Windows BSOD Error 0x000000C4 — DRIVER_VERIFIER_DETECTED_VIOLATION Fix

What Does This Error Mean?

The 0x000000C4 blue screen means Windows Driver Verifier caught a driver breaking the rules. Driver Verifier is a built-in Windows tool that watches drivers and crashes the system the moment it catches one misbehaving. This is usually intentional — it helps identify which driver is faulty.

Affected Models

Windows 10
Windows 11
Windows 8.1

Common Causes

Driver Verifier is enabled and caught a driver making an illegal memory access
A third-party driver is accessing freed memory or corrupting kernel structures
Driver Verifier was accidentally left on after previous troubleshooting
A recently installed hardware driver has bugs that only Driver Verifier detects
An antivirus or security product's driver is violating kernel rules

How to Fix It

First, check if Driver Verifier is the cause. Open Command Prompt as Administrator and type: verifier /query. If it shows drivers being verified, that is why Windows is crashing.

Driver Verifier deliberately causes crashes to catch misbehaving drivers. This is often turned on by troubleshooting guides and left running by accident.
Disable Driver Verifier if you do not need it. In Command Prompt (Administrator) type: verifier /reset — then restart your PC.

After disabling Driver Verifier and restarting, the 0x000000C4 crashes should stop immediately if Verifier was the cause.
If you intentionally enabled Driver Verifier to find a bad driver, check the blue screen for the driver file name. Search online for that file name to identify the device.

The driver file name (ending in .sys) is shown on the blue screen and in the crash dump file. It is the key to identifying the faulty driver.
Update or uninstall the driver identified in the previous step. Go to Device Manager, find the device, right-click it, and choose 'Update driver' or 'Uninstall device'.

After uninstalling a driver, restart Windows. Windows may reinstall a basic driver automatically. Then get the latest version from the manufacturer's website.
Analyze crash dump files using WinDbg or the free tool WhoCrashed. These tools read the crash dump and tell you which driver caused the crash in plain language.

WhoCrashed is the easier option — it displays a summary in simple language without requiring technical knowledge.

When to Call a Professional

If you cannot identify the offending driver and the crashes continue, a technician can analyze the crash dump files. Crash dump files (.dmp) are saved in C:\Windows\Minidump and contain detailed information about which driver caused the crash.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did Driver Verifier turn itself on?

Driver Verifier does not turn on by itself. Someone — or a troubleshooting guide you followed — enabled it at some point. It is easy to forget about since it runs silently in the background. Disabling it with 'verifier /reset' is safe and fixes the crashes immediately.

Should I keep Driver Verifier on to catch bad drivers?

Only keep Driver Verifier enabled if you are actively trying to identify a specific problem driver. Leaving it on for normal use causes unnecessary crashes and slows down your PC. Once you have identified the bad driver, disable Verifier and fix the driver instead.

Where are the crash dump files stored?

Windows saves crash dump files in C:\Windows\Minidump. Each file has a date and time in its name. You can open these files with a tool like WhoCrashed (free) to see which driver caused each crash.