Solved "Driver_irql_not_less_or_equal caused by ndis.sys" even after fresh install of Windows 10

[Rustys]

Have we tried:
Resetting the network through windows? Command Prompt?
Deleted the NIC reference under Networking in Device Manager
Roll back the driver
Roll back the system to a date prior when it was working
Create a new user account on the system and log ingo that account and see if the issue replicates.

 

[Lustro]

Thanks for the response.

1) No, I have not! When I fresh installed Windows 10, I plugged in the Lan cable and that was it. Should I try that reset?
2) I'm sorry but I really don't know what that is or how to do that, could you explain?
3) I don't think I can do that, the screenshot in post #12 shows the "Ripristina Driver", which should translate to "Restore Driver", button greyed out and I think that's the one needed to roll back the driver
4) About that...the system works, but "once in a while" this blue screen appears, to me it seems random or at least I don't know how to replicate it, so I wouldn't know to which date I should roll back the system. When I recently had a bsod, some days later, on 5/12 I did a fresh install of Windows, then it represented on 8/12, and until now it hasn't occured again yet (I've avoided doing some things on this computer, don't know if it's related)
5) I have never had more than an account on this computer, I guess I can try that but I really wouldn't know how to replicate the issue. When I've done the fresh install of windows after the first BSOD I have created a new user from scratch, would that count?

Do you think in the meantime I should try the .21 version of drivers? The one from Gigabyte which are not for windows 10, but that I can at least install.

Just to give a really brief summary: wiith today, this is a bsod that has presented itself once, then once more after a fresh install of windows a few days later, but since then 10 days have passed and not once I've had it; I can't replicate the issue, it seems random but it also seems like "it's there waiting"

 

[Lustro]

I'm sorry for the double reply, but I've just had an epiphany on something I think I should ask. Please refer to post #17: there you can see how the extracted files from the .cab all end with "x86"; I've noticed the files from my current driver all end up with "x64". I'm not really knowledgeable on this kind of thing but I think they're the difference between windows 32 bit and windows 64 bit version: so could the fact that I was trying to install "x86" drivers on my system, which runs windows 10 64 bit, be the reason why I couldn't install them and ran up on all those errors? And if so, do you know if there is a way to install the 64 bit versions of these drivers from the link Rustys provided? I hope this can be helpful, thanks as always for reading

 

[Rustys]

Just to give a really brief summary: wiith today, this is a bsod that has presented itself once, then once more after a fresh install of windows a few days later, but since then 10 days have passed and not once I've had it; I can't replicate the issue, it seems random but it also seems like "it's there waiting"

It may never happen again it could of been a fluke and or the system self fixed it with a update or patch. I also have another tech looking at this to see if there is something that may have been missed.

Here is the information that you were asking about just so you have it.

Create a second user accout if you have not already and see if the gives you the same error.

Manage user accounts in Windows - Microsoft Support

Learn how to add user accounts in Windows 10 and Windows 11. With an account, each person has separate files, browser favorites, and a private desktop.

support.microsoft.com

Reset network via windows.

Make sure that you do not have any programs open since the sytem will be rebooting.

Go into Setting
Select Network and Internet
Make sure you are under Status in the left
On the Right scroll down and select Network Reset
Read the information and then select Reset Now
Select Yes for the network to be reset and the system to reboot.
The rest before the system reboots may take a few minutes

 

[PeterOz]

Hi Lustro
Please go here https://www.ath-drivers.eu/download-driver-nr-341-for-atheros-AR8161-and-Windows10.html
and download the driver

driver v2.1.0.27 for AR8161 and Windows 10​

Extract the file to a folder you can find.
Go to device manager and right click on the network adapters
Right click on the Qualcomm Atheros AR8161 PCI-E gigabit Erthernet Controller (NDIS6.30) and click on remove device and select remove drivers on the popup
When it is uninstalled either press F5 or at the top of the Device manager press scan for hardware change.
When it ask for a driver point to the folder where you extracted the downloaded files.
TEST
PS
I downloaded that file and it scanned free from virus

 

[Lustro]

Hi PeterOz, thank you both very much for your answers.

The download from the website you provided actually included x64 files, and in the end that worked, thank you very much!! But I've had the following "problem": if I uninstall the AR8161 device and click on "scan for hard hardware changes", it appears for a second in the list of unknown devices, but a second later it automatically appears among the ethernet drivers with the 2.0.16 driver: it doesn't ask for drivers, it gives it the 2.0.16 version by default (I've tried doing this with the LAN cable not inserted but still, nothing). So, just to try if something actually worked, I tried updating it to the 2.0.21 version provided on the gigabyte site and that worked (it had an .exe). At that point it came to my mind to try to update it via device manager, like I tried in post #17, and with this new file it worked! Thank you for that PeterOz

It didn't ask me to reboot the computer but now it shows the .27 version, so I guess it worked! Is it okay if I I've done it like this (so by updating from .16 to .21 to .27), or should I try to do it just like you said by uninstalling it and pointing it directly to the new drivers? I wouldn't know how to do that because of the problem I stated earlier, but I could surely try some more.

Thank you for the information Rustys, they seem like easy things to do. But at this point I would ask you thisf: should I instead not do those things in order to try testing with the new version of the driver, to replicate the same conditions in which I've had the bsod as good as I can?

 

[PeterOz]

How you did it is fine.
now just TEST

 

[Lustro]

Perfect, thanks for the confirmation, I will test!
If something comes up I'll update this thread as soon as I can; otherwise, if everything goes well, and if this is okay to you, we could set a day (maybe a week from now?) in which I can confirm that there were no issues and so that the thread can be closed. Thank you once again!

 

[Bruce]

@Lustro, any updates?

 

[Lustro]

Yes! I've been testing all these days, and there have been no blue screens of death so far. With how random it has been I would never really be sure if it's gone for good or not, but at the same time I'm really hopeful and think updating the driver has helped.

The thread can be closed as solved, and I hope there will be no need to reopen it. Thank you so much to everyone involved for helping me: thanks to JMarket for analyzing the memory dumps, Rustys for keeping up with the thread for so long, giving advices and contacting other technicians, PeterOz for having found a way that worked to update the drivers and Bruce for checking in on the status.

Wish you all happy holidays and thanks once again, your help has been essential!