BSOD 9 (IRQL_NOT_GREATER_OR_EQUAL): causes and diagnosis

Status / error code:		Category:

Constant name:
Source:		Operating System:
Description: IRQL_NOT_GREATER_OR_EQUAL

Could be also:
Constant	Type	OS
ERROR_INVALID_BLOCK	Win32 error	Windows
KERN_MEMORY_FAILURE	Kern return	Mac
ippStsNanArg	Intel Ipp Status	Any
EBADF	errno	Any

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IRQL_NOT_DISPATCH_LEVEL	NO_EXCEPTION_HANDLING_SUPPORT

IRQL_NOT_GREATER_OR_EQUAL

IRQL_NOT_GREATER_OR_EQUAL is bug check 0x09. Microsoft categorizes it as very infrequent and publishes no parameter table for this code. Its name should not be treated as a reversed spelling of IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL with the same four-argument memory-reference contract.

Keep 0x09 separate from 0x0A

For bug check 0x0A, Microsoft documents the referenced address, IRQL, access type, and instruction address. No equivalent mapping is published for 0x09. A debugger may recover useful state from a specific dump, but those findings are not portable argument meanings for every 0x09 crash.

Investigation focus

Record the raw stop arguments and exact kernel build.
Use !analyze -show 0x09 and analyze the original dump with !analyze -v.
Follow actual stack evidence around priority transitions or kernel callers; do not infer a read/write fault solely from this constant.

References

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