irql not less or equal 3

[Stryker968]

I am running XP Pro, on a Asus MB, 512 mb memory, Nvidia Geforce 2 mx400graphics card, AMD T-bird 1333mhz processor, SB Live Value sound card, ATI TV Wonder VE, etc. As I was on the net, playing a game on Yahoo, I got a blue screen. The main message I continue to get is IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL. I have also received a BAD_POOL_CALLER message also. I tried to reinstall XP, but still got the IRQL error about half way through the install. I reformatted installed Win98 SE and before installing anything, did an upgrade,(Or tried to) to XP again. After trying everything else I could think of, I removed every card in the case, except for the video card, reformatted and tried to install XP again. Still get about half way or a little more, then the blue screen again. I took the battery out of the MB and reset default values, then reset the appropriate values back in, tried to reinstall one more time, with the same results. Could my video card be screwing this up for me? I am at a loss. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!
Thanks in advance for your help,
Bob

 

[smah]

Try some different memory if you can. I had numerous similar errors that just kept happening more & more often. I finally narrowed down to memory. I haven't had a crash since I replaced it.

 

[linney]

Memtest86 - A Stand-alone Memory Diagnostic

http://www.memtest86.com/

Memtest86 is thorough, stand alone memory test for x86 architecture computers. BIOS based memory tests are only a quick check and often miss many of the failures that are detected by Memtest86.

Memtest86 is released under the terms of the Gnu Public License (GPL). Other than the provisions of the GPL there are no restrictions for use, private or commercial.

 

[Stryker968]

Just as a wrapup on this issue, I have 2 sticks of 256 mb DDRAM. One is from Crucial, and the other is from my local Computer Shop. I removed the stick from the shop, and all is well with the world again. I'm back to 256 again temporarily, but it is fixed. XP is quite a bit more selective about memory than 98 ever was. Thanks for your replies.
Bob