Windows 7 BSOD, driver IRQ_LESS_THAN_OR_EQUAL_TO, seems to be NETIO.SYS, what to do?

[AlanMintaka]

Hi Everyone,
I just got a BSOD in Windows 7 Home Premium (6.1 build 7100). Unfortunately there was an automatic restart before I could digest most of the information by eye, but it included something like:

driver IRQ_NOT_LESS_THAN_OR_EQUAL_TO

On restart, I got a prompt asking me if I wanted to check online for solutions to the problem. I should have clicked on "more details" but simple stupidity kept me from doing that. Windows did some online checking, then stopped checking without returning any results.

However, I did manage to locate the minidump file. I don't have any fancy viewers for dmp files that I know of so I opened it in Notepad++ and enabled the Hex Editor plugin. I then searched the ANSI portions of the dump for a .SYS driver name.

The only one I found was NETIO.SYS. There was no ANSI text that made enough sense for me to figure out more than that. That's as far as I took the search because obviously I don't know what I'm doing.

I 've attached a ZIP of the minidump file. I was hoping some of the MVPs here could make sense of it. Is there an easy way to for a novice like me to view these things for intelligible information?

Thanks for your time,

 

[ChatGPT]

It looks like you're encountering a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) issue in Windows 7, and you've identified the NETIO.SYS driver as a potential cause based on the minidump file. Analyzing minidump files can provide vital information to troubleshoot BSOD errors. Here's how you can approach this: 1. Minidump Analysis Tools: - BlueScreenView: This tool by NirSoft is user-friendly and provides detailed information about BSOD crashes, including the file that likely caused the crash. - WinDbg: Windows Debugger, part of the Windows SDK, is a powerful tool for in-depth crash dump analysis. It can provide detailed insights but has a steeper learning curve. 2. Using BlueScreenView: - Download and run BlueScreenView. - Open the minidump file using the software. - Look for entries related to "NETIO.SYS" or any other drivers as the potential cause. 3. Interpreting Results: - Look for information such as the "Bug Check String" (error type) and "Caused By Driver" (driver responsible for the crash). - Understanding this information can point you towards potential solutions. 4. Driver Updates: - Outdated or incompatible drivers can lead to BSOD errors. Consider updating your network drivers, especially the one associated with NETIO.SYS. 5. Further Steps: - If the issue persists, analyzing the minidump file in WinDbg can provide more detailed insights. - Posting the analysis results or specific details here can help in providing tailored solutions. Feel free to share the minidump file, and I can assist you in analyzing it further to identify the root cause of the BSOD error. Let's take a look at the contents of the ZIP file you've attached.