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The queste on figuring out why iqvw64e.sys is considered unsafe in Windows 11 22H2 after upgrading from Windows 10 on a Dell Optiplex 3060 Micro system

Posted by jpluimers on 2025/07/18

It started with this tweet [Wayback/Archive] Jeroen Wiert Pluimers @wiert@mastodon.social on Twitter: “Does anyone know why this iqvw64e.sys file from @Dell is considered unsafe? It is signed by @IntelSoftware and resides in C:\Program Files\Dell\SupportAssistAgent\PCDr\SupportAssist\6.0.7033.2285\iqvw64e.sys iqvw64e.inf in the same directory: 04/06/2018,1.3.2.17 @IntelSupport? “

Dutch screenshot indicating iqvw64e.sys cannot be loaded because of a security issue.Dutch screenshot indicating iqvw64e.sys cannot be loaded because of a security issue. Found at https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/iqvw64esys-a-driver-cannot-load-on-this-device/dcc336f6-8815-4346-952b-fff97fe81523

which I saved in a thread at [Wayback/Archive] Thread by @jpluimers on Thread Reader App.

Clicking the left button (“Meer informatie” or “Learn more”) gets you to [Wayback/Archive] A driver can’t load on this device – Microsoft Support

Here are a few options you can try if you want to be able to use this driver:
  • See if an updated and compatible driver is available through Windows Update or from the driver manufacturer.
  • If that doesn’t work, try turning off the Memory integrity setting in Windows Security.

The last suggestion is not useful as it lowers the security of your device.

iqvw64e.sys an Intel Network Adapter Diagnostic Driver that has been vulnerable in the past

The driver was new enough for this CVE not to be applicable:

The older version was actively uses as cheat mechanism for games though (via [Wayback/Archive] UnKnoWnCheaTs.Me on Twitter: “iqvw64e.sys by Intel has been approved: …” and [Wayback/Archive] UnKnoWnCheaTs – Multiplayer Game Hacking and Cheats – iqvw64e.sys):

Other people having this issue

  • iqvw64e.sys A driver cannot load on this device – Microsoft Community (dated 20220710) which cannot be archived as it is behind a logon wall, so I quote the question in full (there was no real answer other than turn off memory integrity):

    ImageHello,

    After latest Windows 11 update (KB4023057) I started getting this error message pop up on every restart. I’m aware that this is due to having memory integrity feature on. I tried updating the driver, but intel driver and support assist is saying that no drivers need update.

    iqvw64e is a software component of Intel Network Adapter Diagnostic Driver. In the Microsoft support website, they suggest disabling this security feature which I don’t want to do for obvious reasons.

    Please help me fix this.

    Thanks!
    Daniel

    Luckily the Google cached version of the page could be archived: [Wayback/Archive].

  • [Wayback/Archive] 22H2 vulnerable Intel NIC driver iqvw64e.sys : sysadmin
    When the machine boots up I am greeted by a “Program Compatibility assistant” warning saying that the driver iqvw64e.sys is vulnerable and that it cannot load.
    So I went and installed this:
    And when I reboot it is still telling me that the file is vulnerable.
    I noticed that when I installed the update from Intel the driver never changed at all, there are 4 copies of it on this system and they are all this file:
    05/22/2019 02:57 AM 58,304 iqvw64e.sys

    my version of iqvw64e.sys is slightly larger, dated later, but signed earlier:

    14-11-2019  19:37            58.520 iqvw64e.sys

Sigcheck v2.90 - File version and signature viewer
Copyright (C) 2004-2022 Mark Russinovich
Sysinternals - www.sysinternals.com

c:\program files\dell\supportassistagent\pcdr\supportassist\6.0.7033.2285\iqvw64e.sys:
        Verified:       Signed
        Signing date:   10:18 17-9-2018
        Publisher:      Intel(R) INTELND1820
        Company:        Intel Corporation
        Description:    Intel(R) Network Adapter Diagnostic Driver
        Product:        Intel(R) iQVW64.SYS
        Prod version:   1.3.2.17
        File version:   1.3.2.17 built by: WinDDK
        MachineType:    64-bit

    The crux however might be that this machine got upgraded from Windows 10 to Windows 11, as per this comment in the above reddit post:

    I was curious why this issue suddenly came up, and came across this:

    https://www.intel.ca/content/www/ca/en/support/articles/000087483/ethernet-products.html

    Looks like the PROSet and Advanced Networking Services are no longer supported on Windows 11. So it only makes sense that eventually something in Windows 11 would complain about the old Windows 10 driver being installed.

    And indeed, [Wayback/Archive] Support Information for Intel® PROSet and Intel® Advanced…:

    Intel® PROSet and Intel® Advanced Network Services (Intel® ANS) will not be supported on Microsoft Windows* 11 or future Microsoft client operating system updates. This includes the Intel ANS features that allow the creation of Intel ANS Teams and VLANs. Intel driver support for Microsoft Windows 11 will be available.
    Microsoft Windows 10 is the final Microsoft Windows Operating System to support Intel PROSet and Intel ANS.
  • Further down the above Reddit post was this comment:

    I have this problem on two Dell Optiplexes. However there’s no Intel network components to uninstall. These were upgraded to 11 from 10. I tried removing the NIC and driver, and it loaded an older driver, same issue.
    I get this in event viewer and the popup mentioned herein.
    The Nal Service service failed to start due to the following error:
    A certificate was explicitly revoked by its issuer.

    I see the first bit too: the machine no Intel network device, but still the driver was installed.

Why is iqvw64e.sys loaded when I have no Intel network device

Using devmgmt.msc (Windows Device Manager), it is easy to view which .inf driver file is used by what device:

[Wayback/Archive] How To View All Installed Drivers In Windows 10

Step 1: Open the Device Manager. There are multiple ways to open it. The easiest way is to right-click on the Start button and then click the Device Manager option.

Step 2: Once the Device Manager is launched, click on the View menu and select Devices by driver. That is it! The Device Manager will now display all installed drivers.

I did just that, and was surprised: no iqvw64e.inf, so what is loading that driver?

So using procexp.exe (Process Explorer), I found the loading process:

C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe -k LocalSystemNetworkRestricted -p -s PcaSvc

That didn’t help much as it was the Program Compatibility Assistant Service itself:

02-12-2022  22:38         1.013.120 pcasvc.dll

...

c:\windows\system32\pcasvc.dll:
        Verified:       Signed
        Signing date:   05:13 17-11-2022
        Publisher:      Microsoft Windows
        Company:        Microsoft Corporation
        Description:    Program Compatibility Assistant Service
        Product:        Microsoft« Windows« Operating System
        Prod version:   10.0.22621.900
        File version:   10.0.22621.900 (WinBuild.160101.0800)
        MachineType:    64-bit

It got introduced in Windows 8 (see [Wayback/Archive] Program Compatibility Assistant scenarios – Compatibility Cookbook | Microsoft Learn) and it is OK to disable as per [Wayback/Archive] Security guidelines for system services in Windows Server 2016 | Microsoft Learn:

Program Compatibility Assistant Service

Name Description
Service name PcaSvc
Description This service provides support for the Program Compatibility Assistant (PCA). PCA monitors programs installed and run by the user and detects known compatibility problems. If this service is stopped, PCA will not function properly.
Installation Only with Desktop Experience
Startup type Automatic
Recommendation OK to disable
Comments None

I do not want to disable it as it will help with other (potentially old programs: aren’t we all using those every now and then) to run successfully.

My working theory now is that it is not a device that loads the driver, but a program running at startup, likely from Dell.

Hopefully later I will have some time to prove that.

Working around the iqvw64e.sys block?

[Wayback/Archive] みなかわ on Twitter: “これになった。■ Windows 11 で　”このデバイスにドライバ― : iqvw64e.sys が読み込めません”というエラーが発生。” might have the solution in [Wayback/Archive] Windows 11 で　”このデバイスにドライバ― : iqvw64e.sys が読み込めません”というエラーが発生。 – 私のPC自作部屋 but Google translate could not translate the images so it is extremely hard to read.

Since the offending file is located at C:\Program Files\Dell\SupportAssistAgent\PCDr\SupportAssist\6.0.7033.2285\iqvw64e.sys it might help to uninstall Dell SupportAssist.

Some interesting steps on that are in [Wayback/Archive] Solved: Installation of SupportAssist does not end – Dell Community

Please uninstall all entries of

  • Dell Support Assist,
  • Support Assist remediation,
  • Dell update,
  • SupportAssistAgent,
  • PCDr,
  • PC-Doctor,
  • My Dell,
  • Dell Support Center,
  • Dell Data Vault

…

Thank you for the event files. Please Perform a clean uninstall (If any of these exists)
  1. Uninstall “Dell SupportAssist” and “Dell SupportAssist Agent” from the control panel.
  2. Delete folder “C:\ProgramData\PCDr\”
  3. Delete folder “C:\ProgramData\PC-Doctor, Inc “
  4. Delete folder  “%Appdata%\PCDr“
  5. Delete folder  “C:\Program Files\Dell\SupportAssistAgent”
  6. Delete folder  “C:\Program Files\Dell\SupportAssist”
  7. Delete “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\PC-Doctor”  key from “windows registry” (Regedit).
  8. Delete “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\PC-Doctor” key from  “windows registry” (Regedit).
  9. Delete “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Dell\SupportAssistAgent” key from “windows registry” (regedit).
Ensure the following 4 windows services are removed from ‘Windows Services’.
  • Dell Data Vault Collector
  • Dell Data Vault Processor
  • Dell Data Vault Service API
  • Dell SupportAssist

Though SupportAssist is on Chocolatey, but there is only one version at the time of writing, so I’m not sure how well that will be maintained: [Wayback/Archive] Chocolatey Software | Dell SupportAssist for home PCs 3.11.4.29.

You can also manually download the installer from [Wayback/Archive] SupportAssist for home PCs | Dell UK as [Wayback] downloads.dell.com/serviceability/catalog/SupportAssistInstaller.exe.

Searches

–jeroen

This entry was posted on 2025/07/18 at 12:00 and is filed under Dell Optiplex 3060/5060/7060 Micro, Hardware, Power User, Windows, Windows 10, Windows 11. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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