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Verifying Drivers in Windows using the Verifier Utility
The Windows Verifier Utility performs general driver verification on your windows system using through the Driver verifier. You can use the the Verifier to ensure that you have good drivers loaded on your system and that a virus hasn’t modified the driver files on your system.
The following syntax is used when running the Verifier utility in a Command Prompt window.
You can type several options on the same single line. For example:
verifier /flags 7 /driver beep.sys flpydisk.sys
Verifier Command-Line Syntax
Windows 2000 Syntax
verifier [ /flags Options [/iolevel Level]] [ /all | /driver DriverList ]
verifier /volatile /flags VolatileOptions
verifier /reset
verifier /query
verifier /log LogFileName [/interval Seconds]
verifier /?
Windows XP Syntax
verifier [ /standard | /flags Options ] [ /all | /driver DriverList ]
verifier /volatile /flags VolatileOptions
verifier /volatile {/adddriver | /removedriver} DriverList
verifier /reset
verifier /querysettings
verifier /query
verifier /log LogFileName [/interval Seconds]
verifier /?
Windows Server 2003 Syntax
verifier [/disk] [ /standard | /flags Options ] [ /all | /driver DriverList ]
verifier /volatile /flags VolatileOptions
verifier /volatile {/adddriver | /removedriver} DriverList
verifier /reset
verifier /querysettings
verifier /query
verifier /log LogFileName [/interval Seconds]
verifier /?
Windows Vista Syntax
Beginning in Windows Vista, you can use the /volatile parameter with all Driver Verifier /flags options and with /standard. You cannot use /volatile with /disk. For details, see No Reboot: New for Windows Vista.
verifier [/volatile] [/disk] [/standard | /flags Options ] [ /all | /driver DriverList ]
verifier /volatile /faults [Probability PoolTags Applications DelayMins] /driver DriverList
verifier /volatile {/adddriver | /removedriver} DriverList
verifier /reset
verifier /querysettings
verifier /query
verifier /log LogFileName [/interval Seconds]
verifier /?
Parameters
/flags Options
Activates the specified options after the next reboot. In Windows 2000, this number must be entered in decimal format. In Windows XP and later, this number can be entered in decimal or in hexadecimal (with an 0x prefix) format. Any combination of the following values is allowed.
Decimal Hexadecimal Standard Setting Option
1 0×1 (Bit 0) X Special Pool
2 0×2 (Bit 1) X Force IRQL Checking
4 0×4 (Bit 2) Low Resources Simulation
8 0×8 (Bit 3) X Pool Tracking
16 0×10 (Bit 4) X I/O Verification
32 0×20 (Bit 5) X Deadlock Detection (Windows XP and later)
64 0×40 (Bit 6) Enhanced I/O Verification (Windows XP and later)
128 0×80 (Bit 7) X DMA Verification (Windows XP and later)
256 0×100 (Bit 
X Security Checks (Windows XP and later)
512 0×200 (Bit 9) Force Pending I/O Requests (Windows Vista and later)
1024 0×400 (Bit 10) IRP Logging (Windows Server 2003 and later)
2048 0×800 (Bit 11) X Miscellaneous Checks (Windows Vista and later)
You cannot use this method to activate the SCSI Verification option. For information, see SCSI Verification.
/standard
(Windows XP and later) Activates the “standard” Driver Verifier options after the next boot. The standard options in Windows XP are Special Pool, Force IRQL Checking, Pool Tracking, I/O Verification, Deadlock Detection, and DMA Verification. This is equivalent to /flags 0xBB. Starting with Windows Vista, the standard options also include Security Checks and Miscellaneous Checks. This is equivalent to /flags 0×9BB.
/iolevel Level
(Windows 2000 only) Specifies the level of I/O Verification.
The value of Level can be 1 or 2. The default value is 1.
Level value Description
1 Enables Level 1 I/O Verification (default)
2 Enables Level 1 I/O Verification and Level 2 I/O Verification
If I/O Verification is not enabled (by using /flags 0×10), /iolevel is ignored.
/disk
(Windows Server 2003 and later) Activates the Disk Integrity Checking option after the next boot. You cannot use /disk with /volatile on any version of Windows.
/all
Directs Driver Verifier to verify all installed drivers after the next boot.
/driver DriverList
Direct Driver Verifier to verify the specified drivers.
DriverList is a list of drivers by binary name, such as Driver.sys. Use a space to separate each driver name. Wildcard values, such as n*.sys, are not supported.
/volatile
Changes the settings without rebooting the computer. Volatile settings take effect immediately.
On Windows Vista and later versions of Windows, you can use the /volatile parameter with the /flags parameter to enable and disable any option without rebooting. You can also use /volatile with the /adddriver and /removedriver parameters to start or stop the verification of a driver without rebooting, even if Driver Verifier is not already running.
On versions of Windows prior to Windows Vista, the /volatile parameter can be used only with the options listed in VolatileOptions and it can be used to start or stop the verification of a driver without rebooting only if Driver Verifier is already running and the computer has been rebooted.
For details, see Using Volatile Settings and No Reboot: New for Windows Vista.
/flags VolatileOptions
Specifies the Driver Verifier options that are changed immediately without rebooting in Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003. (In Windows Vista, you can use the /volatile parameter with all /flags values.)
In Windows 2000, enter a number in decimal format. In Windows XP and Windows 2003, enter a number in decimal or in hexadecimal format (with an 0x prefix).
Any combination of the following values is permitted.
Decimal Hexadecimal Option
1 0×1 (Bit 0) Special Pool
2 0×2 (Bit 1) Force IRQL Checking
4 0×4 (Bit 2) Low Resources Simulation
/adddriver VolatileDriverList
(Windows XP and later) Adds the specified drivers to the volatile settings. To specify multiple drivers, list their names, separated by spaces. Wildcard values, such as n*.sys, are not supported. See Using Volatile Settings for details.
/removedriver VolatileDriverList
(Windows XP and later) Removes the specified drivers from the volatile settings. To specify multiple drivers, list their names, separated by spaces. Wildcard values, such as n*.sys, are not supported. See Using Volatile Settings for details.
/faults
(Windows Vista and later) Enables the Low Resources Simulation feature in Driver Verifier. You can use /faults in place of /flags 0×4. However, you cannot use /flags 0×4 with the /faults subparameters.
You can use the following subparameters of the /faults parameter to configure Low Resources Simulation.
Subparameter Description
Probability Specifies the probability that Driver Verifier will fail a given allocation. Type a number (in decimal or hexadecimal) to represent the number of chances in 10,000 that Driver Verifier will fail the allocation. The default value, 600, means 600/10000 or 6%.
Pool Tags Limits the allocations that Driver Verifier can fail to allocations with the specified pool tags. You can use a wildcard character (*) to represent multiple pool tags. To list multiple pool tags, separate the tags with spaces. By default, all allocations can fail.
Applications Limits the allocations that Driver Verifier can fail to allocations for the specified program. Type the name of an executable file. To list programs, separate the program names with spaces. By default, all allocations can fail.
DelayMins Specifies the number of minutes after booting during which Driver Verifier does not intentionally fail any allocations. This delay allows the drivers to load and the system to stabilize before the test begins. Type a number (in decimal or hexadecimal). The default value is 7 (minutes).
/reset
Clears all Driver Verifier settings. After the next boot, no drivers will be verified.
/querysettings
(Windows XP and later) Displays a summary of the options that will be activated and drivers that will be verified after the next boot. The display does not include drivers and options added by using the /volatile parameter. For other ways to view these settings, see Viewing Driver Verifier Settings.
/query
Displays a summary of Driver Verifier’s current activity. The Level field in the display is the hexadecimal value of options set with the /volatile parameter. See Monitoring Global Counters and Monitoring Individual Counters for explanations of each statistic.
/log LogFileName
Creates a log file with name LogFileName. Driver Verifier periodically writes statistics to this file. For details, see Creating Log Files.
If a verifier /log command is typed at the command line, the command prompt does not return. To close the log file and return a prompt, use the CTRL+C key. After a reboot, to create a log, you must submit the verifier /log command again.
/interval Seconds
Specifies the interval between log file updates. The default is 30 seconds.
/?
Displays command-line help.
For more information or phone support for the Windows verifier Utility call us at 410-838-5100 or email us at experts@expertsinunix.com
