Driver Verifier - Enable and Disable in Windows 10

Driver Verifier is a diagnostic tool built into Windows 10, it is designed to verify both native Microsoft drivers and third party drivers. Driver Verifier's verification process involves putting heavy stress on drivers with the intention of making bad, outdated, incompatible or misbehaving drivers fail. The required result is a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) which will generate a crash dump for debugging purposes.

For more details about Driver Verifier, see:

• Driver Verifier | Microsoft Docs
• Driver Verifier Command Syntax | Microsoft Docs

   Note

Machines exposed to Driver Verifier will run very sluggishly due to the stress being applied to the drivers.

   Warning

It is not advised to run Driver Verifier for more than 48 hours at a time. Disable Driver Verifier after 48 hours or after receiving a BSOD, whichever happens soonest.

Always create a Restore Point prior to enabling Driver Verifier.

INTRODUCTION

 List of Contents

Part One: Run Driver Verifier
Part Two: Configure Driver Verifier Settings and Enable
Part Three: Disable Driver Verifier

PART ONE

 Run Driver Verifier

Select from one of the options below to run Driver Verifier.

• Option One: Run Driver Verifier by Searching Start Menu
• Option Two: Run Driver Verifier via Command Prompt
• Option Three: Run Driver Verifier from Task Manager

OPTION 1

Run Driver Verifier by Searching Start Menu

1: Click on the Start button and type Verifier into the Search box, then click on the Verifier tile.

OPTION 2

Run Driver Verifier via Command Prompt

1: Open a Command Prompt, type in Verifier then hit enter. You'll receive an 'Operation completed successfully' message and the Verifier window will open.

OPTION 3

Run Driver Verifier from Task Manager

1: Open Task Manager with more details.

2: Click on File in the menu bar then click on Run new task

3: Type Verifier and hit OK.

PART TWO

 Configure Driver Verifier Settings and Enable

1: Click on Create custom settings (for code developers) then click Next

2: Check the following options:

• I/O Verification
  
• Force pending I/O requests
  
• IRP logging

Click Next

3: Choose Select driver names from a list then click Next.

4: Click on the Provider header to sort providers alphabetically, then select all non-Microsoft Corporation drivers. Click Finish.

5: You will be prompted to restart the PC, click OK then reboot. Upon reboot Driver Verifier will be enabled.

   Note

There is no visible indication that Driver Verifier is running once you've rebooted, it runs in the background stressing drivers.

PART THREE

 Disable Driver Verifier

Option One: Disable Driver Verifier through Verifier Manager
Option Two: Disable Driver Verifier through Windows Recovery

OPTION ONE

Disable Driver Verifier through Verifier Manager

1: Run Driver Verifier

2: Choose Delete existing settings then click Finish.

OPTION TWO

Disable Driver Verifier through Windows Recovery

   Note

Upon receiving a Driver Verifier forced BSOD Windows may fail to boot. In this scenario you'll be taken to the Recovery options which offer multiple ways to get Windows 10 booting again. The relevant options are outlined below.

1: Click on See advanced repair options.

2: Click Troubleshoot

3: Click on Advanced options

4: Choose one of the following options:

• Option One: Disable Driver Verifier via Command Prompt
• Option Two: Disable Driver Verifier via System Restore

OPTION ONE

Disable Driver Verifier via Command Prompt

1: Click on Command prompt

2: Choose an account to continue

3: Enter your Microsoft password

4: At the Command Prompt type the command below you want to use and hit enter. Reboot the PC for the changes to take effect.

verifier /reset

OR

verifier /bootmode resetonbootfail

OPTION TWO

Disable Driver Verifier via System Restore

1: Click on System Restore

2: Choose the Restore Point to restore to, then click Next

3: Click Finish to confirm the Restore Point

4: Click Yes to continue

5: Choose This device belongs to me if the PC in question is a personal computer

6: Sign in to your Microsoft account

That's it,
Gav.

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• How to Backup and Restore Device Drivers in Windows 10
• How to Enable or Disable Driver Signature Enforcement and Test Mode in Windows 10

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