Very frequent BSOD possibly due to sound driver / card - Windows 10 x64

[Waxew]

So.. I just had an other BSOD : DRIVER IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL // module : [FONT=Segoe UI, Arial]ntoskrnl.exe (said by Whocrashed)

What is it? Is it linked ?[/FONT]

 

[Xer]

NTOSKrnl is a very generic, default response for BSoDs, so it's hard to say with certainty; just knowing that the dump file listed it as the "probable cause" isn't very helpful on its own. You can upload the minidump from that crash here, but typically minidumps have little-to-no useful info when ntoskrnl is blamed. If you're just getting ntoskrnl-blaming dumps, it would be best that you run Verifier (24 hours minimum) in order to help us see what the faulting driver is. You could then either zip and upload the minidumps here, or re-run the collection app.

 

[Waxew]

I ran a verifier for 48h last week, i had no BSOD for those 2 days. I ended the process with "verifier /reset". Does it output anything ?

 

[Xer]

Verifier is used to (hopefully) produce dump files that blame the actual faulting driver. It's generally more about what it produces if your PC crashes with it on, rather than what it suggests if your PC didn't crash. In the latter scenario, there isn't anything new for us to analyze. When you ran Verifier last week, which version of the audio drivers did you have installed, if any? Because your environment has changed since last week, even with just a re-install of the official drivers, re-running Verifier could still be useful.

Here's a better explanation and some relevant info from carrona.org that mostly applies here:

There are 2 possible results from Driver Verifier:
- no BSOD crash
- a BSOD crash

All you can attribute to the absence of a crash is that nothing "tripped" Driver Verifier.
This tells us that the 3rd party drivers aren't likely to be the problem.

If you get a BSOD crash, you may or may not get a memory dump.
So it's important to read all the info on the BSOD screen

If you don't have a memory dump, then it's gonna be very difficult without a driver name from the BSOD itself
If you do have a memory dump, then it may be a bit easier

You'll either have a memory dump that's Verifier Enabled, or one that's not.
If it's not Verifier Enabled - then it's something that has to be fixed before we can re-run Driver Verifier

If it's Verifier Enabled - it'll either point to a 3rd party driver, or not
If it's a 3rd party driver - remove it or fix it (it may be corrupted)
If it's not - then we've got more work to do (you told it to verify 3rd party drivers - but there's wasn't an issue with one).
This is similar to the dump files that aren't Verifier Enabled

Most often it's a hardware problem - but it can also be a compatibility issue or a Windows problem.
(remember the hardware rule - a lot of different BSOD's with a lot of different errors and causes are usually hardware/compatibility problems)

 

[Waxew]

I had the audio driver installed when i ran the verifier. I don't anymore. I'll run it again at least 24h (24h with pc switched on i presume ?) and i'll keep you updated.

Thanks !

 

[Xer]

I had the audio driver installed when i ran the verifier. I don't anymore. I'll run it again at least 24h (24h with pc switched on i presume ?) and i'll keep you updated.

Thanks !

Yup, 24+ while using the PC as you normally would (plus PC turned on the whole time). Admittedly, I'm surprised to see another crash without the driver installed. Did you disable your sound card and revert to integrated audio, or did you only uninstall the driver?

 

[Waxew]

Uninstalling the drivers seems to be enough because i can't find the card in the peripheral device pannel (see screenshot). I'm currently using the integrated sound card. The Asus Xonar DX card doesn't seems to be functionnal without driver (no sound when i plug something on it).

Gyazo - a4cd9c6dc5daf975c896b84f6a2b85df.pn

 

[Xer]

I assume the entry under les "Autres périphériques" > "Contrôleur audio multimédia" is the sound card. It's not likely to be recognized properly without the drivers installed, but your computer should still see the device. I'm not familiar with the French Windows menus by memory, but the process would be: right-click on that device, and select Disable (peut-être désactiver?). The yellow triangle is likely there to indicate that Windows has stopped the device, but if not, it would be worth disabling for the time being. You can find out its state by right-clicking on the device, going to properties, and under the General tab will be "Device status".

 

[Waxew]

The asus soundcard isn't visible in this pannel without the driver installed. I did the verifier as asked, but nothing happened...