Getting BSOD while playing games sometimes.

Question

Hello Microsoft,

I have been getting BSOD on my laptop while gaming sometimes. The BSOD does not occur frequently but it happens randomly.

Here is my mini dump:

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Dump File : 031926-11515-01.dmp

Crash Time : 19-03-2026 18:04:13

Bug Check String : IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Bug Check Code : 0x0000000a

Parameter 1 : ffffb8fe`8aa09e30

Parameter 2 : 00000000`00000002

Parameter 3 : 00000000`00000000

Parameter 4 : fffff805`ecce2e28

Caused By Driver : ntoskrnl.exe

Caused By Address : ntoskrnl.exe+4fb990

File Description :

Product Name :

Company :

File Version :

Processor : x64

Crash Address : ntoskrnl.exe+4fb990

Stack Address 1 :

Stack Address 2 :

Stack Address 3 :

Computer Name :

Full Path : C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\031926-11515-01.dmp

Processors Count : 12

Major Version : 15

Minor Version : 26100

Dump File Size : 5,002,502

Dump File Time : 19-03-2026 18:04:37

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Answer 1

Please upload any minidump files you have, I will check those to see if they provide any insight into a potential cause of the system crashes.

Please do not upload a very large Memory.dmp file.

Open Windows File Explorer.

Navigate to C:\Windows\Minidump

Copy any minidump files onto your Desktop, then zip those up.

Upload the zip file to the Cloud (OneDrive... etc.), then choose to share those and get a share link.

Then post the link here to the zip file, so I can take a look for you.

Answer 2

The IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL (bug check 0x0000000A) indicates that Windows or a kernel‑mode driver accessed invalid paged memory at a raised IRQL. The minidump summary pointing to ntoskrnl.exe is typical, but it usually means a third‑party driver or hardware problem is the underlying cause.

Use the following approach to narrow it down:

1. Configure and collect dump files

• Ensure small memory dumps are enabled so each crash is captured:
  • Open System properties → Advanced → Startup and Recovery → Settings.
  • Under “Write debugging information”, select Small memory dump (256 KB).
  • Confirm the dump folder is %SystemRoot%\Minidump.
• A small memory dump contains the stop code, parameters, loaded drivers list, and the kernel‑mode call stack, which are needed for deeper analysis.

2. Analyze the dump with WinDbg

• Install the Windows debugging tools and open the latest .dmp file.
• Run !analyze -v to get detailed information about the bug check and the likely offending driver.
• Use a stack backtrace command (for example, k variants) to see which driver was executing when the crash occurred.

3. Check for problematic drivers

• Examine the driver name, if any, reported by !analyze -v or shown on the blue screen.
• In Event Viewer → Windows Logs → System, look for critical errors around the crash time that reference specific drivers or devices.
• Pay particular attention to:
  • GPU drivers (common when gaming).
  • Storage, network, or other third‑party kernel drivers.

4. Use Driver Verifier (advanced)

• Run verifier from an elevated command prompt to start Driver Verifier Manager.
• Configure it to verify non‑Microsoft drivers only, and as small a set as possible (for example, suspected GPU, storage, or network drivers).
• Reproduce the issue; if a misbehaving driver is present, Driver Verifier can force a more informative crash that clearly identifies it.
• When finished, disable Driver Verifier to avoid unnecessary overhead.

5. General remediation steps

• Update or reinstall any driver identified in the analysis (especially graphics drivers used during gaming).
• If no single driver is obvious, update:
  • GPU driver from the vendor.
  • Chipset, storage, and network drivers from the system or motherboard manufacturer.
• If crashes persist after driver updates, consider hardware checks (RAM, GPU, storage) since bad pointers and pageability problems can also be caused by faulty hardware.

If more minidumps are available, analyzing several of them can reveal a pattern (same driver or stack location), which helps confirm the root cause.

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References:

• Bug check 0xA: IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
• .dump (Create Dump File)
• How to read the small memory dump file that is created by Windows if a crash occurs
• Overview of memory dump file options for Windows