IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

[thekevinmcdonald]

Since upgrading to SP2, I periodically get the famous BSOD with a nice
message about IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL. It tells me to check my device
drivers, BIOS settings, etc. I have not changed any hardware, or
drivers, after the SP2 upgrade, so I'm not even sure where to begin
here. I did verify that my RAM is 100% good, no physical problems
there. I also checked and verified that all my drivers are the latest
versions. What else can I do? This error is pretty frustrating as the
machine is frozen and I have to reboot. Half the time when I reboot,
the explorer.exe process takes up 99% of my cpu and I'm unable to do
anything and must reboot again. Is there a way to trace the cause of
this BSOD? Thanks.

 

[Guest]

One of the primary causes of this problem is overheating of the CPU.
After booting, put your ear near the case on your system and check if you can
hear the fan running. You could also open the case and clean the CPU with
compressed air.