Blue Screen of Death after new hardware install

I have an ASUS A8N-E motherboard that is a socket 939. It ran fine with an Athlon64-3200 and a GeForce6800GT. I mention them specifically because today, I installed an Opteron 170 dual core CPU, and a GeForce 7900GS card. I left the NVIDIA drivers completely alone, at first, and the only software I added was an AMD dual core optimizer-which supposedly helps with 3D games. I thought all was well, when I left the computer. I have a Dell keyboard, and it puts the computer into standby with a 1/4 moon shaped logo key on the keyboard. I can then hit the return key, and wake the computer up. I was gone for a couple of hours, and when I returned, after trying to wake the computer up, I was greeted with the blue screen.
It reads: A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.
DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
If this is the first time you see this stop error screen-restart. If it appears again, follow these steps: (Basically check to see proper hardware installation, call the manufacturer for updated drivers. If it continues, disable or remove new hardware and software. Disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing. Use safe mode if necessary)
Then it continues:
TECH INFO:
***STOP: 0x000000D1(0X00000081,0X00000002,0X00000000,0X86390888)
Beginning dump of physical memory.

Thus far, I've only uninstalled the NVIDIA display drivers. This board has an Nforce4 chipset, so when you go to add/remove in the control panel, and you click on NVIDIA DRIVERS to change or remove them, you get an array of choices-there are audio, network, and some other, I forget for now, in addition to display drivers. I only checked the display driver, and removed it(them). Since the drivers installed are the latest that NVIDIA has to offer, I found my way to the folder where they were installed, and clicked on the setup.exe file. It seems to have installed ok. I haven't tried to find the AMD dual core optimizer software yet. I might mention that so far, the blue screen only comes up when you wake the computer from standby. If I shut it down completely, it boots up ok, and seem to behave as expected.
Any ideas? Thanks.

PS, I hope that I am in the correct section of the BBS with this problem.

 

skaler 2K

I'm not the stop error debug type, but a quick search of your specific error comes up with the following:
The most typical cause is a bad device driver (one that uses improper addresses). It can also be caused by faulty or mismatched RAM, or a damaged pagefile.
As far as next steps, you can post a complete memory dump file and someone will be along to provide you with some assistance, although I can't tell you just how soon that will happen.

Now, from a hands-on hardware guy's perspective here's my take. If you didn't clear CMOS and reset your BIOS when you swapped out that processor, do so now. If this procedure is unfamiliar to you, post back and I'll provide further guidance. I'd also recommend killing hibernation on your machine if its currently enabled. Run without for a few days and see if that doesn't clear things up. You can also try relaxing your memory settings a bit but I'd first like to know the specifics of your installed memory and the timings you are currently running.

Sorry I can't be of more help at this point in time but I'll keep my eye on this thread and I'm sure others will have some suggestions to offer.

 

Rockster,

I'm not trying to hijack this thread, but... I've got a new AMDx2 enroute and hoped to install it this weekend. I was curious to your statement of 'clearing the CMOS' and resetting the BIOS. I built this pc about a year ago and this is my first CPU upgrade. I also have an ASUS mobo (A8N-SLI premium). I guess I was thinking the BIOS would automatically recognize the new CPU, is this not true? If I reset the BIOS, does that mean I have to go back and re-configure everything (boot order, power settings, etc)? Anything else I need to be aware of?

B

 

MrB:

First off - nice board - thats what I'm running an FX57 on. As to my comment re: clearing CMOS. Most board manufacturers will advise this when switching CPU's and I think its origin is one of those better safe than sorry scenarios. Yes, the board should pick up the hardware code and reset accordingly, however, reality suggests that this is not always the case. I became a real strong believer thanks to a finicky socket A DFI board. I kept changing processors to find the best O/C from three different steppings of virtually identical CPU's. I didn't have much choice because I was having trouble booting. Later, as I upgraded processors and tried a few different things, I noticed that it made a huge difference re: stability. No CMOS clear and BIOS reset - big problems, even if I could get it to boot. CMOS clear and BIOS reset - problem free. Since then, I've done this on any board whenever I've changed CPU's. That's the reason for my comment and earlier suggestion.

As to resetting your BIOS - well you know what happens when one clears CMOS. Its just part of the drill - no way around that.

Regards & Good Luck

 

Rockster,

Thanks for the info. I will definitely follow your suggestions. If I have any problems... you'll find me whimpering in the Hardware forum.
I wanted to get an AMD64x2 when I built this box, but the cost was prohibitive at the time. Now this CPU (x2 4800+) costs less than the single core 4000+ that I purchased originally. Thanks again.

B

 

Just my 2¢ - but these are some very significant hardware changes, Did you do anything to the Windows installation prior to making the changes? It's been my experience that Windows will "freak out" over unexpected major hardware changes. And I've had to use a repair install to fix them in the past.

I'm unsure of the contribution that this may (or may not) make to the BSOD's - so I'll leave that to the experts.

 

Rockster,

Just needed to thank you for your info on 'clearing the CMOS' after a CPU upgrade. Being the 'chucklehead' that I am... I changed the CPU without clearing the CMOS and resetting the BIOS. Windows booted right up, recognized my new CPU, everything looked fine. Then the BSODs started. My video card started crashing, things were missing from the taskbar, just general nonsense on a computer that has been 'rock solid' for the past year.
I went back into the case, removed the battery, reset the CMOS (using the jumper), on boot went in and reset my preferences in the BIOS and now everything's fine!!

moral: The excellent information that you find on WindowBBS, only works when you follow it. Thanks again.

B

 

Hi to all responders. I finally found the time to tackle this problem, but only insofar as to reset the RTC by pulling the battery, moving the jumper for 15 seconds or so, putting it back, replacing the battery, and rebooting. I then entered BIOS and set the few items that were not default. No change. The blue screen is still there.
The stop codes are the same as before, except for the fifth one. I wrote it down, but now see that I copied it incorrectly, so I won't publish it. Oh well.
My problem is not very severe in that this blue screen only appears after I wake the computer from standby by pressing a key on the keyboard. Thus far, knock on wood, it has never appeared after a cold boot. However, it has never failed to appear after awakening the computer with a keystroke. As far as I can tell,the computer behaves perfectly while it is on.
Prior to my clearing the CMOS, the stop codes were always the exact ones that you see in my first post. Now, only the fifth one is different.