Several users have reported that they encountered the 'Cannot install the HWiNFO' or 'Cannot load HWiNFO driver' error after installing Windows cumulative update KB5028254, while some others encountered the HWiNFOA.SYS driver error when trying to open an app or game.
The error is usually caused by an outdated HWiNFO64.SYS driver or core security measures interfering with the driver's proper operation. In this article, we will explain what HWiNFO64.SYS driver is, why it’s not working, and offer potential solutions to fix the issue and restore your computer’s normal performance.
What is the HWiNFO64.SYS driver?
HWiNFO64A.SYS, also known as the HWiNFO AMD64 Kernel Driver file, is associated with the HWiNFO64 software. HWiNFO64 is a hardware monitoring and diagnostic tool commonly used to gather information about the hardware components of a computer.
The HWiNFO64.SYS driver likely plays a role in facilitating the interaction between the HWiNFO64 software and the computer's hardware components. It is not malware, and you can easily remove it if you don’t use the HWiNFO software.
Why does the HWiNFO64.SYS driver error occur?
The error message 'Cannot install or load the HWiNFO64.SYS driver' can be caused by various factors:
- Insufficient Permissions: One common reason is that the installation process doesn't have the necessary permissions to install the driver. Generally, driver installations require administrator privileges.
- Driver Conflict: Another common issue is Driver Conflict. It occurs when there's a conflict with an existing driver on your system. This can happen when other hardware monitoring tools or certain drivers interfere with the installation of new drivers.
- Antivirus or Firewall Interference: Security software, like antivirus programs or firewalls, may block driver installations as a security measure. You might consider temporarily disabling these security features during the installation to see if it helps.
- Corrupted Installation Files: If the installation files for HWiNFO64 are corrupted or damaged, it can lead to driver installation errors.
- Blocklisted: The old version of the HWiNFO64.SYS driver could be added to Microsoft's vulnerable driver blocklist.
- Windows System Issues: Issues within the Windows operating system, like corrupted system files or conflicting software, can interfere with driver installations.
Fixing HWiNFO64.SYS Driver Cannot Load Error in Windows 11
The following fixes mentioned below will help you get rid of this error on your computer in no time.
1. Terminate Conflicting Applications
Turning off or disabling software such as MSI Afterburner or similar programs that rely on the HWiNFO driver can sometimes solve problems during driver installation. These applications can create conflicts with the HWiNFO driver because they share resources, which can lead to incompatibility issues.
Fully terminate the software that conflicts with the HWiNFO driver. After closing the conflicting software, try installing or updating the HWiNFO driver again. After installing the HWiNFO driver, you can often restart the conflicting software without any issues.
2. Turn off Memory Integrity temporarily
Memory Integrity is a security feature in Windows that protects the core parts of the operating system from unauthorized changes and advanced malware attacks by isolating them. However, Memory Integrity can sometimes lead to compatibility problems and interference with certain software and drivers.
By temporarily disabling the Memory Integrity feature, you can allow the HWiNFO64.SYS driver to fix itself, which might help solve the problem.
Press the Windows key, type Windows Security , and select the program from the result.
In the Windows Security app, go to the 'Device security' tab and click on 'Core isolation details' under the Core isolation section.
Now, switch off the toggle under 'Memory integrity' to disable it.
After that, restart your Windows PC to apply the changes you just made. Check to see if the issue is resolved.
After you've successfully fixed the issue, follow the same steps and turn on the toggle under Memory integrity to enable the feature again.
3. Install Windows Updates
An older version of the Windows operating system might not work well with the most recent HWiNFO drivers. Updating Windows can fix this compatibility problem.
Open Windows Settings by pressing Windows+I , then go to 'Windows Update' and click on 'Check for updates'.
Download and install any updates and restart your computer.
4. Run DISM and SFC Scans
Running the System File Checker (SFC) and Deployment Imaging Service and Management Tool (DISM) scans can help repair corrupted or missing system files, which could potentially resolve issues related to driver installations, including the HWiNFO64.SYS drivers in Windows 11. Here's how you can run these scans:
SFC (System File Checker) Scan:
Open Command Prompt as an administrator. To do this, type command prompt or cmd in the Start menu and select 'Run as administrator'.
In the Command Prompt window, type the following command and press Enter:
sfc/scannowLet the scan run. It will check and attempt to repair corrupted system files. This process may take some time. Once the scan is complete, restart your PC.
DISM (Deployment Imaging Service and Management Tool) Scan
Open Command Prompt as an administrator, type the following commands, and press Enter after each:
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealthDism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealthDism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
This process may take some time as it attempts to repair the Windows image. Once the DISM scan is complete, restart your computer.
Running both SFC and DISM scans can help repair system file issues, which could potentially resolve problems related to driver installations, including the HWiNFO64 driver issue.
5. Disabling Driver Signature Enforcement
Driver signature enforcement is a security feature in Windows that prevents the installation of unsigned drivers, as they could potentially be harmful to your system. It is a workaround that can sometimes be used to install drivers not digitally signed by Microsoft or have an invalid signature.
So, it can be used to fix the HWiNFO64.SYS Driver errors.
Here's how you can temporarily disable Driver Signature Enforcement in Windows 11:
Open Windows settings, go to the ‘System’ tab, and click on the ‘Recovery’ tile on the right.
Under the Recovery options, click the ‘Restart now’ button next to Advanced startup.
This will restart your computer into Advanced Startup Options (Windows Recovery mode). Once your computer restarts, click on ‘Troubleshoot’ and then click on ‘Advanced options’.
Then, click on ‘Startup Repair’.
After that, click the ‘Restart’ button.
When your computer restarts again, you will see a list of startup settings. Press F7 or number key 7 on the top of your keyboard to Disable driver signature enforcement.
Your computer will start up with Driver Signature Enforcement disabled temporarily, allowing you to easily install your driver. After you restart your computer, it will automatically enable driver signature enforcement again to protect your system. This is a security feature, so be careful and only turn it off when you really need to install drivers from reputable sources.
6. Remove HWiNFO driver
Sometimes, an outdated version of the HWiNFO driver may lead to conflicts with your system, resulting in the 'HWiNFO64.SYS Driver Cannot Load' error. To fix this issue, you can try to uninstall the driver from your computer.
However, if you've previously used HWiNFO software but no longer use it or if you've never installed the tool on your PC yet still encounter the 'HWiNFO64.SYS Driver' error, it could be due to leftover registry entries from a previous installation or another software using the HWiNFO driver.
It is also possible that the driver has been added to the Microsoft driver blacklist. In any case, you can remove the driver and its files from your computer without causing any further issues.
If you have HWiNFO installed on your system, you can try to remove the HWiNFO drivers from its settings. Here’s how:
Open the HWiNFO64 software and click ‘Settings’.
Then, head to the ‘Driver Management' tab and click the ‘Remove’ button.
After that, restart your PC and check if it solves the problem.
If it doesn't fix the issue or you don't have HWiNFO installed, you can still manually uninstall the driver and remove its files from your computer:
To start, open a Command Prompt window with administrative privileges.
In the Command Prompt window, you'll need to type two commands. Type these commands one at a time, and press Enter after typing each command:
sc stop HWiNFO64sc config HWiNFO64 start= disabledMake sure you replace HWiNFO64 in these commands with the exact name and version of the HWiNFO software you have installed. For example, if you have HWiNFO64 installed, use HWiNFO64 in the commands.
These commands stop the HWiNFO service if it's currently running and disable it from starting automatically.
Then restart your computer. Afterward, remove the HWiNFO64 service from your system by running this command in the elevated command prompt window:
sc delete HWiNFO64
Clear Registries
After running these commands, make sure to delete any leftover entries from the Windows Registry. To do that, follow these steps:
Press Window+R to open the Run dialog. Then, type regedit and press Enter to open Windows Registry Editor.
In the Registry Editor, you'll need to follow this path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services
Within the Services section, look for the key related to HWiNFO64. It should be named something similar to 'HWiNFO64'. Right-click on this key and select 'Delete'.
To complete the removal process, restart your computer.
7. Reinstall the HWiNFO64 software
Many users have reported that reinstalling the HWiNFO64 software resolved the problem. Reinstalling the HWiNFO software will also reinstall the HWiNFO64 drivers, potentially fixing the issue.
Remove the software and all its drivers using the above method. Then, go visit the official HWiNFO download page and download the latest version of the app. Make sure to download the 'Installer' version.
Run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation. Then, restart your PC and see if the error appears again.
8. Rollback the Recent Update of Windows 11
If you're facing the 'HWiNFO64.SYS Driver Cannot Install' error, rolling back an update could be a potential solution. This is particularly effective when the error crops up right after a recent system or driver update. By reverting back to a previous version of Windows or a specific driver, you might be able to eliminate the conflict that's triggering the error.
First, open the Windows Settings app by pressing Windows+I, then click on Windows Update in the left sidebar. On the right, select 'Update history'.
Scroll down to the Related settings section, and click on 'Uninstall updates'.
Now, you'll see a list of all the recent updates that have been installed on your computer. Find the specific update you want to remove from the list and click the 'Uninstall' button next to it.
After the update is uninstalled, reboot your computer.
9. Reinstall Windows 11
Windows 11 introduced a new recovery option called "Fix problems using Windows Update," which allows you to reinstall Windows without affecting your programs, files, and settings. This feature is a less traumatic alternative to the Windows reset tool or complete reinstallation of Windows 11 from scratch.
Introduced in preview build 25905, this feature is currently exclusive to Insider builds but will soon become accessible to all users.
If this feature is available to you, you can use it for a soft reinstallation of Windows. If it's not accessible, you can still use the Windows Reset feature to reinstall Windows using the guide below.
Raj Kumar
Now, open Windows Settings, scroll down the 'System' tab, and select the option for 'Recovery'.
On the Recovery settings page, click the 'Reinstall now' button next to the 'Fix problems using Windows Update' option.
Then, click the 'OK' button in the prompt to start the process.
The tool will try to repair the corrupt system components and system files by reinstalling Windows. The process requires an active Internet connection, so ensure that your device is powered on, connected to the network, and plugged into a power source.
When prompted, restart your PC to complete the repair. Or you can check the box to automatically reboot your PC 15 minutes after the installation.
That's it. Using the methods above, your PC should be rid of this error.
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