[Curley_Boy]

!MAJOR RANT WARNING!

Right ok, for as long as i can remember my PC has never worked right. It freezes, it gives me stop errors and apps fall over eachother like theres no tommrow!!

I have:

Changed *ALL* the hardware in my PC,
Tried a different BIOS revision on the motherboards that have been in the system, (and tried every damned config setup each has)
And for all the other bits n pieces Gfx cards, sound cards, modems, HDDs.. etc tried dozens of different driver revsions to no effect! (and resloting them into every concievable order on the MB i can think of)

I have installed Windows 95/98/98se/Me/NT4/2kPro/2k Ad server/MS-DOS

in total near to 300 times (no joke). In fact i formatted the HDD so many times it died.

I have tried bare boot and numerous dual boot configurations too.

Nothing i do changes anything whatsoever i still have the same problems... and its bancrupting me... no-one has a B***** clue whats going on!!

As a last desperate plea for help before the bank manager comes for my soul, or before i go on a mad killing spree (which ever comes 1st!!) I would like to know one thing..

Can anyone ANYONE decypher this stop error for me...
----------------------------------------
*** STOP: 0X0000000A (0XE1200ADC,0X00000002,0X00000000,0X804BBE4A)
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

*** Address 804BBE4A base at 80400000, DateStamp 3ad7ad60 - ntoskrnl.exe
----------------------------------------
(base at 80400000, DateStamp 3ad7ad60 - ntoskrnl.exe ARE ALWAYS THE SAME, BTW)

AND DON'T PLZ!! give me any links to anything from the MS F****** knowledge base cus i have tried everything they cud think of and its has done sweet FA.

Right rant over, im logging off and cooling off, then seeing what Apple have over at thier site, thats how desparate things have become!

[Davros]

I think you have IRQ conflicts. Do you have any old hardware installed? Is your BIOS set for PNP operating system? Try the opposite of whatever it is set at. Also, a list of all your hardware would be helpful.

[clutch]

So, what kind of hardware you got there sparky?

[OLEerror]

Well, the error means that at address 0XE1200ADC there was a read error from address 0X804BBE4A. It can be either a hardware or software problem. The most likely culprits are:

Software
Video drivers
Chipset drivers
AGP drivers
Sound drivers (though not as likely considering the address)


Hardware
AGP conflict
Nasty motherboard issue

For software, since you've been reinstalling constantly anyway, once more probably won't hurt. Try doing a clean install then install one of the hardware drivers. Run the computer through its paces to see if it blows up. If all works well, add another driver and so on, and so on... If all goes well, do the same with the applications you want to install.

For hardware, try moving your PCI cards to different slots. The first (or sometimes second, though less likely) PCI slots share an IRQ with the AGP slot. Try to avoid using them. This will also change the IRQs assigned to the cards through PnP.

Considering you have had issues with various Windows versions, I'm betting the problem is hardware. Though if you are installing an incorrect driver in each you could see the same problems.

Hope that helps.

[Sampson]

You can't really know what these Stop errors mean without a debugger to point to the location in the program of what is failing. In general, this message comes up because the HAL.dll is set as ACPI compliant and your bios is not. In particular, it may indicate something about the L2 cache on your processor. In any event, as clutch is asking, list your hardware and any software like anti-virus' running in the background. Be sure that your Bios is set to it default in case you set something before and forgot about it.

[Curley_Boy]

---:Hardware:---

System Board:

ABIT KT7E (KT-133E Chipset, VT8363E, VT82C686B) BIOS 3R, AWARD v6.00PG [USES FAIL-SAFE SETTINGS] (VIA 4in1 4.38 driver)

Processor:

AMD Socket A Thunderbird 1100MHz (100Mhz External FSB)

Memory:

2 Modules in DIMM0 and DIMM1 respectivley fastest first..

DIMM0: 128Mb (Generic) 133MHz, CAS latency 3
DIMM1: 128Mb (Hyundai) 100MHz, CAS latency 2/3

Storage:

Maxtor 5T030H3 30GB HDD ATA-133, 7200rpm (Operates at ATA-100), Primary Master

Partions: {NTFS 5.0} 27.9Gb [C:\ (BOOT)]

Maxtor 52046H4 20Gb HDD ATA-100, 7200rpm, Primary Slave

Partitions: None as yet

Toshiba DVD-ROM Drive SD-R1002 (Updated Firmware) 24x4x4 Secondary Master

Addin Cards:

AGP: ABIT Siluro 3 Ti 200 (AGPx4, BIOS 3.20.00.18, 64MB DDR RAM) Nvidia Detonator 28.32

PCI 3: Diamond SupraExpress 56i PRO V CC (Diamond 2.1.2.164.010c driver)

PCI 4: Creative Sound Blaster PCI 128 (CT 4700, using default driver)

PCI 5: Realtek RTL8029(AS)-based PCI Ethernet Adapter (using default driver)

COM, PRINTER & INFRA-RED PORTS disabled in BIOS

Display:

Relisys 770B Monitor (Default driver)

Input Devices:

PS/2 Keyboard
PS/2 Microsoft Intellimouse (Uses default driver)

---:OS:---

Windows 2000 Professional SP2 (ACPI Disabled)

Could anyone give me a good step by step testing stratiegy?

Thinking about it, its more likley an issue with Windows 2000 and a piece(s) of my Hardware as the 9x/NT4/Me varients didn't have alot of the problems im experiencing.

[Curley_Boy]

Been having a thought about what sampson said too.

Apperently BIOS 3R on the KT7E, has ACPI enable by default (there is no option to turn it off).

I have always prompted windows setup to disable ACPI support becuase i know for a fact that bits of my hw don't support it (SB PCI 128 for example). Could this be the source of my stop error? As metioned before the DateStamp, base address and ntoskrnl.exe are *always* referred to, and it's always a read error.

This happens about once every few weeks or so

Also 9x/Me/NT4 support ACPI either differently or not at all, could this also explain the absence of such errors on these systems...?

As an addtion to my post on my hardware, the processor runs at an average temp of 50'c. (it used to be 35'c before i upgraded my processor from a 750MHz model) The internal case temp is average 23'c (open) and 28'c (closed). I also have a 300W PSU, is that enough for all the hw I have? I know that Athlons can be very picky about thier PSUs.

[DosFreak]

NT4 has NO ACPI support and APM support in this OS is not as fully implemented as in 9x OS's.

98+ 9x Operating systems do support ACPI but do not have as much as an implementation throughtout the os as 2K/XP.

[Uykucu]

Is your wall power jack properly grounded? I know it sounds stupid but trust me. It might be a grounded jack but open it and see if there are 3 or 2 wires inside the socket/connected. HDD's very seldomly die of formatting snce formatting is pretty much the same as read/write, hence they are designed to do this. Have you seen a car that brokes down when driven?

Another suspicious pece of hardware is your memory. Do you have access to some spare Dimm's? have you tryed taking out one of the modules and then the other respectively (Obviously you need some to run the machine.)

I don't think heat is an issue in your case. Athlon's are pretty hot anyway but still somewhat reliable under 60-65 degrees.

Also another solution/troubleshooting would be to take out your modem and NIC. and see what happens. Nic is my first suspect as troublemaker since you state it as based so it no-name. You have probably picked it up for about a fiver or so. LQ Hardware makes you nervous.

Well if we can't find any solutions after all there is always Dos and Windows 3.1

[Curley_Boy]

How is a IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL error to do with RAM?

I have tried replacing the RAM with all sorts of different quantities and speeds... the error is still the same (and i've had 2 different motherboards remember, chipset & manufacturer).

I'm posting on viahardware also to see if anyone can find a way of turning of ACPI in the BIOS, and then I'll try removing the NIC (as that is the only peice of hardware thats been installed in the machine throughout).

I'll keep you updated

[Uykucu]

Since your problem is hardware related i just listed the standard issues. It might not make any sense but general troubleshooting is this. Also it is my mistake since i forgot you have tried different MB's.

But Nic you should try. also try the modem. Communication devices can be tricky or pain in the a**.

[Curley_Boy]

On the subject of communications devices, The modems I have had in this machine have given me no end of grief..

I had a Diamond SupraExpress 56i V PRO and it kept giving my a stop 0xA error with the drivers supplied by Diamond. (The default 2k ones wouldn't even let the modem dial).

I now have a Diamond SupraExpress 56i PRO V CC (Using the diamond drivers). Im wondering if the stop error is related... trouble is i don't have another modem that 2k recognises to test it with!

[Uykucu]

What about removing it totally and getting a cheap apache or something just for the sake of testing. you can pick one up as low as about USD$15.
Give it a try.

[Shakti]

are not alone. After having the same problem like you for an endless period of time i sold my abit vp6 with VIA chipset and went for an gigabyte with intel chipset. no more problems, running ME, W2K and XP rockstable. in my humble opinion its at least for me never ever VIA...

also i found that the message on the bluescreen need not necessary have anything to do with the cause of the error, for the vp6 board it had only to do with RAM on too optimistic timings.

[DosFreak]

VIA is fine once you've got it configured correctly. Once had the crackling problem on an MPV3 chipset. Never again after that through 5+ VIA owned chipsets by I have I had any other probs...except of course the VIA Busmaster drivers...but those have been pretty good for the Athlon based mobo chipsets.

IMHO, Intel chipsets just seem to work more often out of the box than Via chipsets. With that being said I always use Via chipsets since I upgrade so often which is why VIA will most likely remain my chipset of choice for some time to come.


The error he posted DOES occur with bad memory or incorrect memory settings. I've seen it.

[Catdog02]

Take a logical approach.

Start with the minimum hardware - board, one stick of RAM - got onboard graphics? use that, got onboard sound? disable it. Put one drive in, put the DVD ROM in. Thats all, leave anything not necessary out.

Remember that Win2k HATES, Fuxx0red HDD's and RAM, I'm picking the RAM is the problem here, get rid of your 128's and buy a 256, RAM costs practically nothing anyway. Start building as needed. Install works fine? add a new component... - one at a time...

Install fails? with bare minimum and new RAM, try again with the second disk you have.

Works? throw out the old HD

Fails, Throw out the board, its useless.

Buy yourself an anti static strap.

[Curley_Boy]

Thanks for all your replies I now have a rock solid system

(I narrowed down the problem to over enthuiastic memory timings in the BIOS)

[DosFreak]

[humble]I am so good...I just can't stand it anymore. [/humble]

[Brian Frank]

LOL! Yes, your humbleness just radiates from you, Dos.