How to Enable / Disable Driver Verifier on Windows 7

An article by Shyam Sasindran, MVP    4 Comments

1. Please don’t follow these steps without the help/Recommendation of an expert
2. If the Driver Verifier finds a violation, it will result in a BSOD
3. Create a System Restore point before proceeding

How to Enable Driver Verifier:

START | type verifier | make these selections –

1. Select 2nd option – " Create custom settings (for code developers)"

2. Select 2nd option – "Select individual settings from a full list"

3. Check these boxes -

• Special Pool

• Pool Tracking

• Force IRQL checking

• Deadlock Detection

• Security Checks (Windows 7)

• Miscellaneous Checks

4. Select last option – "Select driver names from a list"

5. Click on the Provider heading – sorts list by Provider

6. Check ALL boxes where "Microsoft" IS NOT the Provider

7. Click on Finish

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

How to Disable Driver Verifier:

1. Go to Start and type in "verifier" (without the quotes) and press Enter
2. Select "Delete existing settings" on the first page

I can’t get into Windows

1. If you can’t get into Windows because it crashes too soon, try it in Safe Mode.
2. 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.
3. 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):

        HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\VerifyDrivers

        HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\VerifyDriverLevel

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

Courtesy: John (usasma)(jcgriff2)