How to Use Driver Verifier in Windows 10

Driver Verifier is a built-in Windows 10 tool that stresses your drivers to expose faulty behavior, such as memory corruption, improper IRQL levels, or invalid pool usage. It is primarily used to diagnose blue screen (BSOD) causes when you suspect a driver is at fault. You will need administrative rights and a backup of your important data before starting, because enabling Verifier can cause immediate crashes if a driver is problematic.

What You’ll Need

Administrator account on the Windows 10 PC
Backup of important files (Verifier can cause BSOD loops)
Access to Safe Mode (in case you need to disable Verifier later)

Step-by-Step

Open an elevated Command Prompt. Press Windows + X and select “Command Prompt (Admin)” or “Windows PowerShell (Admin)”. Click “Yes” when the UAC prompt appears.
Launch Driver Verifier. Type verifier and press Enter. The Driver Verifier Manager window opens.
Choose what to verify. Select “Create custom settings (for code developers)” and click Next. This gives you control over which tests run.
Select individual tests. Check the boxes for the tests you want. For most diagnosis, enable “Standard settings” (which includes many common checks). You can also enable “Force pending I/O requests”, “Pool tracking”, and “Deadlock detection” if you suspect those issues. Click Next.
Select drivers to test. Choose “Select driver names from a list” and click Next. This is safer than testing all drivers because it limits the scope.
Pick the suspect drivers. A list of all installed drivers appears. Check the boxes for the drivers you suspect (e.g., a recently updated GPU driver, a new peripheral driver). If you are unsure, you can select “Automatically select all drivers installed on this computer” in the previous step, but that can cause a crash loop. Click Finish.
Reboot the computer. Driver Verifier becomes active after a restart. Windows will load normally if no issues are found; if a driver misbehaves, you will get a BSOD with a bug check code that points to the faulty driver.
Collect the crash dump. After a BSOD, Windows creates a minidump file (usually in C:\Windows\Minidump). Use a tool like WinDbg or BlueScreenView to analyze it, or note the bug check code and the driver name shown on the BSOD.
Disable Driver Verifier after diagnosis. Once you have identified the problem driver, you must turn Verifier off. Open an elevated Command Prompt again and run verifier /reset. Reboot. This clears all Verifier settings.

Common Mistakes

Leaving Verifier on indefinitely. Verifier significantly slows down your system and can cause crashes even with healthy drivers. Always disable it after you finish troubleshooting.
Testing all drivers on a production machine. This often leads to a crash loop that is hard to escape. Use the “Select driver names from a list” option instead.
Not backing up before enabling. A BSOD loop can prevent normal boot. Without a backup, you might lose access to your files.
Ignoring the driver name on the BSOD. The BSOD usually shows the faulty driver (e.g., nvlddmkm.sys). Write it down; it’s your main clue.
Using Verifier on a system with known incompatible software. Some anti-cheat or DRM software can trigger false positives. Disable them temporarily if possible.

Tips

Start with “Standard settings” – they cover the most common driver issues without overwhelming you with options.
If you suspect a specific driver (e.g., after a recent update), test only that one driver first. This narrows down the cause quickly.
Create a system restore point before enabling Verifier. This gives you an easy way to revert if things go wrong.
Use Safe Mode to disable Verifier if you cannot boot normally. In Safe Mode, run verifier /reset from an elevated Command Prompt.
If you get a BSOD, note the bug check code (e.g., 0x000000D6) and search for it online – it often tells you exactly what type of violation occurred.

Troubleshooting

What if the computer won’t boot after enabling Verifier? Boot into Safe Mode (press F8 or use the recovery environment). Open an elevated Command Prompt and run verifier /reset. Reboot normally.

What if Verifier doesn’t cause any BSOD but the system is slow? Verifier adds overhead. If you don’t get a crash after a few days, it’s likely your drivers are fine. Disable Verifier and consider other causes (e.g., hardware issues, overheating).

What if the BSOD shows a driver that is not the actual culprit? Sometimes the crash is a symptom of a different problem (e.g., RAM failure). Run Windows Memory Diagnostic (mdsched.exe) to rule out memory issues.

What if Verifier reports a violation but no driver is listed? Check the minidump file with a debugger. The stack trace often reveals the responsible driver. Use WinDbg’s !analyze -v command for a detailed report.

What if I can’t open Command Prompt as admin? You need admin rights. If your account is not admin, log in with an admin account or use the built-in Administrator account (enable it via “Computer Management” if necessary).

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is Driver Verifier safe to use? A: It is safe as long as you back up your data and are prepared for a BSOD. It’s a diagnostic tool, not a permanent feature.

Q: How long should I keep Driver Verifier on? A: Usually 24-48 hours of normal use, or until a BSOD occurs. If no crash happens in that time, your drivers are likely not the problem.

Q: Can Driver Verifier damage my PC? A: No. It only stresses drivers. It can cause data loss if you have unsaved work during a BSOD, which is why backups are recommended.

Q: What does “verifier /reset” do? A: It disables all Driver Verifier settings and removes the tool from the boot process. You must reboot for it to take effect.

Q: Do I need to uninstall the faulty driver after finding it? A: Yes, or update it to a fixed version. You can also use Device Manager to roll back to a previous driver version.

Q: Can I use Driver Verifier on Windows 11? A: Yes, the steps are essentially the same. The tool is still present and works similarly.

General steps for current mainstream versions; menus can differ by device and version. See the disclaimer or report an error.

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