IRQ_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL BSOD

[RobbZero]

I keep getting the IRQ_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL BSOD when playing AH2. I've read on a post on a search I did about the problem saying that it's a fairly vague error but that it has something to do with a card or the motherboard not operating properly. The only card I have installed is my GeForce NX8600GT (SLI) manufactured by MSI. My mobo's a Asus M2N-E SLI with onboard C-Media audio and onboard network. I read somewhere that you can check to see what IRQs the devices on your system are running on and that you could see if any IRQs are shared. How do you check for that?

[715]

I don't know how do do it in Vista, but in Windows XP do Start, Run, type msinfo32 and hit OK.  Open "Hardware Resources" and click Conflicts/Sharing.

[RobbZero]

oh... and I'm running WinXP

[RobbZero]

K. Just did the msinfo32 thing. I'm suspecting there's a problem with IRQ 22 which handles some USB and PCI stuff. I figure maybe it's that cuz I use a USB headset. Also there's a shared mem address between my vid card and PCI-to-PCI bridge.

Here's the list of it all:

System Information report written at: 03/16/09 13:53:35
System Name: ROBB-ZERO
[Conflicts/Sharing]

Resource   Device   
Memory Address 0xFEFFF000-0xFEFFF3FF   High precision event timer   
Memory Address 0xFEFFF000-0xFEFFF3FF   System board   
Memory Address 0xFEFFF000-0xFEFFF3FF   System board   
      
I/O Port 0x00000000-0x00000CF7   PCI bus   
I/O Port 0x00000000-0x00000CF7   Direct memory access controller   
      
I/O Port 0x000003C0-0x000003DF   PCI standard PCI-to-PCI bridge   
I/O Port 0x000003C0-0x000003DF   NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT    
      
IRQ 22   Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller   
IRQ 22   Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller   
      
IRQ 23   Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller   
IRQ 23   NVIDIA Network Bus Enumerator   
      
IRQ 9   Microsoft ACPI-Compliant System   
IRQ 9   SCSI/RAID Host Controller   
IRQ 9   AXT24LE4 IDE Controller   
      
Memory Address 0xD0000000-0xDFFFFFFF   PCI standard PCI-to-PCI bridge   
Memory Address 0xD0000000-0xDFFFFFFF   NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT    
      
Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF   PCI bus   
Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF   PCI standard PCI-to-PCI bridge   
Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF   NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT    
      
I/O Port 0x000003B0-0x000003BB   PCI standard PCI-to-PCI bridge   
I/O Port 0x000003B0-0x000003BB   NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT    
      
Memory Address 0xF8000000-0xFBFFFFFF   PCI standard PCI-to-PCI bridge   
Memory Address 0xF8000000-0xFBFFFFFF   NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT[/size]

[715]

I think the shared mem address is normal.  The rest someone else will have to help you with.  Try playing AH without the USB headset attached and see if that fixes the error.  If it does, try plugging the headset into a different USB port (yeah, I know that sounds lame but I've had it work before).

[Kermit de frog]

I keep getting the IRQ_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL BSOD when playing AH2. I've read on a post on a search I did about the problem saying that it's a fairly vague error but that it has something to do with a card or the motherboard not operating properly. The only card I have installed is my GeForce NX8600GT (SLI) manufactured by MSI. My mobo's a Asus M2N-E SLI with onboard C-Media audio and onboard network. I read somewhere that you can check to see what IRQs the devices on your system are running on and that you could see if any IRQs are shared. How do you check for that?

Did you install this card recently?
Did this problem occur after anything hardware was recently installed?
Do you have any ANTISPYWARE or ANTIVIRUS software installed?

More info once you've provided more information.

[bustr]

Goto the Windows Debugging Tools web site.

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/DevTools/Debugging/default.mspx

Get Windbg.exe for your operating system. Read the Manual for basic crash dump file debugging. Follow the instructions for setting a path to the free Microsoft public symbols server. Do a basic debug on any of the small dump files in your windows directory that were generated by the BSOD. Under windows XP you will have a minidump directory with .dmp files or search for .dmp files with the bsod timestamp. Or if your system is not setup to give you a file dump at a BSOD, right click on MY Computer, properties, advanced, Startup and Recovery settings.

Turn off automaticly restart and make sure its set to give you a Small Memory dump. On the next BSOD it will create a minidump after which you will have to reboot your machine. If you want really goary details set it to do a Kernal Memory Dump. If you set it for Kernal Memory Dump let the blue screen sit for up to 10 minutes while a huge memory dump is being written. Then reboot and go back into My Computer and recheck automaticly restart and set it back to write a samll memory dump.

Then if you have installed windbg.exe, set the path to the public syumbols server, perform a basic debug and you will be shown in semi-Microsoft legable English what module faulted in memory. At that point you won't be guessing about IRQ conflicts or which driver is faulting.

By the way do you remember the BSOD - IRQ not less or equal  or was it mor like - 0xA: IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL   0000000a(something, something, something, something)

There might be a 0000000a along with four other registers or hex addresses. If it is an 0xA yes in general that will be a new driver related to a hardeware device.

But not all BSOD are hardware errors. By default there are about 100 or so BSOD messages possible along with one you can generate with a Hot Key combination you enable for testing your system.

 

[RobbZero]

Did you install this card recently?
Did this problem occur after anything hardware was recently installed?
Do you have any ANTISPYWARE or ANTIVIRUS software installed?

More info once you've provided more information.

Yo.

So my video card's been in my PC for well over a year now. As for recently added hardware -- I think that somewhere down the line when I'd add on USB devices like my external USB DVD-Burner and maybe replugging other devices into different ports from when I'd unplug everything to clean my PC out that it comes from that. I don't know how Windows likes it when you move a device from one USB port to another from time to time.

So I'm thinking that this whole mess started with the arrival on the scene of my USB Logitech Headset. I don't remember it being much of a problem at first. I remember when I had a headset with the separate audio and mic jack that it never was a problem.

I'm gonna go ahead and change USB ports for my headset and see what that does.

I'll make sure that I jot down the hex address if I see it again. I remember it being 0x000000A (something, something, something, something)

[Hungry]

Rob

Out of curiosity, do you use FSAutostart?  Have you ever asked FSAutostart to defrag your memory? 

[RobbZero]

Never heard of FSAutostart so no I don't use it. Defrags your mem? Sounds like it could be useful.

[bustr]

0x000000A (something, something, something, something)

Is more often related to a driver for a peice of hardware but can be a canary pointing to a bad peice of hardware.

If you check for a C:\Windows\minidump directory, and that directory exists and there are 64k .dmp files with date stamps of each BSOD. If you have restart the computer checked in Startup and Recovery, there will be no dump files. Try setting up the windows debugger and reading the files if you have them set to be created. Or pasting the faulting module the debugger will show you. You will very likely get the name of the driver involved in the FAULT. You cannot harm your PC installing and running windbg.exe. You can bore yourself to eath reading the manul.

If you run a windgb debug read in the manual down this path in the Contents section:

Crash Dump Files
Kernel Mode dump Files
Analalyzing a Kernel Mode dump file
Analalyzing a Kernel Mode dump file with Windgb

After you run windbg targeting your .dmp file. You will use the basic command !analyze -v  to show you a verbose output of the FAULT.

Otherwise, keep pulling hardware and updating or rolling back drivers until you quit BSODing. I'm just trying to help see exactly what is faulting.

[Hungry]

One night as I entered AH I use FS Autostart to cut down on the processes running in the backround, I saw that option and thought I'd give it a try.
 
May have been totally unrelated to AH but as soon as I hit start AH and defrag my memory before starting I got the same error message.  Tried the windows debugger and every other thing I could think of with no success.

Finally ended up reloading windows. Just thought I'd ask

Edit

Something sharing or trying to share the same memory address?  I made no hardware changes, reloaded and everything was fine.

[RobbZero]

I've had "Automatically Restart" unchecked for quite a few months now. I looked into my C:\Windows\Minidump folder but there's no .dmp files in there for some reason. In the "Write debugging infromation" section is set to write "Small memory dump (64KB)". Well... not really. Ain't GOT no mem dumps 

[bustr]

Hungry,

Doesent FS Autostart have a reclaim memory from the stack before app run mode you can enable, rather than defragmentation of the stack? If it tried to free a memory segment that was  in use by another application and not available to be released at that moment, your PC would hang, maybe a BSOD or a FS Autostart application exception window would pop up.

I get the hint, you guys don't really want to learn to debug your stack faults and BSOD..........

[bustr]

I've had "Automatically Restart" unchecked for quite a few months now. I looked into my C:\Windows\Minidump folder but there's no .dmp files in there for some reason. In the "Write debugging infromation" section is set to write "Small memory dump (64KB)". Well... not really. Ain't GOT no mem dumps 

Run a search of your whole C:\. I've found them in C:\ and C:\Windows\system32

This is my path for the minidumps..... %SystemRoot%\Minidump .  You can make it explicit C:\Windows\Minidump or go into your Environment Vayriables and add onto the Path after the last entry:

;%SystemRoot%\Minidump

If your BSOD is locking you HARD dead and you are rebooting manualy emidiatly, try setting it to a Kernal Dump and letting your PC sit for 10 min.