How do I use Driver Verifier?

Run verifier.exe, select 'Create custom settings', enable all standard checks, select non-Microsoft drivers. Reboot and wait for BSOD naming the faulty driver.

Is pool corruption fixable?

Yes — identify and fix the root cause (bad driver, antivirus, or RAM). The corruption itself is transient and does not persist across reboots.

Windows BSOD BAD_POOL_HEADER (0x00000019) — Memory Pool Corruption

Criticalbsod

Overview

BAD_POOL_HEADER BSOD occurs when a kernel memory pool header is corrupted, typically caused by faulty drivers, antivirus software, or bad RAM.

Key Details

Stop code 0x00000019 — the pool memory allocator detected corruption in a pool header
Pool headers track memory allocations in kernel space
Corruption usually means a driver wrote beyond its allocated memory
Antivirus filter drivers are frequent culprits due to kernel-level file system hooks
Can occur gradually as pool corruption accumulates before causing a crash

Common Causes

Driver bug overwriting adjacent memory pool headers (buffer overflow)
Antivirus software with faulty kernel filter drivers
Bad RAM causing random bit flips in kernel memory
Incompatible or outdated third-party drivers
Windows Update installing an incompatible driver

Steps

1Uninstall third-party antivirus temporarily and test with Windows Defender only
2Boot into Safe Mode and check if the BSOD recurs — if not, a third-party driver is the cause
3Run Windows Memory Diagnostic (Win+R > mdsched.exe) to check RAM
4Open Device Manager and roll back recently updated drivers
5Use Driver Verifier (verifier.exe) to identify the faulty driver — enable for non-Microsoft drivers only