"ntoskrnl.exe" and "nvlddmkm.sys" "driver_irql_not_less_or_equal" - Any ideas?

chickadee · 20 Jan 2017 at 12:39

So I keep getting this BSOD "driver_irql_not_less_or_equal" which is completely random and when i check the event viewer and dump file it points to "ntoskrnl.exe" and "nvlddmkm.sys".

So I have tried all sorts, changing nvidia drivers, sfc /scannow, memory testing, disabling software, format etc etc

Does anyone have any ideas what i should try?

I was thinking maybe my x5660 needs a little extra vcore even though its running at stock as this board wasn't exactly designed for these chips.....thats just a guess though.

Really any ideas would be great. Oh and im on W10.

crazyDAJT · 20 Jan 2017 at 14:34

18gb of ram looks funny for an X58 board how many sticks do you have?

Can you post your full system specs and Bios settings please.

ntoskrnl.exe Points to memory and nvlddmkm.sys GPU drivers.

When do the crashes happen? Gaming?

chickadee · 20 Jan 2017 at 19:22

crazyDAJT said:
18gb of ram looks funny for an X58 board how many sticks do you have?

Can you post your full system specs and Bios settings please.

ntoskrnl.exe Points to memory and nvlddmkm.sys GPU drivers.

When do the crashes happen? Gaming?

Woops, I actually removed 3 of the sticks to reduce it to 12gb as i thought the same thing, all 6 memory banks filled has always been a problem for x58, it seems to be hit or miss. Now im on 3x4gb corsair 1600mhz sticks. They only run at 1333 though.....XMP will always make my pc unable to boot, always has nomater what ram. Ram and x58 for some reason is full of niggles.

As for bios settings everything is basically default, all I changed was disabling the features i dont need like firewire/ethernet/raid.

All voltages/clocks are default. I do run the boost thing (forget the name) that boosts the CPU clock up a little.

Usually when I get the BSOD its right as i open chrome, click a link, save a game etc which makes me think maybe its due to the cpu boosting up and not having enough voltage. Unfortunately im not sure what I should set a stock x5660 to thats appropriate.

crazyDAJT · 20 Jan 2017 at 20:02

Opening a link on chrome shouldn't cause the CPU to turbo.

My bet is on memory, don't use XMP, set the voltage, speed and timing manual. Run memtest.

When did this problem start? When you swapped in the CPU or added a new GPU.

chickadee · 20 Jan 2017 at 20:19

crazyDAJT said:
Opening a link on chrome shouldn't cause the CPU to turbo.

My bet is on memory, don't use XMP, set the voltage, speed and timing manual. Run memtest.

When did this problem start? When you swapped in the CPU or added a new GPU.

From what I can remember it was the CPU, I had 6gb prior to that and im sure the BSOD pushed me to go get 12.

I will look up my RAM voltages/timings as well as the x5660 and see if my motherboard is running the correct settings.

crazyDAJT · 20 Jan 2017 at 20:26

This shouldn't be happening at stock, sounds like you changed too much at once, so u need to find where the fault is.

I would put the original ram in, mentest, stress test at stock, repeat with new ram

chickadee · 20 Jan 2017 at 20:46

crazyDAJT said:
This shouldn't be happening at stock, sounds like you changed too much at once, so u need to find where the fault is.

I would put the original ram in, mentest, stress test at stock, repeat with new ram

I have ran memtest on both sets and everything is fine. Also the machine can benchmark non stop for hours and everything is dandy. Its such an intermittent problem and happens at silly times, i cant replicate it.

crazyDAJT · 20 Jan 2017 at 21:00

If you can stress test your cpu for hrs on end then I doubt that's the problem.

You need to isolate each part of your system and test independently.

Have you thought about a fresh OS install

chickadee · 21 Jan 2017 at 06:18

crazyDAJT said:
If you can stress test your cpu for hrs on end then I doubt that's the problem.

You need to isolate each part of your system and test independently.

Have you thought about a fresh OS install

Since the problem started I have had about 3 fresh installs.

this is why its such an annoyance, everything I think should be done has been done, im kind of worried its maybe my board degrading since its been used 12+ hours a day since 2009.........

shankly1985 · 21 Jan 2017 at 13:49

My experience these BSOD are related to Memory RAM. MemTest86 would be a good start.

chickadee · 22 Jan 2017 at 16:40

From what I can tell (after 12 hours of memtest and no errors) I might have fixed my problem.

I set the voltage of my QPI and VCORE to auto instead of default. I have noticed that the cpu was limited to 1.056v on default and now it reaches 1.168 at 100% utilisation and 1.216 when the boost kicks in.

This voltage is well within the 0.750V-1.350V spec.

Thought I would update just in case anyone searches for this BSOD and has the same problem as me.