How to Fix wdcsam64_prewin8.sys Core Isolation Turned Off

Have you ever encountered the error “wdcsam64_prewin8.sys“? If yes, you’ve come to the right place. Here this tutorial on NewsPivot explains how to resolve the issue of “Core Isolation Memory integrity incompatible drivers wdcsam64_prewin8.sys”.

Error: wdcsam64_prewin8.sys Core Isolation Turned Off

Memory integrity is a virtualization-based feature primarily used to enhance protection against malware attacks to protect and harden Windows. There are several ways to enable Memory integrity. For example, you can turn it on through Core Isolation in Windows Security, or enable it through Group Policy and the registry. However, some users are unable to turn on Memory integrity due to the wdcsam64_prewin8.sys incompatible driver error.

“Memory integrity can't be turned on due to incompatible drivers - wdcsam64_prewin8.sys. Windows Security has alerted me to the fact that Memory integrity is turned off. When I try to turn it back on, I get an error message telling me that it cannot be turned on due to an incompatible driver. Specifically, wdcsam64_prewin8.sys is the driver for my external hard drive.”answers.microsoft.com

Now, you can continue reading to get useful solutions to this problem.

How to Fix Core Isolation Memory Integrity Incompatible Drivers

Fix 1. Remove the Incompatible Driver Using PnPUtil Command

Removing the incompatible driver by using the PnPUtil command line tool is a proven solution to resolve the incompatible driver issue. Just follow the steps below.

Step 1. In the Windows search box, type cmd, then right-click Command Prompt and choose Run as administrator.

Step 2. When you see the User Account Control prompt, select the Yes option.

Step 3. Type dism /online /get-drivers /format:table and press Enter. After that, all the driver packages will be listed. You need to find the line containing wdcsam64_prewin8.sys, then take note of the Published Name.

Step 4. Finally, type pnputil /delete-driver Published Name /uninstall /force and press Enter. Remember to replace the Published Name with the actual one. For example, you can type pnputil /delete-driver oem3.inf /uninstall /force.

Step 5. Try to turn on Memory integrity and check if the incompatible driver error has been resolved.

Fix 2. Update the Incompatible Driver

If you do not want to remove the driver, you can check if there is a newer version of the driver and update it.

Step 1. Right-click the Windows logo button and choose Device Manager.

Step 2. Expand the listed categories to find wdcsam64_prewin8.sys, then right-click on it and choose Update driver.

Step 3. Follow the on-screen instructions to let Windows search for the best available driver or install the driver you’ve downloaded from its official site.

Fix 3. Update Windows to the Latest Version

If your computer is not up to date, the problem of wdcsam64_prewin8.sys Core Isolation turned off may occur. You can go to Windows Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update to check if there are system updates available. If yes, download and install them.

Fix 4. Run SFC and DISM Scans

Corrupted system files may also be the cause of the incompatible driver issue. To rule out this cause, you can run the System File Checker and Deployment Image Servicing and Management tools to scan for and fix damaged system files.

Step 1. Run Command Prompt as administrator.

Step 2. In the command line window, type DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth and hit Enter.

Step 3. Next, input sfc /scannow and press Enter on your keyboard.

Finally, check if the issue has been fixed.

Bottom Line

Core Isolation Memory integrity incompatible drivers error can be easily removed as long as you implement the solutions listed above. Hope you can turn on Memory integrity successfully.