[Evil Gatsby]

OS -Windows 7
· x86 (32-bit) or x64 ?
· What was original installed OS on system? Yes
· Is the OS an OEM version (came pre-installed on system) or full retail version (YOU purchased it from retailer)? I got it for free from the university, so full retail version
· Age of system (hardware)- about a year
· Age of OS installation - have you re-installed the OS? - About a year as well. I have not re-installed the OS

· CPU - i5-3570k
· Video Card- Nvidia GTX 660 (EVGA)
· MotherBoard- Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. Z77X-D3H
· Power Supply - Antec EarthWatts EA-650 GREEN 650W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

· System Manufacturer - Custom Built
· Exact model number (if laptop, check label on bottom)- N/A

Some Notes- I've tried checking the Manufacturers website for a more recent version of the LAN driver, but the newest one is from Octoberish 2012

I've also run memtest+ for more than 10 hours, without any errors.

 

[Patrick]

Re: BSOD - IRQL NOT LESS EQUAL - NETIO.SYS

Hi,

The attached DMP files are of the DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL (d1) bugcheck and are all faulting NETIO.sys which is the Network I/O Subsystem Windows system driver. It's not the true cause and something else is causing it to fault (either 3rd party device driver or hardware).

Enable Driver Verifier and let's see if we can catch any device driver conflicts:

Driver Verifier:

What is Driver Verifier?
Driver Verifier is included in Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 to promote stability and reliability; you can use this tool to troubleshoot driver issues. Windows kernel-mode components can cause system corruption or system failures as a result of an improperly written driver, such as an earlier version of a Windows Driver Model (WDM) driver.
Essentially, if there's a 3rd party driver believed to be at issue, enabling Driver Verifier will help flush out the rogue driver by flagging it and causing your system to BSOD.
Before enabling Driver Verifier, it is recommended to create a System Restore Point:
Vista - START | type rstrui - create a restore point
Windows 7 - START | type create | select "Create a Restore Point"
How to enable Driver Verifier:
Start > type "verifier" without the quotes > Select the following options -
1. Select - "Create custom settings (for code developers)"
2. Select - "Select individual settings from a full list"
3. Check the following boxes -
- Special Pool
- Pool Tracking
- Force IRQL Checking
- Deadlock Detection
- Security Checks (Windows 7)
- Concurrentcy Stress Test (Windows 8)
- DDI compliance checking (Windows 8)
- Miscellaneous Checks
4. Select - "Select driver names from a list"
5. Click on the "Provider" tab. This will sort all of the drivers by the provider.
6. Check EVERY box that is NOT provided by Microsoft / Microsoft Corporation.
7. Click on Finish.
8. Restart.
Important information regarding Driver Verifier:
- If Driver Verifier finds a violation, the system will BSOD.
- After enabling Driver Verifier and restarting the system, depending on the culprit, if for example the driver is on start-up, you may not be able to get back into normal Windows because Driver Verifier will flag it, and as stated above, that will cause / force a BSOD.
If this happens, do not panic, do the following:
- Boot into Safe Mode by repeatedly tapping the F8 key during boot-up.
- Once in Safe Mode - Start > type "system restore" without the quotes.
- Choose the restore point you created earlier.
If you did not set up a restore point, do not worry, you can still disable Driver Verifier to get back into normal Windows:
- Start > Search > type "cmd" without the quotes.
- To turn off Driver Verifier, type in cmd "verifier /reset" without the quotes.
- Restart and boot into normal Windows.
How long should I keep Driver Verifier enabled for?
It varies, many experts and analysts have different recommendations. Personally, I recommend keeping it enabled for at least 36-48 hours. If you don't BSOD by then, disable Driver Verifier.
My system BSOD'd, where can I find the crash dumps?
They will be located in C:\Windows\Minidump
Any other questions can most likely be answered by this article:
Using Driver Verifier to identify issues with Windows drivers for advanced users

Regards,

Patrick

 

[Evil Gatsby]

Re: BSOD - IRQL NOT LESS EQUAL - NETIO.SYS

My computer crashed a few times. I'm not sure which minidumps you've already looked at, so I included the 3 more recent ones.

 

[Patrick]

Re: BSOD - IRQL NOT LESS EQUAL - NETIO.SYS

Hi,

The verifier enabled DMP files are successfully flagging a driver which is L1C62x64.sys which is the Atheros NIC driver.

ATHEROS drivers for Microsoft Windows (Atheros?????)

Ensure it is up to date.

Regards,

Patrick

 

[Evil Gatsby]

Re: BSOD - IRQL NOT LESS EQUAL - NETIO.SYS

That's the thing though. I can't seem to find the driver specific to my Atheros LAN card.

I am using the QualComm Atheros AR8161/8165 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (NDIS 6.2) #2.

The highest version network driver on that page is AR8158.

Would this page work?
ATHEROS PCI VENDOR for Giga-byte Technology (Gigabyte)

 

[Patrick]

Re: BSOD - IRQL NOT LESS EQUAL - NETIO.SYS

Hi,

Yes, that page should work just fine if you can grab the download from there.

Regards,

Patrick

 

[Evil Gatsby]

Re: BSOD - IRQL NOT LESS EQUAL - NETIO.SYS

My driver doesn't seem to be on that page. I can't seem to find a version that's more recent than the one i'm currently using, version 2.1.0.7.

Should I just try and use AR8158 and hope for the best? I'm really unsure what I can do to fix this BSOD at this point.

 

[Patrick]

Re: BSOD - IRQL NOT LESS EQUAL - NETIO.SYS

No, that's not a driver for your model so don't attempt to use it.

You mentioned there's an October 2012 version. Have you tried it just for troubleshooting purposes?

Regards,

Patrick

 

[Evil Gatsby]

Re: BSOD - IRQL NOT LESS EQUAL - NETIO.SYS

The most recent one is from july 2012. I've tried some earlier version from a dell website, but that only seem to make the crashing even more frequent.

 

[Patrick]

Re: BSOD - IRQL NOT LESS EQUAL - NETIO.SYS

Okay, well, at this point then it's likely that the NIC itself is faulty. Is it an adapter or are you using the built-in NIC?

Regards,

Patrick

 

[Evil Gatsby]

Re: BSOD - IRQL NOT LESS EQUAL - NETIO.SYS

I'm using the built-in NIC that came with the motherboard.

 

[Patrick]

Re: BSOD - IRQL NOT LESS EQUAL - NETIO.SYS

Do you have access to a network adapter to use for testing purposes to rule out a faulty NIC? That is my best recommendation at this point.

Regards,

Patrick

 

[Evil Gatsby]

Re: BSOD - IRQL NOT LESS EQUAL - NETIO.SYS

Unfortunately, I don't have one on hand to test to rule out a faulty NIC. I suppose I should start looking for a compatible network adapter at this point.

 

[Evil Gatsby]

Re: BSOD - IRQL NOT LESS EQUAL - NETIO.SYS

Something from this list then? Choose A Wired Network Adapter - PCPartPicker

 

[Patrick]

Re: BSOD - IRQL NOT LESS EQUAL - NETIO.SYS

Hi,

Yes, just be sure it's NOT USB and either PCI or PCI-e. When you install it, if you no longer crash when connected to the new adapter, it's the built-in NIC that is faulty.

Regards,

Patrick

 

[Evil Gatsby]

Re: BSOD - IRQL NOT LESS EQUAL - NETIO.SYS

Should I bump this thread or start a new one once the new NIC card comes in?

 

[Patrick]

Re: BSOD - IRQL NOT LESS EQUAL - NETIO.SYS

Bumping the thread will work just fine as I have all threads I reply to subscribed. So when you reply, it will notify me.

Regards,

Patrick

 

[Wrench97]

Re: BSOD - IRQL NOT LESS EQUAL - NETIO.SYS

If I may but in here

Did you install NetWorx before or after the BSOD's started?
(this is the 3rd thread I've seen with Atheros nic, NetWorx and a BSOD problem)

Also there is Logmein driver from 2007 on the system
lmimirr.sys Tue Apr 10 18:32:45 2007
RemotelyAnywhere Mirror Miniport Driver or LogMeIn Mirror Miniport Driver
Check for a update here> https://secure.logmein.com/US/home.aspx or uninstall the program while testing.

This is the latest 8161 driver I have a link for> Driver Details | Dell US

 

[Patrick]

Re: BSOD - IRQL NOT LESS EQUAL - NETIO.SYS

By all means, Bruce. Two eyes are much better than one.

...or in this case, four :grin:

 

[Evil Gatsby]

Re: BSOD - IRQL NOT LESS EQUAL - NETIO.SYS

I've had NetWorx installed for the longest time. I believed these BSOD did start before I installed NetWorx, though I shall leave it off for troubleshooting purposes.


I shall uninstall Logmein until I have resolved this issue.

The dell driver you linked is about a year behind the driver I got from this website:
GIGABYTE - Motherboard - Socket 1155 - GA-Z77X-D3H (rev. 1.1)

Though strangely I only seem to get BSOD when I'm torrenting with utorrent open. Though I've read that most of the time the issue is with my RAM or HD. I shall leave memtest on for 24 hours and run a smart test on my HD. ( How do I run a smart test?)