Windows 2000, XP and Windows 2003 come with a small utility called Driver Verifier Manager that basically lets you troubleshoot problems with Windows drivers. If Windows is giving you a blue screen of death or other problems, you can use this tool to identify which driver is causing the problem.

You can also use this tool to check if a driver will cause a problem with your computer BEFORE you install the driver. Here’s how.

To use the tool, go to Start, Run and type in Verifier.

verify drivers

Now just choose the default “Create standard settings“ option and click Next.

driver verifier

Choose the Select driver name from list option and click Next.

verify windows drivers

Now from the list of drivers, choose the ones you want to verify. If you have been getting BSOD screens, it will probably have the name of the driver in the error message. Check the boxes next to the drivers and click Finish.  

If you want to check a driver for compatibility with Windows before you install the driver, then click on the Add currently non-loaded drivers to the list and browse for the driver file.

verify driver compatability

Now restart your computer and Driver Verifier will run through and verify the Windows driver. Windows will test the driver at startup. If the driver is OK, then Windows will start up normally. If there is a problem with the driver, you will get the Blue Screen of Death and also a good explanation of what the problem is.

So that’s it! A very simple and not well known tool that can help you verify any driver before you install it on your system. Note that unless you turn off driver verifier, it will run each time you start up Windows.

To turn it off, go to Start, Run and type in verifier /reset. Overall, it’s a great troubleshooting tool and also a great way to make sure you don’t mess up your computer by installing an incompatible driver.

You can always use the Roll Back Driver option in Windows, but that assumes you can even get into Windows! Some drivers are so bad that you can’t even get into Windows, so it’s better to test before installing them. Enjoy!