Windows updates are fraught with problems, and this has been the case since Microsoft started. Things keep breaking and users often face the dreaded BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) error. The same goes for the recent October update. You will find the message ‘What failed: hardlock.sys’ at the bottom of the screen. Another error you may get is ‘Page_Fault_in_Non-Paged_Area’.
You can find the hardlock.sys file in the directory location below.
C:\Windows\System32\drivers
It is worth noting that the file is not required to run your Windows10 computer. It was developed by a third party vendor but signed by Microsoft. That doesn’t mean you should delete the file completely. There are many ways to fix the problem and we will discuss all of them below.
Let’s get started.
1. Registry Editor
Always create a restore point before making a system-level change or even installing a major Windows update.
Step 1: Search and open Registry Editor from the Start menu. You will be asked to grant administrator rights.
Step 2: See the details of the folder structure below.
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Hardlock
Step 3: Do nothing if Hardlock folder is missing on your computer. Assuming you can see it, double-click the Start item in the right pane of the window and set the value data to 4. Don’t forget to save all changes.
Reinstall the latest Windows 10 update and check if you still get the BSOD hardlock.sys error.
2. Device driver hard lock
We have written an in-depth guide about the driver, but not everyone can access the system normally due to BSOD error. So I will share a CMD (Command Prompt) hack that you can use in Safe Mode. We will uninstall the Hardlock Device Driver.
Step 1: Open Command Prompt from the Start menu by selecting the ‘Run as administrator’ option.
Step 2: Download this Haspdinst Utility and extract it.
Step 3: Enter below command in CMD.
haspdinst.exe -kp -r -fr -v -purge
Restart your computer once and try updating Windows again. Check if you still get the hardlock.sys error.
3. Uninstall Sentinel Driver
Again, open your computer in Safe Mode if you can’t access the driver from Device Manager normally.
Step 1: Search and open Device Manager from the Start menu. That’s where you’ll find all the drivers installed on your Windows 10 computer.
Step 2: Scroll to the bottom of the window to find the Universal Serial Bus controller. Double-click it to expand it. You will find a driver entry that says ‘Sentinel HASPKey’ or ‘Sentinel USB Key’.
Right click on the key to select Device Uninstall.
4. Pause Windows Updates
You can pause or delay the current updates and wait until Microsoft fixes the issue in the next updates. Many users have turned off auto-updates and want to delay them, so that they have time to later evaluate whether it is safe to install them.
Here’s how to pause updates in Windows 10.
Step 1: Press Windows key + I to open Settings and click Update & Security. There you can at least ‘Pause updates for 7 days’.
You can then pause the update for another 7 days using the same option.
Step 2: Click Advanced options below to find more update options.
Step 3: Scroll a bit and you can delay or pause Windows updates for up to 30 days.
5. Uninstall Windows Update
What about the current situation? You will have to uninstall the current updates that are causing all the problems and pause them until a stable version is released.
Step 1: Go back to Settings > Update & Security and click View update history.
Step 2: You will see a list of all recent Windows updates here with the option Uninstall updates also.
Just follow the onscreen instructions afterwards and restart your computer once to finish.
For those who prefer to use the command line, try this line of code instead.
wusa/uninstall/kb:1234567
Uninstall 2020
We all want that to happen, right? The hard drive.sys The error in Windows 10 is annoying because it leads to a Blue Screen of Death error or a BSOD error. You have no choice but to restart your computer and you have to do it forcefully. Press and hold the power button for a few seconds before the computer turns off.
I hope one of the solutions mentioned above works for you. Again, I recommend being careful before installing new updates on any Windows 10 computer. Especially notable or major update. Follow the news to check for any reports of broken computers. If not, you can update it manually pretty easily.
Next: Updating single applications can be boring and time consuming on Windows. Click the link below to learn how to bulk update all Windows apps in one go.
Categories: How to
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
