This is an FYI post and a question.
First the FYI:
My Dell system was delivered with Windows 7 which I am still running.
I started receiving BSOD "Driver_IRQL_Not_Less_or_Equal" in netw5s64.sys sometime after updating my nic driver as recommended by Dell's System Analysis program. I don't know if it is caused by this newer version from Dell or not. (I have previously reported a problem with one of the other recommended installs which is was partially but not completely fixed).
Eventually I downloaded a new nic driver from Intel as recommended by the Intel Driver Update utility. (I ran into some trouble because I didn't first uninstall all the related software but I eventually got a working driver). My computer ran for 5 weeks without the BSOD. Then a Windows Update advised me to update my nic driver with a newer version from Intel, which I foolishly applied. This left me with a corrupted driver which did not work properly. I then reverted to the nic driver supplied by Dell (including all the PROSet Wireless software). Now I am being hit with random BSOD's again.
Because the BSOD's are random I can't be absolutely certain that the nic driver downloaded directly from Intel fixed the problem but I am inclined to believe it did. That may be useful information to others who are also experiencing this problem.
This leads me to two questions.
1. Is Dell still maintaining drivers for systems as old as mine, thus keeping up with newer drivers like the nic driver from Intel and pushing them out through their driver support sites? Or should we end users be forsaking Dell's Driver Support/Update site when we are encountering problems in specific areas?
2. If we upgrade to Windows 10 is the Dell Driver/Support site still relevant? I.e., will Dell be providing the nic driver, etc. for Windows 10 just as it did for Windows 7 or will we get them through Windows Upgrade and from thence through Windows Update? Or perhaps are the existing Windows 7 drivers going to remain in place and run under Windows 10?
One reason this is relevant to me is because I need to decide whether to try to get the newer nic driver from Intel reinstalled in order to avoid BSODs. Or else just hang in their with what I've got until Windows 10, if its likely to bring along with it a newer driver that doesn't randomly crash my system