Resolved Bsod irql_not_less_or_equal

My son brought his (Dell Inspirion 600M laptop) to me saying that it didn't work. He didn't give me any specifics about what happened, so I am probably not going to be of much help to explain what went wrong.

When booting up the computer (runs WinXP SP3) the following error message appears after getting as far as the Windows logo screen:

"A problem has been detected and windows has shut down to prevent damage to your computer....." with the following error code:

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

0x0000000A (0x00000018, 0x00000002, 0x00000000, 0x804F4A87)

Anything that a computer illiterate such as myself can fix? Hate the thought of taking it to a shop.....I know the laptop is an older one, but worked great when it ran and he can't afford a large repair bill or to buy a new laptop.

Thanks for any insight you can offer!

Regards,
Vicki

 

Sorry it's taken me so long to reply! (I think when you get older, time goes faster? At least it seems to for me!)

Thank you Pete, for providing that link for the error message. I did read through the section that you mentioned, but honestly, I'm beginning to think this may be way over my head! (It mentions disabling AV programs, rolling back drivers, etc., etc.) Which I can't figure out how to do when the computer won't boot even to safe mode!?

I'm guessing that much of that information provided there is designed just as described: "This article is intended for advanced users."

My son wasn't able to give me much information about what he was doing when this problem first appeared, but he hasn't installed any hardware or software since the day he acquired the laptop.

I did try to repair the installation (using method 2 from that link) , but that wouldn't even complete without getting the same error message.

I do have one other question before I decide to totally give up on my son's laptop. My mother has the exact same model (Dell Inspiron 600M) laptop. Would it be possible to swap the hard drive and see if it will boot up on her laptop? (In case the error message received has something to do with the motherboard or such not functioning properly).

I certainly don't want to attempt this if there's a possiblity of making her laptop quit working! But thought it might be worth asking so that if it is possible I could at least retain the information (pictures, documents, etc.) from my son's old laptop.

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

You can try that, if you can't get to Safe Mode and a repair won't work, NOTE: don't try the other way, putting your mother's HDD in your son's computer.

They are the same model? They can be the same series, 600M will probably be a series number. Check for the model number on the label on the underside of the laptops.

Matt

 

Unfortunately I think it's time to call it quits for that laptop. I was able to finally borrow my mother's laptop to test the hard drive, but it still came up with the same irql error message. So I'm starting to think that maybe the motherboard was damaged somewhere along the line and it has now caused damage to the hard drive?

At any rate, thanks to all for their suggestions on a possible fix. I'll keep scouring the 'net and this board should I find another similar scenerio and a possible solution. Too bad computers have to be so difficult to diagnose and repair for the average user, not to mention the costs involved....hate the waste they can create by having to replace them!

 

Windows won't start when you put the HDD from your son's laptop into your mother's (right?).

I expect you need to install Windows again. That will mean using Dell's re-imaging process and all the data will be lost, unless you back up the data on another computer (take the HDD out, connect it into a desktop computer and then locate and copy the data you want).

I wouldn't blame the motherboard at this stage, it just appears to be a bad driver, but a bad system driver, so Windows won't work.

If/when you are happy to reimage the HDD, Dell will have instructions. If you don't have the system manual, download it from the Dell website. That should tell you how.

You are researching well. Keep it up.

If you can't make headway, try going back to Dell's original Windows installation. Get any updated drivers from Dell (use their Service Tag to find the drivers for your model). Then run Windows Updates to get the lastest service pack, but maybe avoid getting any drivers from Microsoft. [Get them from Dell or turn off Automatic Updates and avoid getting Optional Updates from MS).

In other words, try starting from scratch. If it works, "update" immediately.

Matt