Troubleshooting - NT BSOD 0x0000000a - IRQL_NOT_LESS_THAN_OR

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Blue Screen Crash with stop code: 0x0000000a - IRQL_NOT_LESS_THAN_OR_EQUAL

Applies to

Data General Aviion 2700 model (Intel)
Adaptec 3944 SCSI differential adapter card.

Problem

Windows NT4 (Service Pack 3) BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) Blue Screen crash - crashes regularly; SCSI problems as well.

The stop code is:

stop: 0x0000000A (0x00000004, 0x00000005, 0x00000000, 0x801E2D2A)

IRQL_NOT_LESS_THAN_OR_EQUAL

** Address 0x801E2D2A has base at 801DB000 - aic78xx.sys

Causes

STOP 0x0000000A indicates a kernel mode process or driver attempted to access a memory address that it did not have permission to access. The most common cause of this error is a bad or corrupt pointer that references an incorrect location in memory. A pointer is a variable used by a program to refer to a block of memory. If the variable has a bad value in it, then the program tries to access memory that it should not. When this occurs in a user mode application, it generates an access violation. When it occurs in kernel mode, it generates a STOP 0x0000000A message.

To determine what process or driver tried to access memory it should not, look at the parameters displayed on the STOP screen information. For example, in the following STOP message:

stop: 0x0000000A (0xWWWWWWWW, 0xXXXXXXXX, 0xYYYYYYYY, 0xZZZZZZZZ)

IRQL_NOT_LESS_THAN_OR_EQUAL

** Address 0xZZZZZZZZ has base at <address> - <driver>

The four parameters inside the parenthesis have the following meaning:

0xWWWWWWWW Address that was referenced improperly

0xXXXXXXXX IRQL that was required to access the memory.

0xYYYYYYYY Type of access, 0=Read, 1=Write

0xZZZZZZZZ Address of instruction which attempted to reference the memory at 0xWWWWWWWW.

If the last parameter (0xZZZZZZZZ) falls within the address range of one of the device drivers loaded on the system, you will know which device driver was running when the memory access occurred. This driver is often identified in the third line of the STOP screen:

** Address 0xZZZZZZZZ has base at <address> - <driver name>

If <driver name> is a specific driver, then this is the driver that is most likely causing the blue screen problem.

Solutions

Re-apply Windows NT Service Pack 3 (Intel) - this should replace the aic78xx.sys driver for the Adaptec card.
If this doesn't work, you may need to replace the Adaptec 3944 SCSI card.

One of the more frequent trap codes generated by Windows NT is STOP 0x0000000A. This STOP message can be caused by both hardware and software problems. To determine the specific cause, you must debug the STOP. If replacing the software driver does not work, try replacing the hardware to resolve the issue. If further problems persist, or if you have any further questions, please contact the Creo Response Center.

Contact	Mark Werner (2871)
Submitted by	Mark Werner (2871)
Date	January 28, 1999