safe mode Windows 10

With Windows 8 and Windows 10 (64-bit), Microsoft included the Driver Signature enforcement feature to ensure that users of Microsoft can only load drivers that have been signed by Microsoft. Digital Signatures ensure that the software publisher or hardware vendor is trusted and verified by Microsoft. But some publishers and vendors cannot always pay Microsoft to verify all their products or Microsoft cannot verify all the drivers or programs that are published every day. For instance, when you want to use some less official drivers, old unsigned drivers or drivers developed by yourself, this feature needs to be disabled first before you can move on. In this post, we discuss different ways to disable Driver Signature enforcement on Windows 10.

Disable Driver Signature Enforcement

The drivers you normally install on your computer from Windows Update, Original Equipment Manufacturers or some 3th-party driver download software, etc. must be digitally verified by Microsoft via a digital signature. It is an electronic security mark that certifies the publisher for the driver, as well as all the relevant information related to it. If a driver isn’t certified by Microsoft, Windows won’t run them on either 32-bit or 64-bit system. This is referred to as “driver signature enforcement”. In order to install an unsigned driver, you need to disable driver signature enforcement.

NOTE: Please be aware that disabling this, feature and using or installing the driver that was not officially signed could cause damage to your PC. Please only do so when you fully understand what you are about to do.

Disable Driver Signature from Startup settings

This is the simplest way to disable driver signature enforcement on Windows 10 but bear in mind that this method will only disable driver signature temporarily. After you restart your computer driver signature enforcement will automatically turn itself on.

To disable driver signature enforcement do the following:

  • Click on start menu -> settings -> update & Security -> Recovery.
  • Then Click on Restart now under Advanced Startup As shown in the below image.

advanced startup options

  • Now click on  Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings and click the Restart button.
  • When your computer restarts you’ll see a list of options.
  • Here press F7 key to Disable The Driver Signature enforcement.

Disable Driver Signature Enforcement

If after installing a new hardware device or third-party application you are getting The Digital Signature For This File Couldn’t Be Verified Error at startup unable to start windows normally and looking for disable Driver Signature that causes you need to boot from installation media To access advanced startup option.

  • When you get the installation screen skip the first screen and on the next screen click repair your computer.
  • Now  Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings and click the Restart button.
  • When your computer restarts you’ll see a list of options.
  • Here press F7 key to Disable The Driver Signature enforcement.

Enable Test Signing Mode

Also, you Can Enable The Test Signing mode By performing the Bellow command Which Allows to install or use the driver you want. To do this simply Open the command prompt As Administrator Then Perform the command Bellow one by one.

bcdedit.exe -set loadoptions DISABLE_INTEGRITY_CHECKS

bcdedit /set testsinging on

Enable Test Signing Mode

Then Restart your computer to enter test mode. You will be able to see the watermark saying Test Mode on the bottom right corner of your desktop. Now you can install or use the driver you want.

Again If you want to leave Test Mode, Then again open the command prompt as administrator and perform the command below.

bcdedit -set loadoptions ENABLE_INTEGRITY_CHECKS

bcedit /set testingsigning off

leave Test Mode

Then restart your computer into normal mode.

Permanently Disable driver signature enforcement

The previous solution will only disable driver signature enforcement temporarily, but if you want to disable it permanently, follow these steps:

First, open the command prompt as administrator Then type the command below and hit the enter key to execute the command.

bcdedit.exe /set nointegritychecks on

Command disable driver signature enforcement

Again If you Decide To enable driver signature enforcement back again, open the Command Prompt as administrator and perform the Command below.

bcdedit.exe /set nointegritychecks off

Enable driver signature enforcement

Note: Driver Signing is a security feature that protects your system and you should consider re-enabling it as soon as it is possible.

Driver signature enforcement is a useful feature that provides extra protection. But sometimes extra protection can cause problems when installing certain drivers. We hope that you now understand how driver signature enforcement works and how to disable it in Windows 10. Still, have any queries, or suggestions about this post feel free to discuss on the comments below.

Also Read

Steve Ballmer
With over 7 years of experience in the IT industry, I have experience in IT support, helpdesk, sysadmin, network admin, and cloud computing. Certified in Microsoft Technologies (MCTS and MCSA) and also Cisco Certified Professional in Routing and Switching.