Using Driver Verifier to identify issues with Drivers

[Capt.Jack Sparrow]

Driver Verifier monitors kernel-mode drivers and graphics drivers to detect illegal function calls or actions that might corrupt the system. It can subject the drivers to a variety of stresses and tests to find improper behavior.

The Verifier utility, Verifier.exe, activates and monitors Driver Verifier. This utility is located in the %windir%\system32 directory of Windows.
There are two ways to use the Verifier utility.

• Command line. To use Driver Verifier at the command-line, in a Command Prompt window, type verifier followed by at least one command-line parameter. Refer this link for more info Verifier Command Line
• Driver Verifier Manager. To open the Driver Verifier Manager graphic user interface, in a Command Prompt window, type verifier. Refer this link for more info Driver Verifier Manager (Windows XP and later)

   Warning

• Please don't follow these steps without the help/Recommendation of an expert
• If the Driver Verifier finds a violation, it will result in a BSOD

Using Driver Verifier is an iffy proposition. Most times it'll crash and it'll tell you what the driver is. But sometimes it'll crash and won't tell you the driver. Other times it'll crash before you can log in to Windows. If you can't get to Safe Mode, then you'll have to resort to offline editing of the registry to disable Driver Verifier.

So, I'd suggest that you first backup your stuff and then make sure you've got access to another computer so you can contact us if problems arise. Then make a System Restore point (so you can restore the system using the Vista/Windows 7 Startup Repair feature).

Then, here's the procedure:

1. Go to Start and type in "verifier" (without the quotes) and press Enter
2. Select "Create custom settings (for code developers)" and click "Next"
3. Select "Select individual settings from a full list" and click "Next"
4. Select everything EXCEPT FOR "Low Resource Simulation", "and "Force Pending I/O Requests" and click "Next"
5. Select "Select driver names from a list" and click "Next"
6. Then select all drivers NOT provided by Microsoft and click "Next"
7. Select "Finish" on the next page.

Reboot the system and wait for it to crash to the Blue Screen. Continue to use your system normally, and if you know what causes the crash, do that repeatedly. The objective here is to get the system to crash because Driver Verifier is stressing the drivers out. If it doesn't crash for you, then let it run for at least 36 hours of continuous operation (an estimate on my part).

Reboot into Windows (after the crash) and turn off Driver Verifier by going back in and selecting "Delete existing settings" on the first page, then locate and zip up the memory dump file and upload it with your next post.

If you can't get into Windows because it crashes too soon, try it in Safe Mode.
If you can't get into Safe Mode, try using System Restore from your installation DVD to set the system back to the previous restore point that you created.
If that doesn't work, post back and we'll have to see about fixing the registry entry off-line.

Delete these registry keys to stop Driver Verifier from loading (works in XP, Vista, Win7):

 [FONT=Verdana]
        HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\VerifyDrivers
        HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\VerifyDriverLevel[/FONT]

Note: If Norton Antivirus is installed, do not enable Driver Verifier's Deadlock Detection because of the recommendations in Microsoft Knowledge Base article 325672.

Information provided by John (usasma)
Thanks to Vir Gnarus for his recommendation here

For more information:

Using Driver Verifier to identify issues with Windows drivers for advanced users
Driver Verifier in Windows 7
Driver Verifier Options

 

[karlsnooks]

Jack,
You can also reset verifier from the command prompt (assuming one can get there), with Verifier /reset

I also found verifier /query
and
verifier /querysettings
to be helpful.

Have also followed the approach of disabling half of the individual settings, and then half again, and so forth until I got to where with only one setting the system was hanging. Then followed the same approach with the non-microsoft drivers until I located the faulty driver.

 

[Capt.Jack Sparrow]

Jack,
You can also reset verifier from the command prompt (assuming one can get there), with Verifier /reset

I also found verifier /query
and
verifier /querysettings
to be helpful.

Have also followed the approach of disabling half of the individual settings, and then half again, and so forth until I got to where with only one setting the system was hanging. Then followed the same approach with the non-microsoft drivers until I located the faulty driver.

Its also a good way to do it Karl !!

 

[karlsnooks]

I'm working on learning to read and use dumps but still have a way to go. I admire you chaps who can and do work with the dumps. Somehow that didn't come out just right.

 

[Capt.Jack Sparrow]

I'm working on learning to read and use dumps but still have a way to go. I admire you chaps who can and do work with the dumps. Somehow that didn't come out just right.

Thank You !! There are lot of resources to learn; You can check Usasma's website www.carrona.org its really great website with lot of informations !!

 

[traderpats]

Have you checked the hd cables, (perhaps try switching out), or had the power supply checked? Both issues can throw seemingly unrelated / weird errors. Just replaced a bad psu this week. The hd had been behaving erratically and there were some bsod's. New psu fixed it.

 

[Jonathan_King]

Have you checked the hd cables, (perhaps try switching out), or had the power supply checked? Both issues can throw seemingly unrelated / weird errors. Just replaced a bad psu this week. The hd had been behaving erratically and there were some bsod's. New psu fixed it.

Is this the correct thread for this? If not, Edit the post, and in the Go Advanced screen, you will find the option to delete the post.

 

[ranagman]

Ran the "verifier" steps suggested by Captain; now my PC doesn't boot.

 

[Jonathan_King]

Ran the "verifier" steps suggested by Captain; now my PC doesn't boot.

Boot up in Safe Mode, enter Verifier.exe, and select "Delete existing settings."

 

[ranagman]

Hello Jonathan,
My PC won't boot in safe mode. Get this error when it reboots:

Boot from CD:
No Boot device available, Press Enter Key to retry
SATA-0: Installed
SATA-1: Installed
SATA-4: None
SATA-5: None

 

[Jonathan_King]

You may try a startup repair: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/681-startup-repair.html

While you're in the recovery environment, open up a command prompt and enter:

chkdsk /r

 

[pdxuser]

What next?

Ok, I followed the instructions, got the BSOD and restored my machine. Now what? How do I tell which driver is the culprit?

 

[Jonathan_King]

Ok, I followed the instructions, got the BSOD and restored my machine. Now what? How do I tell which driver is the culprit?

Hello,

You might create a jcgriff2 report and upload it for one of us to debug: http://www.sevenforums.com/crashes-debugging/96879-blue-screen-death-bsod-posting-instructions.html

 

[FredeGail]

Very nice,
Just wondering - What could cause a driver to suddenly go corrupt?

Best Regards,
FredeGail

 

[Jonathan_King]

A driver itself won't "go corrupt" like that. Usually, it's updates to Windows or programs that cause conflicts or incompatibilities with existing drivers. Every now and then, you'll see someone who just reinstalled the same version of the driver, and the problem was solved. I expect those are caused by other programs changing some setting, such as a registry cleaner.

 

[FredeGail]

A driver itself won't "go corrupt" like that. Usually, it's updates to Windows or programs that cause conflicts or incompatibilities with existing drivers. Every now and then, you'll see someone who just reinstalled the same version of the driver, and the problem was solved. I expect those are caused by other programs changing some setting, such as a registry cleaner.

I see, thank you.

Best Regards,
FredeGail

 

[EmperorNortonI]

I'm trying to identify the driver that's causing my system to crash. When I run driver verifier with everything except the microsoft drivers checked, it crashes with a BSOD saying that a driver was caught, but it doesn't tell me the driver. When I try and run with all drivers checked (including microsoft drivers), windows freezes on startup and I have to press the power button to restart it. No BSOD comes up.

What does this mean? Does it mean that one of the microsoft drivers is corrupt and it's not detecting it because it was unchecked when I ran driver verifier when I got the BSOD? Or is it a problem with the non-microsoft drivers?

Would checking 1 driver at a time and waiting for it to crash on each one tell me specifically which driver is causing the problem? Or can it crash with the "driver caught" BSOD without it being checked meaning this process this is a waste of time?

I really want to find the cause of this.

main thread for my issue is here:

http://www.sevenforums.com/crashes-debugging/177772-bluescreen-error-bccode-1e.html

 

[Capt.Jack Sparrow]

I'm trying to identify the driver that's causing my system to crash. When I run driver verifier with everything except the microsoft drivers checked, it crashes with a BSOD saying that a driver was caught, but it doesn't tell me the driver. When I try and run with all drivers checked (including microsoft drivers), windows freezes on startup and I have to press the power button to restart it. No BSOD comes up.

What does this mean? Does it mean that one of the microsoft drivers is corrupt and it's not detecting it because it was unchecked when I ran driver verifier when I got the BSOD? Or is it a problem with the non-microsoft drivers?

Would checking 1 driver at a time and waiting for it to crash on each one tell me specifically which driver is causing the problem? Or can it crash with the "driver caught" BSOD without it being checked meaning this process this is a waste of time?

I really want to find the cause of this.

main thread for my issue is here:

http://www.sevenforums.com/crashes-debugging/177772-bluescreen-error-bccode-1e.html

Posted there..!

 

[seth500]

Thanks for the tutorial Capt.

 

[Capt.Jack Sparrow]

Thanks for the tutorial Capt.

Your Welcome!