Core isolation memory integrity can't be started on Surface Pro 5th generation

Question

After the latest update to Windows 10 1903 I can't enable Memory Integrity on my Surface Pro 5 device. I get the message "memory integrity can't be started. There may an incompatibility on your device." Previously, I had memory integrity enabled on this same device. After upgrading to Windows 10 1903, I wanted a fresh OS so I reset the Surface Pro back to factory defaults (using Reset This PC in Windows 10 Recovery app) and chose the option to delete everything. After Windows was reinstalled, I could not turn on memory integrity.

I have all the necessary hardware and I am using only Microsoft products installed on this device. Here are the details:

• Windows 10 Pro 1903 with all Windows updates installed, no pending updates waiting to be installed.
• No 3rd party antivirus, only using Windows Defender
• Logged in as an Administrator
• No non-Microsoft programs installed at all. I only have Windows 10, Microsoft Office 2019 (all updates installed).
• I tried a Reset on my Surface Pro and reset back to original factory settings and installed all available Windows updates and tried to enable memory integrity but got the same error message.

There are hundreds of people reporting the same problem over the past 2-3 months so clearly something became broken with Windows 10.

Again, I am using a Microsoft Surface Pro and Windows 10 Pro. I don't even want to hear the words "incompatibility" !

Answer 1

Core isolation is another Windows 10 feature that, in my opinion, was put there to save people who are not otherwise able to save themselves. While it does work, it interferes with Windows' normal operation (by design) which can occasionally cause trouble, particularly for the intended user base.

Here is, again, in my opinion, the correct way to protect against ransomware: Instead of enabling core isolation, backup the C: drive every day (if not more frequently) with an image application that locks the backup archive from being changed.

Then, if your computer is struck by ransomware, which is getting tougher to avoid, simply format the C: drive and restore your backup.

Answer 2

I bought a new surface laptop 3 today. As soon as i connected it to wifi, I lost the ability to turn on core isolation. Also, I noted that my wifi initially went down upon connecting to the surface laptop 3. I had to restart the router. Core isolation gave me the same error as noted above, “memory integrity can't be started. There may an incompatibility on your device.”

Given that this was a brand new microsoft device, without additional software installed, I knew the error message must not be correct.

After spending  hours with microsoft tech support, the problem couldnt be solved. I finally exchanged the device for another identical unit. 

Wanting to rule out a malware infected router, I used my mobile hotspot to connect the surface laptop 3 during setup. Guess what? Core isolation was not tampered with and it turns on!

My conclusion is that my router is infected with a virus that cripples windows defender....

One other key piece of information. I suspected the router because core isolation would not activate on ANY of my house windows 10 devices.

Answer 3

PhadyJunis did an excellent job outlining this issue.  I, too, have a Surface Pro 5 and am experiencing this exact same issue.  It would be more than nice if someone at Microsoft would be so kind as to explain in a straightforward manner what the fix is for this issue.  The fix to the problem is clear as mud; there seems to be no clearly worded step-by-step fix as of yet.  Hopefully, Luke Skywalker will show up and explain to us all how this is supposed to be implemented. It seems as if a lot of folks are interested in this issue around the internet, but again, there seems to be no clear guidance on this issue out there at this time.  

Microsoft, could you kindly provide insight on this to us?  

Thanks.

UPDATE (12/24/19): I'm updating my comments for whoever may stumble upon this post.  Memory Integrity under Core Isolation cannot be enabled on Surface Pro 5 because the hardware cannot support it; Virtualization must be enabled for your CPU in your UEFI firmware settings, which Surface Pro 5 does not have.  When you have that turned on in a PC that has this capability, then the Memory Integrity will be able to be successfully turned on.  I just enabled this on a Surface Go with Windows 10 Pro running in S mode.  Works great. 

Here's a link to a very good article on what Core Isolation and Memory Integrity are: 

 https://www.howtogeek.com/357757/what-are-core-isolation-and-memory-integrity-in-windows-10/