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VISTA: Install unsigned hardware driver in x64 bit

by Alpesh Nakar

The x64 edition of Vista requires signed drivers for hardware?which can be a real problem if you have an application that attempts to install a driver that isn’t signed. Because driver signing isn’t something many independent software publishers bother to do (some simply lack the resources to do it), that often leaves them out in the cold.

Fortunately, according to Chris Holmes, there’s a workaround: It’s possible to manually edit 64-bit Vista’s boot configuration to disable the check for signed drivers. If you do this, any driver, signed or unsigned, can be installed as long as you have admin privileges.

However, one thing to be mindful of is that if you do this, it’s a one-way street: You have to leave driver-signing off in order for an unsigned driver to work. In other words, you can’t disable driver signing, install the driver in question, then re-enable driver signing. The process is simple enough.

  1. Open an elevated CMD prompt (hit Start, type CMD in the search box, and then press Ctrl-Shift-Enter to run CMD as an admin).
  2. Type: bcdedit /set loadoptions DDISABLE_INTEGRITY_CHECKS
    (Note: That’s DDISABLE — with two Ds — for “Driver Disable.”)

Driver signing should be disabled after you reboot. Note: The way this command is phrased, it’ll only make the changes in question for the current boot configuration. (If you want to create a second boot configuration with driver signing turned back on, that may be useful.)

 

Via TechTarget

Vista, Vista x64 Drivers, MSTalkOnline, Alpesh Nakar

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Posted in Vista Hack on June 26th, 2007

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3 Responses to “VISTA: Install unsigned hardware driver in x64 bit”

  1. LEROT Says:
    July 25th, 2007 at 1:49 pm

    There is a way to re-enable Driver Signing(Works on my Vista 64bit Ultimate):
    From an elevated CMD prompt run: bcdedit /set loadoptions DENABLE_INTEGRITY_CHECKS

  2. Alpesh Nakar Says:
    August 1st, 2007 at 9:17 pm

    Thanks Lerot

  3. DarkSyde Says:
    August 22nd, 2007 at 6:36 pm

    DO NOT INSTALL KB932596 for Vista x64. It will prevent this from working. I had all sorts of trouble with SIGNED drivers even. Removing that ’security update’ (laff…) took care of it.

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