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#1
"IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL" when trying to re-install Win10 Pro x86
I have a Travelmate 3004 (Pentium M760, 2GB RAM, 160GB HDD) notebook which had Win10 Pro x86 (original release) that I wanted to update to v.1903.
I first tried an in-place upgrade using the .ISO downloaded for Microsoft, clicking on setup.exe. I've tried so many things since then that I can't remember the error message, but it wouldn't install. (It was not the "IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL BSOD," that much I remember.)
Then I decided to update via booting to a Win10 x86 USB thumb drive, formatted with Rufus from the downloaded .ISO file. That's when I first got the "IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL" BSOD. So, I re-downloaded the .ISO thinking maybe it was corrupted, and Rufus'd it onto the USB drive. Still got the BSOD.
I then removed the hard drive, put it in a 2.5" USB adapter, connected it to my main computer and deleted the partition with Windows. (In retrospect, I could/should/might have tried other options before doing that, but...) Still got the BSOD.
Thinking maybe the RAM was giving errors, I ran Memtest86. Cleared all tests with no errors.
Tried:
- three different USB ports
- different USB thumb drives
- AC power (with and without battery)
- battery power (charging and unplugged form AC)
- different hard drive
- no hard drive
- reset BIOS to default settings
... still get BSOD.
Any ideas? The computer, though elderly and a bit underpowered for today's world, is Win10 compatible. It booted up just fine (until I wiped the C: partition) and passed the hardware check from Windows 10 Update Assistant.
FWIW, using Rufus and one of the same USB drives I tried above, I burnt an ISO image of Ubuntu and was able to boot it. So, my Acer is able to boot from a USB without issues. It's something unique to Win10?