SOLVED: Core Isolation Memory Integrity Incompatible Drivers WDCSAM64_PREWIN8.SYS

If you are trying to tighten up your security by adding Virtualization-Based Security (aka VBS) to your Windows 11 you might find this error:

Core Isolation Memory Integrity
Incompatible Drivers WDCSAM64_PREWIN8.SYS

Driver date: 11/29/2017
Driver version: 1.2.0.0
Published name: oem26.inf

This is an old driver that ships with both Windows 10 and Windows 11 and very few people need it. In fact we have never run into a situation of any machine using WDCSAM64_PREWIN8.SYS .

Fortunately, it is very easy to remove:

RIGHT click on the START button and select WINDOWS TERMINAL (ADMIN)
- If you are on Windows 10, select POWERSHELL (ADMIN)
You can then list all of the drivers on your computer using pnputil /enum-drivers and find the one with WDCSAM64_PREWIN8.SYS or you can just look at the error message. In my case the driver that needs to go is OEM26.INF
Uninstall the driver using pnputil /delete-driver oem<XX>.inf

You do NOT need a reboot so you can immediately retry to enable CORE ISOLATION and you should see a prompt to reboot once Core Isolation > Memory Integrity is turned ON.

104 Comments

Martin · February 24, 2023 at 4:49 am

tried this to remove oem140.inf, access denied. Anybody help? thanks

Pilar · March 8, 2023 at 10:22 am

I solved this issue following the following simple and detailed instructions:

SOLVED: Core Isolation Memory Integrity Incompatible Drivers WDCSAM64_PREWIN8.SYS
Published by Ian Matthews on November 8, 2021

Anil · February 22, 2023 at 11:51 am

Thanks a lot. it worked.

Barbara · February 18, 2023 at 4:34 pm

it’s telling me one or more devices are presently installed using the specified INF.
deleted all WD software… any fix for this?
Thanks!

Gary McCray · December 24, 2022 at 1:27 pm

I tried to use the above fix to remove wdcsam64.sys, but got this message. Any suggestions? I didn’t attempt to change the path. Should I?
Failed to delete driver package: The system cannot find the path specified.
PS C:\Users\gjmcc>
Thanks

Henry · March 1, 2023 at 12:19 am

Hi, I like to know how the fix this issue, mine is caused by oem28.inf associated with wdcsam64.sys . Do you got any sensible suggestions or solutions?
Thank in advance.

David · December 3, 2022 at 1:38 pm

there were 2 .inf files with the wdcsam drivers, should I delete them in sucession?

Sebastian · November 28, 2022 at 12:56 am

Thanks a lot it worked =)

VINCE · November 24, 2022 at 1:18 am

Brilliant! That pesky driver pops up more than it should, even when using certain brands of pen drive/memory stick. Previously, I had to reinstall Windows 11 to be rid of it. Now it can be removed in seconds.

Dawne · November 10, 2022 at 8:22 pm

Thanks so much for publishing this simple fix which worked perfectly!

T. Todd · November 10, 2022 at 3:51 pm

OH THANK YOU! I am screaming it from the top of my lungs. That incompatible message was driving me nuts. Thanks so much for the correct way to fix the problem. Please have a great day!

Jerry E · November 9, 2022 at 1:32 am

Great fix, the offending INF file was oem34.inf on my wife’s laptop.

Lee Chambers · November 7, 2022 at 8:37 pm

thank you much, mine was oem30.inf and your cure worked beautifully, even for an old lady!

Richard John David · November 5, 2022 at 5:24 pm

I used this approach to successfully remove some Huawei drivers.
However, the Windows Security screen shows that I have some Logitech drivers that are incompatible, but they do not appear on the list when I run pnputil /enum-drivers.
Any ideas?