Microsoft has revealed a new Windows 10 issue, and it could be the most serious to date, as it potentially prevents the correct installation of device drivers.
Why is it such a big deal? Drivers are software that allows your devices and other hardware, such as graphics cards, keyboards, and webcams, for example, to work properly with Windows 10.
Keeping your drivers up to date is essential, as it can help resolve compatibility issues that keep your devices from working properly, add new features, and sometimes even help resolve security issues.
If you can’t install the latest drivers, your devices, as well as your PC, might not work properly – that’s why Microsoft reveals that Windows 10 has a bug that could prevent driver updates from being so worrying.
What’s the problem?
In a warning posted on the Windows Security Support website, Microsoft states that if you see the error message “A driver cannot load on this device”, this may be due to the problem.
Microsoft warns that “if you choose to continue using your device without resolving the driver issue, you may find that the features supported by the driver no longer work, which could have consequences ranging from negligible to severe” .
The mention of “serious” consequences is certainly alarming, but fortunately there is a relatively easy solution.
How to solve the problem
As Microsoft claims, if you have this problem, you can fix it by disabling the “Memory Integrity” setting in Windows 10.
To do this, open the Start menu and click on the Settings icon (the one that is a cog). In the Settings application which opens, click on “Update and security”, then on “Windows Security” in the left menu.
In the window that appears, click on “Device security”, then on “Core isolation details”. Click the toggle under “Memory Integrity” to turn it off.
You should then be able to download and install the latest device drivers, either through Windows Update or through your device manufacturer’s website.
The fix is fairly easy to implement, but it’s not ideal that you have to disable a security feature for the drivers to work. We hope that Microsoft will soon offer a permanent fix that will keep users’ PCs secure.