# HOW do you Use Verifier.exe???



## redivivus (Mar 30, 2006)

I turned it on and rebooted and im not sure what exactly its doing. Doesnt it test your drivers? All i can see is that my PC is very laggy and nothing seems to be happening. Is it done? Is there a log somewhere?

Slightly confused.  

Thanks for any insight.


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## Rollin' Rog (Dec 9, 2000)

It only runs on bootup, and will continue to do so until you reset it.

I occasionally recommend it and provide these tips:

USING DRIVER VERIFIER

Windows has a built in driver tester that may find something.

Before using it you must ensure that you can start in Safe Mode and return from it. If verifier issues a STOP screen, rebooting in Safe Mode is the only way to reset it.

It its default configuration verifier tests "unsigned" drivers; I'd try that first. But you can take the more advanced "developer" options and have it test all drivers under maximum conditions.

There's less to it than meets the eye in this MS article:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;244617

To run verifier simply go to Start > run and enter:

*verifier.exe*

and select "standard configuration" and follow the prompts.

It will run on the next reboot. If it finds something you will get a Blue Screen STOP message.

Ignore the STOP parameters -- they are specific to verifier. The only thing important is the driver file name if it finds one.

If you get a STOP screen you will have to reboot to Safe Mode and run verifier again and have it "delete existing settings"

If you do not get a STOP message you can run it again checking all drivers; driver verifier will continue to run on every boot up until you run:

verifier /reset

or use the graphical interface to delete existing settings.

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If you are having "performance" issues -- well, here's my Q&A drill for that (you provide the "A's"):

Performance Questions:

1 > is it very slow to boot up?
2 > do programs open slowly?
3 > does the same behavior occur both offline and on?
4 > does it matter how long the system has been on, and does a restart improve things?

Slow performance issues can often be due to overheating, so if the system is faster after it has been shutdown for a while and then restarted -- that would be especially suspect. To check for possible problems here, shutdown, open the case and blow out any accumulated dust. Then turn it
on and check to see that the fan is working. Sometimes it helps to physically clean the fan. Programs are available that can help monitor temperatures as well.

5 > if you do a ctrl-alt-del, do any processes show excess cpu usage, other than System Idle Process?

6 > If you open the Device Manager (windows+pause/break > Hardware > Device Manager) and select the entry for IDE ATA/Atapi and select the Primary IDE > Advanced Settings, does it say the "current transfer mode" is DMA or PIO?

If it says PIO, first ensure "Use DMA if Available" is selected, then select the driver tab and uninstall the driver and reboot. Then check again. 
__________________________________________________________________________
COMMIT CHARGE

Do ctrl-alt-del to open up the task manager. Select the "performance" tab. Let me know what you see under:

*Physical Memory*

*Total:* this is your total installed ram -- "physical" memory
*Available:* this is the amt of real "physical" memory presently uncommitted

*Commit Charge*

*Total:* this is the combination of total physical and virtual memory currently in use
*Limit:* this is the total physical and virtual memory available
*Peak:* this is the most you have had in use in this session

====================================================================
NETWORK USAGE

Select the Networking tab in the Task Manager

>> What is the current percent of Network utilization?


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## redivivus (Mar 30, 2006)

Thanks Rog. :up: I was running verifier because i need to know what is causing an error. If you recall from the other thread i did CHKDSK and memory reset which seems to have gotten rid of 1 of the blue screens i was getting. The other one is 0x50 which is supposedly connected to hardware failure or a bad driver. 

So im thinking that if i run things that i know will crash my PC with verifier on it will give tell me what is causing my problem? If its not a driver then im going to go ahead and replace my RAM because i am skeptical as to whether resetting it will fix the problem and whether it will not come back.


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## Rollin' Rog (Dec 9, 2000)

It's actually rather rare for verifier to catch errors unless there really is a piece of hardware which has compatibility problems.

Your best bet is to look for driver file names in the STOP messages.

If no consistent driver name, then you have to suspect hardware itself, such as ram.

The context under which they occur is also important.

I'd recommend that you disable verifier if it hasn't found anything after a couple of boots -- if it does throw a stop message at you, you will have to boot to Safe Mode and reset it anyway.

As for the ram -- well I can tell you that I had the same problem on my notebook -- which I decided to test just to review the testers. Both Windiag (the MS tester), and Memtest found errors.

After testing both modules, one at a time, reseating them -- no more errors were found with either utility.

I may run the test again now, just to make sure it's held up.


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## redivivus (Mar 30, 2006)

OKAY. 

BTW thanks for helping me. :up:

So what i did was i tried to crash my computer with verifier.exe on. Its like 5x slower (atleast) than without it on but i ran 2 high-graphics programs for over and hour and i couldnt get it to crash! (These programs both crashed my computer in less than 5 min consistently before i put on verifier) I dont know whats up, but im going to take off verifier and i bet my PC will crash again. 

I also ran the memory test AGAIN and this time it froze (2 times in a row) and gave a 0x6 exception error during the test.  So i guess im back to memory problem.

So i dont know much (actually i know pretty much nothing except for what i researched today) about memory but i can remove 1 stick at a time and it will work with just the other one? If there is only 1 stick in does it have to be in a particular slot? I have 512MB of ram and from what i can tell that seems to be 2x 256MB.

Thanks for the help Rog.


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## Rollin' Rog (Dec 9, 2000)

Verifier doesn't change or fix anything. All it does is run "stress" tests on bootup that are similar to what Microsoft uses to certify drivers.

See if you can isolate the problem to one particular module or one slot.

While you would normally want to have the slot closest to the cpu the one that holds only one module -- it should boot and test no matter which slot you have the module in.

Be careful handling these to ensure you discharge any static electricty from your hands when handling the modules. Just ground your hands on the case for a second.

You're certainly welcome for the help.


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## redivivus (Mar 30, 2006)

I took out one stick and ran the full memory test for an hour with no problems so the removed stick is most likely the problem. I will test it later on...

When i tried to boot my PC with only 1 stick however it wouldnt boot normally or in safe mode. It did boot in Last Known Good Settings. Is this okay? =\

*edit*

Damn... my PC just got a 0x24 stop.  Do you think this suggests a problem with both memory sticks or some larger problem?


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## Rollin' Rog (Dec 9, 2000)

Have you disabled Driver Verifier -- that would result in a 'C4' violation? And you would have to disable it in Safe Mode or perhaps use 'last known good configuration'

This is an 024 STOP:

http://aumha.org/win5/kbestop.php#0x24


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## redivivus (Mar 30, 2006)

Thanks. Ive actually already read that and already followed the instructions i could. When i did CHKDSK i had a very long log of things that were supposedly fixed. Im not sure if this is normal or not. I ran it again and there was nothing fixed. 

I keep getting a 0x24 stop when i A) run ad-aware or B) run any high-graphics. Do you see any connection?


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## Rollin' Rog (Dec 9, 2000)

Was it chkdsk /f that you ran?

The main focus of an 024 error should be on the hard drive and its cable connections.

This article also suggests that you run *eventvwr.msc* and look at the Systems and Applications logs:

2.	Check Event Viewer for error messages from SCSI, FASTFAT (the System Log), or Autochk (the Application Log) that might help determine the device or driver that is causing the error.

> in the Systems log also look for "Disk" errors, especially prior to running chkdsk.

http://support.microsoft.com/Default.aspx?kbid=228888

>> do you see any of those errors there?

I'd do a couple of more things: reset the paging file and do a defrag -- instructions here on how to reset the file:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=810093

>> if you can get a drive diagnostic utility from the Vendor's site -- it would be good to run it.

There is also a downloadable utility called HD Tune that offers some diagnostics:

http://www.hdtune.com/

>> Finally, a fuller look at the 024 bugcheck might provide some more specific detail:

I can run a debugging utility on the dump files if you do this:

1 > create a new folder on the desktop and call it "dumpcheck" or whatever you like
2 > navigate to c:\windows\minidump and copy the last 2 or 3 minidump files to that folder. They are numbered by date.
3 > close the folder and right click on it and select "Compress to (folder name).zip"
4 > use the "manage attachments" in the "advanced" reply window to upload that zip file here as an attachment.

This might point us to a 3rd party driver causing the error, if one exists for it.


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## redivivus (Mar 30, 2006)

Thanks Rog. I am going through these recommendations later tonight. For not, here are the minidump files. :up: Hopefully they will provide some insight though i have no clue how to read them. :-\

*** EDIT ***

The dump files might not be necessary. I just tried to defrag and after 5-10 minutes my PC got another 0x24 error and it actually pointed to Ntfs.sys. I dont really understand what this file is. Is there some way to repair it or something? =\


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## Rollin' Rog (Dec 9, 2000)

Do you know the maker of your hard drive? What is the model number?

Is the memory still faulting in memory tests, or will that procede without errors?

Some of the minidumps are actully corrupt -- but the error is as you've already noted.

Also can you post a HijackThis scanlog so I can see what you have running...

Download and install HijackThis using the "self extractor". Run it and select "do a system scan and save the log file". Then copy/paste the contents of the log to a reply

http://www.thespykiller.co.uk/files/hijackthis_sfx.exe


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## redivivus (Mar 30, 2006)

Damn. My computer keeps getting more screwed up lol. Now when i try to install anything it says 'Windows Installer Service cannot be reached.'  I think this might have something to do with my comp crashing in the middle of the defrag lol. 

Anyways, thanks very much for the help Rog but im going to have to get someone to fix this for me.  Whatever is going on seems to be a major problem and i am not familiar with hardware so its beyond me.

As for HJT i cannot install the latest version. My last year's version has only 6 things on startup lol. No viruses. 

I dont think i ever told you this but these problems started shortly after my computer was dropped actually. lol.


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## Rollin' Rog (Dec 9, 2000)

You probably need to reseat all the cables and cards if you haven't done that.

Here is an article that addresses what I think is your installer message:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q315346

But you also need to run *services.msc* and locate the Windows Installer Service and verify the startup mode is set to "manual".

The installer itself can be updated from this link:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/893803/


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