Recipe 3.14. Checking Drivers with the Driver Verifier Tool

Problem

You need to determine which drivers are loaded and the characteristics about them.

Solution

Using a graphical user interface

1. Click Start, then select Run.

2. Type in verifier and click OK.

3. In the Driver Verifier Manager dialog, with the Create standard settings radio button selected under Select a Task, click Next.

4. To see the analysis of all drivers on your system, select the Automatically Select All Drivers Installed on This Computer radio button, and click Finish.

5. Your choices will be stored and you will receive a pop-up indicating that you must reboot for the changes to take effect. Click OK, then reboot at your convenience.

6. After rebooting your PC, rerun Verifier to see the analysis of all running drivers and the state they are in. Driver Verifier will, per Microsoft, tell you a variety of things as described in the Discussion section.

Discussion

Windows' device driver verification tool will trace the loading and activity of any device driver you choose. This tool is intended for developers and low-level system engineers, but it can tell you which drivers are or have been loaded during Windows operation and help you debug them in case you experience system or device crashes.

See Also

Details on the parameters, use, and results of the Driver Verifier Manager can be found in MS KB 244617, "How to Use Driver Verifier to Troubleshoot Windows Drivers."