How to Fix DRIVER VERIFIER DMA VIOLATION BSOD Error

When Driver Verifier detects a violation, it generates a bugcheck to provide you with info to debug the problem. The DRIVER VERIFIER DMA VIOLATION BSOD Error, which has a value of 0x000000E6, is one such bugcheck.

Once you’ve encountered this bugcheck, you should first disable Driver Verifier so that you don’t get the same error again. Afterward, you should analyze the generated dump file to single out the problematic driver on your system and troubleshoot it accordingly.

In rare cases, this BSOD can also occur due to implementation issues with Kernel DMA Protection in Windows.

How to Fix DRIVER VERIFIER DMA VIOLATION BSOD Error

Driver Developers should check out Microsoft’s list of parameters for the DRIVER_VERIFIER_DMA_VIOLATION bugcheck. This should help you identify the exact violation and fix the bugs accordingly. But these won’t be of much help for normal users. Instead, we recommend trying out the solutions in the order listed below for the best efficiency.

Disable Driver Verifier

If you want multiple dump files, you could leave Driver Verifier enabled a bit longer so that it detects some more violations. But otherwise, it would be best to disable it so that you don’t unnecessarily encounter the same bugcheck again. You can easily do this by using the verifier /reset command in CMD.

Alternatively, you can also do it via the GUI as such:

1. Press Win + R, type verifier, and press Enter.
2. Select Delete existing settings and press Finish.
   

Analyze Dump File

Now, you should analyze the dump file generated by the bugcheck to figure out what the problem was with your system in the first place. You can easily do this with the WinDbg Preview App from the Microsoft Store. Here are the steps for this:

1. Install and launch the app if you haven’t already.
2. Press CTRL + D, go to %windir% or %windir%/minidump/ and open the dump file.
   
3. Select View > Command and enter !analyze -v at the kd prompt.
   
4. Once the analysis completes, check the MODULE_NAME and Probably caused by sections for hints on which driver was the problem.
5. If there’s multiple dump files, analyze the rest to get more information.

Troubleshoot Driver

After you’ve determined the problematic driver, you’ll want to troubleshoot it. First, it would be best to try and update it. But if the latest drivers don’t change much, you can roll back or uninstall as appropriate.

We’ll use the network driver, which is a common reason for BSODs, as an example for the steps listed below. You should adjust as appropriate.

Update Driver

First, you should try updating the driver via the Device Manager. Here’s how you can do so:

1. Press Win + R, type devmgmt.msc, and press Enter.
2. Expand the Network Adapter section.
   
3. Right-click the Network Adapter and select Update Driver.
4. There are a couple of options here:
   • First, you can select Search Automatically for Drivers > Search for updated drivers on Windows Update to download recent drivers via Windows Update. These drivers will rarely be the latest ones, though.
     
   • If you’ve manually downloaded driver files from the manufacturer’s site, you can select Browse my computer for drivers and locate the files manually.
     

The second way to update drivers is by using the manufacturer’s software. For instance, in the case of graphics drivers, NVIDIA has GeForce Experience, and AMD has AMD Adrenalin.

Roll Back Drivers

If your problems started after you updated a certain driver, rolling back to the previous build would likely resolve the issue. Here’s how you can do so:

1. Press Win + X and select Device Manager.
2. Expand the Network Adapter section and double-click the Network Adapter.
3. In the Driver tab, click on Roll Back driver.
   
4. Pick any reason for rolling back and proceed with the rollback.

Uninstall Driver

If updating or rolling back didn’t really help, the current driver files are likely corrupt. In such cases, you can uninstall the device and remove the driver files from your system. This will revert the driver to default provided by Microsoft.

1. Open the Device Manager once again and expand the Network Adapter section.
2. Right-click the Network Adapter and select Uninstall Device.
   
3. Enable the Attempt to remove the driver for this device option and proceed with the on-screen instructions.

Resolve Kernel DMA Protection Issues

There’s a known Direct Memory Access (DMA) implementation issue in Windows 10 build 1803, or later, where, if legacy PCI devices installed in an external chassis attempt DMA, the OS crashes.

As promised, Microsoft resolved this problem in 20H2 and newer versions with the KB5014699 service pack update. As such, updating Windows is an easy way to resolve this issue. Here are the steps for this:

1. Press Win + R, type control update, and press Enter.
2. Click on Check for updates, and download and install any available ones.
   
3. Restart your PC afterward.

Another way to work around this problem without updating is by disabling Kernel DMA Protection in the BIOS. Here are the steps for this:

1. Reboot your PC and press the BIOS key (Fn keys or Del).
2. Navigate to the Virtualization section and disable Kernel DMA Protection.
   
3. If you don’t see this option, disable the Directed I/O option (VT-d) instead.
4. Press the key shown on the screen (usually F10) to save the changes and exit.

Check SATA Operation Mode

There have been a few rare cases where users encountered this bugcheck because the SATA Operation Mode was configured incorrectly in the BIOS. Here’s how you can check if this is the problem:

1. Reboot your PC and press the BIOS key (Fn keys or Del).
2. Navigate to the Advanced or Storage Configuration section.
3. Ensure SATA is configured correctly. For instance, if it were set to RAID on a non-RAID system, that wouldn’t work. You’d need to set it to AHCI or IDE instead.
   
4. Press the key shown on the screen to save the changes and exit (usually F10).

Update BIOS

If your BIOS is outdated and none of the other fixes have worked so far, a BIOS update is worth trying. There are various ways to update the BIOS, and we have in-depth articles on each one on our website that will be of help to you.

Additionally, if the problem persists despite the BIOS update, we recommend taking the motherboard to a professional for checking, as it is likely the faulty component at this point.