Editing Openai/696fd677-90ec-800b-a423-9848e9b171f0 (section)

=== Assistant: Thanks, that extra context is important. ===
Thanks, that extra context is important. With multiple different bugchecks after partial improvement, we can narrow this down pretty confidently.

===== You’ve now seen: =====
* DRIVER_VERIFIER_IOMANAGER_VIOLATION (0xC9) → AcpiVpc.sys
* UNEXPECTED_KERNEL_MODE_TRAP
* DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

This combination strongly points to a low-level driver corrupting kernel memory, not a single random failure.

Key observations:
* Reinstalling the ACPI/VPC driver made things more stable → confirms it was involved.
* New bugchecks appearing afterward → suggests another kernel driver is still bad, or the ACPI stack is still mismatched with firmware.
* These are classic symptoms of either: 1. Remaining bad OEM driver(s), or 2. BIOS + chipset + ACPI driver version mismatch, or 3. RAM corruption being triggered by drivers (less common, but possible)

===== 1. Incomplete Lenovo driver stack cleanup - Old power / hotkey / system interface drivers still loaded - Windows Update sometimes installs a new ACPI driver over an old BIOS =====
# BIOS too old for current Windows build - ACPI.sys + OEM ACPI drivers are very sensitive to firmware - This causes random IRQL and kernel trap crashes
# Chipset driver inconsistency - Intel/AMD chipset drivers not aligned with BIOS version
# RAM (only if everything else checks out) - Usually produces even more random bugchecks, but Driver Verifier tends to expose it

===== #### =====

You want stability first.

<syntaxhighlight>verifier /reset

</syntaxhighlight>

Reboot and confirm crashes still happen without Verifier.

====== This is not optional in your situation. ======
* Get the latest BIOS for your exact model
* ACPI-related crashes often disappear immediately after this

====== Do not rely on Windows Update. ======

Reinstall (or update) these specifically:
* Lenovo Power Management / Energy Management
* Lenovo ACPI / VPC / System Interface Foundation
* Lenovo Hotkey / Utility / Features Integration
* Chipset drivers (Intel or AMD, from Lenovo first)

If Lenovo provides a “System Interface Foundation” package, that one is especially important.

====== After reboot: ======
* Install the latest chipset driver that matches the new BIOS
* Reboot again

====== - Run MemTest86 (at least 2 full passes) ======
* This is a last check, not the first suspect

===== - Not malware =====
* Not GPU failure
* Not Windows “just being buggy”
* Very unlikely to be CPU failure

===== You’re dealing with a kernel driver + firmware mismatch, not random instability. The fact that reinstalling one driver helped already is a huge clue. =====

If you tell me:
* Exact laptop model
* CPU (Intel/AMD)
* Windows version/build

I can tell you exactly which Lenovo packages to install and in what order, and whether your BIOS is a known offender.