I've been struggling with persistent Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) errors, particularly "IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL", and I'm really lost on how to fix this. After reinstalling Windows three times, the situation seemed to improve slightly, but now I still get BSODs, typically at least once a day. I mostly use my PC for gaming and notice that it does fine during heavy gaming sessions, but I run into issues when browsing the internet or watching videos, which leads to Google Chrome crashing with an "Aw, Snap! STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION" message. I've tried various methods to fix the problem, including reinstalling drivers and checking the memory (even installed new RAM), but nothing seems to work long-term. I'm looking for advice on diagnosing the problem accurately and any potential fixes, as I'm tired of reinstalling the OS every time it fails.
2 Answers
From what you've described, it seems like the most likely culprit is your CPU or possibly the RAM. You've already swapped out the RAM, so if there's any overclocking, that could be causing instability. Make sure you've disabled the Precision Boost Overdrive setting in the BIOS if it was enabled. That’s often a hidden troublemaker. If the problem persists, you might want to run a stress test on the CPU to check for stability.
It sounds like you're dealing with some serious memory issues based on those BSOD errors. First off, make sure to gather those minidump files; they can really help pinpoint what’s going wrong. If you can, check the C:WindowsMinidump folder and upload any dump files you find to a file-sharing site. More dump files mean more data for troubleshooting!
I’ve disabled the PBO option, but I feel like I might be missing something. Should I mess with any other BIOS settings, or is there a safe way to test the CPU? Any recommendations?