than 0.1% of the memory. Here is what I would try to do in order from first to last (test with Memtest86 after each change to see if the problem is fixed) :

1. Up the ram voltage from 2.5 volts to 2.6 / 2.7 volts (assuming you have DDR - your voltages might be different, but the .1 or .2 volt increase still applies)

2. Lower your memory timings. First, if you are running your ram at CL2, try running it at CL 2.5. Lower the access and refresh timings as well if this does not work.

3. Try over-volting the CPU .025 or .050 volts. This should not hurt your CPU at all, but it can really help your Memtest86 error rates!

I got Memtest86 errors on my Shuttle AK31 v3.1 board unless I lowered the memory timings to CL 2.5 3/6/3 in my bios AND upped the CPU voltage by .025 volts. At these memory timings, I am able to use 4-way memory interleaving with complete stability. I got 1000's of errors before the changes, and about 10 errors a run until I upped the CPU voltage. Now I can run 20 passes without a single error. Hope this helps you!

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Reply #9 – 2003-05-11 05:51:57

Quote

I recommend that you run the program Memtest86, found at www.memtest86.com

Cool, but do you have another tool? I have a "poor boy" Dell Dimension 2350 and removed the floppy drive and replaced it with my 120 gig HD. I still have the original 40 gig main "C" drive plus the new 120 gig "D" drive. I can do the floppy routine, but I have to shut down, pull the HD, install the floppy, re-cable and reboot. Is there another way? I will do the memtest86 as suggested if we cannot find another tool.

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Reply #10 – 2003-05-11 06:24:13

I've had this problem after changing the PSU fan. It turned out to be the SB Live! card that I somehow moved and was doing bad contact.

I had to uninstall Creative drivers using XP failsafe mode and the reinstall them.

The offending driver was something about the joystick port...

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Reply #11 – 2003-05-11 07:45:12

I have downloaded new drivers from Creative and will install them in the morning. It is close to midnight here and soon my coach turns into a pumpkin. L8R

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Reply #12 – 2003-05-12 05:33:27

If you do not have a floppy disk drive, then use one of the Bootable-CD ISO images found on the Memtest86 homepage . No re-cabling needed B) . I hope you have a CD-Burner thorough (if you visit HA.org, I hope you have one - how dare call yourself a music lover!) As for another program, I have never seen another that is as through or as accurate as Memtest86. I.e., the SiSoft Sandra memory torture test might give your system a passing grade, but Memtest86 still finds those 100 bad blocks in your 512mb of ram.

Edit: Through changed to thorough.

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Reply #13 – 2003-05-12 07:21:39

es, I burn - EAC + LAME 3.90.2. I will try what you suggest. In the meantime I changed my paging file from D drive back to C drive and all is well. Go figure. I really do believe that little gremlins live inside the CPU's and make all this happen. Sometimes they are cranky and things go awry. I switched to paging file on D drive because I read a year or so back that the system is faster when it lives on one drive and pages on another. Who knows? "Tape at 11:00." Bye, kids.

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Reply #14 – 2003-05-24 04:21:02

I've been getting these problems quite frequently, esp. when logged onto the internet through modem. The file that it says is causing the problem is 'ntoskrnl.exe' So the kernel of Windows 2000 is causing it. I've run that memtest thing and my RAM is ok. I've swapped my PCI modem card around and even substituted my SBLive! card with a cheapo SB PCI64. I've moved my swap file around and only just tried installing a generic driver for my modem. And I've reinstalled the OS too and still it didnt fix it.

It happens usually when I'm on the Internet with my browser windows open and I open up some memory intensive program. Windows 2000 just freezes for a while and *click* (from the monitor) I get this IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL error with 'ntoskrnl.exe'.

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