5 Ways to Fix “A Driver Cannot Load on This Device” Error on Windows 11

Pankil is a Civil Engineer turned freelance writer. Since his arrival at Guiding Tech in 2021, he delves into the world of how-tos, and troubleshooting guides for Android, iOS, and Windows. Besides his new-found love for mechanical keyboards, he’s a disciplined footfall fan and loves international travel with his wife.

Fix 1: Update the Problematic Driver

If a driver is incompatible, Windows may fail to load it. In most cases, you can fix such issues by merely updating the driver. Hence, you should start with that.

Step 1:Right-click theStart iconand selectDevice Managerfrom the list.

Step 2:Locate the problematic driver, right-click on it, and selectUpdate driver.

After that, follow the on-screen instructions to finish updating the driver and see if the error appears again.

Fix 2: Roll Back to the Previous Driver

If the “A driver cannot load on this device” message only started appearing after a recent driver update, you can try reverting to the previous version of the driver. Here’s how.

Step 1:Right-click theStart iconand selectDevice Managerfrom the list.

Step 2:Locate the troublesome driver, right-click on it, and selectProperties.

Step 3:Under theDrivertab, clickRoll Back Driver.

Step 4:Select a reason for the rollback and click onYesto continue.

When you restart your computer, Windows will restore the previous version of the driver to fix the “A driver cannot load on this device” error.

Fix 3: Turn Off Memory Integrity in Windows Security

Memory Integrity is a feature inWindows Securitythat may prevent a driver from loading at times.Microsoft recommendsthat you disable the Memory Integrity feature to get rid of it.

Step 1:Click thesearch iconon the taskbar, type inWindows securityand pressEnter.

Step 2:Go toDevice security.

Step 3:Click onCore isolation details.

Step 4:Toggle off theMemory integrityoption.

Fix 4: Delete the UpperFilters and LowerFilters Registry Values

Such an error could also appear when some of the registry entries associated with the device are corrupt. Specifically, UpperFilters and LowerFilters are the two keys that you need to delete to get rid of this error.

To do this, you first need to know the correct class GUID (Globally Unique Identifier) of the relevant device in question. Here’s how to find it.

Step 1:Right-click theStart iconand selectDevice Managerfrom the list.

Step 2:Right-click the problematic driver (for this guide, we’re checking ASUS TouchPad driver) and selectProperties.

Step 3:Switch to theDetailstab and use the drop-down menu underPropertyto selectClass GUID. Then, note down the value that appears in the box.

After that, delete the UpperFilters and LowerFilters registry values associated with the device by following the steps below.

Step 1:Press theWindows key + Rto open the Run dialog. Type inregeditand pressEnter.

Step 2:In the Registry Editor window, paste the following path in the address bar at the top to navigate to theClasskey.

Step 3:Inside the Class key, locate the class GUID noted earlier. On your right, you’ll see theUpperFiltersandLowerFiltersvalues. In some cases, you may only see either of the two values, which is perfectly normal.

Step 4:Right-click onUpperFiltersand selectDelete. Repeat this step to delete theLowerFiltersentry as well.

Restart your PC after this and check to see if the error appears again.

Fix 5: Perform System Restore

There’s a chance that a recent change made to the system settings or a newly installed program is interfering with the driver and preventing it from loading. Performing a system restore will allow you to undo those changes by reverting to a point before the error first appeared.

Step 1:Open the search menu, type increate a restore pointand pressEnter.

Step 2:Under the System Protection tab, click theSystem Restorebutton.

Step 3:ClickNext.

Step 4:Select the restore point before the error first occurred. Then, hitNext.

Step 5:Review all the details and hitFinish.

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Last updated on 21 June, 2024

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