220-1102 Driver Verifier Practice Question
A user reports that after installing a new graphics card driver, their Windows 10 workstation crashes with a blue screen error IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL shortly after booting. The technician can boot into Safe Mode without issues. Which built-in tool should the technician use to help isolate the problematic driver?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers choose Event Viewer because they think it will show the crash details, but they miss that Driver Verifier is the proactive tool designed specifically to identify problematic drivers by forcing a controlled crash, whereas Event Viewer only passively records events after the crash occurs.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Driver Verifier
Driver Verifier is the correct tool because it stresses kernel-mode drivers to detect illegal function calls or memory violations that cause bug checks like IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL. Since the system crashes only after booting normally but boots safely in Safe Mode, the issue is almost certainly a third-party driver loaded at startup, and Driver Verifier can isolate which driver is at fault by forcing a crash with a stop code that identifies the offending driver.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Event Viewer
Why it's wrong here
Event Viewer is a reactive diagnostic tool that records system crashes, application errors, and driver-related events after they occur, including bugcheck codes and memory dump references. It can help you investigate which driver was blamed in a previous IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL crash, but it does not actively stress or test drivers to reproduce the fault. Consequently, it cannot proactively isolate the offending driver before a crash happens; it only assists in post-mortem analysis.
- ✗
System Configuration (msconfig)
Why it's wrong here
System Configuration (msconfig) modifies Windows startup behavior by disabling startup applications, services, and enabling selective startup or safe boot. While you could use msconfig to perform a clean boot and narrow down a driver conflict through a process of elimination, it does not run any diagnostic stress tests on drivers themselves. Its capability is limited to disabling items one by one and rebooting, which is time-consuming and not specifically designed to test driver stability under load.
- ✓
Driver Verifier
Why this is correct
Driver Verifier is a built-in Windows diagnostic tool that subjects kernel-mode drivers to extreme stress conditions, such as invalid memory access patterns, pool allocation tracking, IRQL checks, and DMA verification, to expose faulty driver behavior. When a driver violates the verification rules, the system generates a bugcheck (crash) with a specific stop code and identifies the responsible driver, making it the definitive tool for resolving IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL errors caused by a newly installed graphics driver. It actively isolates the failing driver, unlike log viewing or manual startup manipulation.
- ✗
Device Manager
Why it's wrong here
Device Manager allows you to view installed devices, update or roll back driver versions, disable devices, and check driver properties like the driver provider, date, and version. However, it does not perform any driver stress testing or fault injection; it only manages the driver's presence and configuration. While it could be used to revert to a previous driver or uninstall the new one, it cannot diagnose which driver is causing an IRQL error through active testing.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Troubleshoot: Driver Conflicts
Key term
Kernel
The kernel is the core program of an operating system that manages hardware resources and provides essential services for all other software to run.
Key term
Windows 10
Windows 10 is a personal computer operating system developed by Microsoft that combines the familiarity of Windows 7 with the modern features of Windows 8, designed to run on a wide range of devices from desktops to tablets.
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on 220-1102
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A technician installed a new video driver on a Windows 10 workstation. After rebooting, the workstation displays a blue screen error with the message 'VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE' and will not start normally. The technician can boot into Safe Mode. Which built-in Windows tool should the technician use to verify if the new driver is causing the issue?
medium- A.Device Manager
- B.Windows Memory Diagnostic
- ✓ C.Driver Verifier
- D.System Restore
Why C: Driver Verifier is the correct tool because it is specifically designed to stress-test drivers and identify problematic behavior, such as the 'VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE' (Timeout, Detection, and Recovery) error that indicates a video driver caused the system to hang or crash. By enabling Driver Verifier in Safe Mode, the technician can load the new driver under monitored conditions and verify if it triggers the same blue screen, confirming it as the root cause.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1102 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 220-1102 exam.