What are Video Drivers?
Discover the importance of installing and updating video drivers on your computer to enable enhanced display capabilities and graphics processing / editing.
Continue Reading Add comment October 20th, 2009
How to Remove Unused Device Drivers from Windows Machines
Problems with device drivers can be hard to solve. Possible conflicts, driver versions, device incompatibility, they can be quite annoying. If you want to clean up your system and prevent problems caused by unused devices, try removing the device drivers for such devices. Here is how to remove unused device drivers from Windows XP or Vista.
Continue Reading Add comment September 18th, 2009
How to Install XP drivers in Vista
Not all computer hardware has Vista drivers available and some hardware devices might not work under Vista as a result. If you can not find Vista drivers, you can try installing the Windows XP drivers for the device in Vista. In some cases the XP drivers work fine in Vista. Here is how to do it.
Continue Reading Add comment August 26th, 2009
Why Do You Need Updated Drivers?
This article explains the importance of keeping your device drivers updated on your Windows computer. It also provides basic tips on how to perform these driver updates. Updated device drivers will help maintain your system stability, security and performance.
Continue Reading Add comment July 30th, 2009
What are Motherboard Drivers?
This article describes the purpose and importance of installing motherboard drivers to enable your system board to function properly and allow all system components (e.g. CPU, Memory modules, etc.) to work effectively.
Continue Reading Add comment July 27th, 2009
What are System Drivers?
This articles provides valuable information on system drivers, device drivers integral to the operation of major system components of your computer (such as USB ports, Firewire, board chipsets, etc.). Solve Network, Bluetooth and drive problems with updated system drivers.
Continue Reading Add comment July 24th, 2009
How to Fix Zune Device Errors
When you use a digital media device, you need to be able to load your favorite music and video on it. For the Microsoft Zune device, you use the Zune 3.0 software. But if the device is not recognized by your computer, the Zune software will not do anything. Troubleshoot Zune device errors to fix them.
Continue Reading 1 comment June 30th, 2009
How to Fix Stop Error 0x000000EA in Windows XP
Troubleshooting and solving computer errors is never fun, especially if serious Windows errors occur. Stop error 0x000000EA is an example of a serious error, which leads to the Windows blue screen of death. This specific stop error is a video card related error, which can often be solved following these steps…
Continue Reading Add comment June 13th, 2009
Repair Code 28 Device Errors
All computer hardware needs device drivers to communicate with the operating system. In Windows quite a few device drivers are included with the installation. But for a lot of hardware, special device drivers are required. If drivers are corrupted or not installed properly, Windows will report a device error. One of the device errors that the Windows Device Manager can report is a code 28 error.
The error message will be “The drivers for this device are not installed. (Code 28)”.
A code 28 error means that there is no driver installed for the hardware device. Most likely Windows does not have a default driver for the device, or it would be installed. This means that a special driver from the hardware manufacturer is required. The code 28 error can occur for any type of device, USB devices, audio devices, video devices, etc. In general however the error will occur for the more exotic hardware since Windows already supports quite a few common devices by default.
To fix code 28 errors, it is required to install the drivers for the device that is causing the code 28 error. You can use the device manager to update the drivers. Select the device in error, right-click the device and in the pop-up menu select Update Driver Software. Windows will ask you for the location to install the drivers from, so make sure you download the drivers for the device from the hardware manufacturer’s website first, and select the local folder where you saved the download drivers for the update.
If you can not find the drivers for the device in error, or are not comfortable in using the Windows Device Manager, you can also use a driver update tool to find, download and update all device drivers for you. A driver update program will accurately identify your hardware, including the device in error, and automatically install the latest drivers for it. This will solve code 28 errors.
It is also recommended to have Windows configured for automatic updates. This will ensure that any new drivers that are supported by Microsoft will automatically install or get updated, so that your computer will be compatible with as many devices and hardware as possible.
12 comments June 3rd, 2009
Fix Driver Irql Not Less Or Equal Error
Device drivers are required to allow operating systems to communicate with computer hardware. In Windows XP and Vista quite a few device drivers are included with the installation. But for a lot of hardware, special device drivers are required. If drivers are corrupted or not installed properly, Windows will report a device error. One of the device errors that the Windows can report is a “Driver Irql Not Less Or Equal” error. This can result in a blue screen.
The irql less or not equal error basically indicates a problem with the system resources used by a hardware device, such as I/O address ranges, DMA, and IRQ’s. The IRQ is an interrupt request, which is used by the hardware to claim CPU time from the system. The number of IRQ’s in a PC however, is limited so sometimes different devices end up sharing an IRQ.
The Driver Irql Not Less Or Equal error can happen in Windows XP as well as in Windows Vista. The irql error can happen with the NDIS.SYS file, if the error is caused by a network or modem card, but other hardware can also be the cause of the conflict. Because of the severity of the this kernel level problem, the error results in a blue screen or stop error. Driver errors would normally be obvious because the blue screen error lists a .SYS file.
Using the .SYS filename, you can find out which device or hardware is responsible for the error. You can then disable the hardware in the Windows Device Manager to see if the device is really the cause of the error.
Running a memory test is also a good idea, as faulty memory can be the cause for many stop errors. In the Bios, disable the quick start, so the full diagnostics is run, and a memory test can be run using software.
In most cases the ‘irql not less or equal’ error can be solved by updating the drivers for the device causing the error. Also make sure you update your Windows and antivirus software, as some of these errors are not caused by hardware, but software problems. You can use the Windows device manager to uninstall any currently installed driver for the device and the reinstall the latest driver. When you reboot your PC after uninstalling the drivers, Windows will detect the new hardware, which allows you to install the latest drivers for the device.
If you do not have the drivers for the device in error, or are not comfortable in using the Windows device manager, you can also use a driver update program to find, download and update all device drivers for you. Driver update software will accurately identify your hardware, including the device in error, and automatically install the latest drivers for it. This can solve driver irql not less or equal errors.
If updating the drivers does not fix the issue, try loading the default BIOS options. This will ensure that RAM timing, FSB timing, and CPU timing are not causing the error. Further you can check the resource assignments on the devices in the Windows Device Manager to check if there is an irq conflict.
Microsoft further advices that you try to load the last known good configuration using the start menu (press F8 during boot). But you do need to make sure that the problem does not introduce itself again as a result of changes or updates. So the best way is to find the real cause of a blue screen error and fix it.
In case you are still running Windows 2000, there is another possible cause for the driver_irql_not_less_or_equal error, which is related to dismounting drive volumes. Check the Microsoft knowledge base article on this to fix it.
16 comments May 28th, 2009
