New PC has PxHlpa64.sys driver incompatible with Win11 Memory Integrity feature

Question

Hello,

I bought a new PC, it's only a few days old, I'm still exploring things including how Win11 does things.

I tried to turn on Memory Integrity but it says an incompatible driver prevents it from activating:

PxHlpa64.sys

Corel Corporation

All I can find online is that this driver is associated with a DVD drive which my All-In-One PC from Hewlett-Packard does not have. A Microsoft page recommends that I simply do not remove the driver just to get Memory Integrity to work, so here I am posting here to see if anyone can help me.

I have not transferred any files from my old computer yet. Here are the programs that I have added to this new PC:

Adobe Acrobat 2020

Adobe Photoshop Elements 15

Adobe Premier Elements 15

Epson Customer Participation

Epson Event Manager

Epson FAX Utility

Epson PC-FAX Driver

Epson Scan

EpsonNet Print

Google Earth Pro

Malwarebytes

Mozilla Firefox

NordVPN

NordVPN network TAP

Skype

Software Updater (Epson)

Spybot - Search & destroy

VLC Media Player

XnView

I did install and uninstall the Jacquie Lawson Advent Calendar (jacquielawson.com) after I found its window size was puny and would not enlarge. The Uninstall Wizard indicated it would remove this program and all related files. I trust that this is true such that the driver in question was not part of that software.

I have uninstalled some programs of what they call bloatware. TikTok and the like.

I do not know what this Corel driver does and how and when it got onto this new computer.

Can anyone confirm if that driver is only for a DVD drive (which this new All-In-One PC does not have) and how I might proceed in order to successfully turn on Memory Integrity? It seems odd that Microsoft would include it on this new PC if it was incompatible with Memory Integrity.

Thank you for any advice.

Answer 1

That error occurs if you run the command from an unelevated Command Prompt.

To open an elevated Command Prompt. click Start, type cmd.exe. When the search results are shown, right-click the cmd.exe entry and choose Run as administrator.

And, regarding the driver backup, you can copy the two REG files and the C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\PxHlpa64.sys file (which has been renamed to PxHlpa64.sys.old) to your USB drive. Nothing else needs to be done in this case.

Answer 2

Jay,

Nice work. The driver file won't load as it has been renamed, and the respective entry has been deleted from the registry. This also means Adobe Premiere Elements 15's (or any other software that uses the driver) DVD-burning feature will be inoperable.

To re-import the driver, Memory Integrity should be disabled, and the system has to be restarted. After a restart, run the two REG files (C:\PxHlpa64_filter.reg and C:\PxHlpa64.reg) by double-clicking and clicking Yes when asked for confirmation. Then rename the driver file to its old name (remove the .old suffix). Restart again, and the driver should load.

Regarding the Windows 11 version number: I don't know why it's that way. But look at the previous OSes and their version numbers.

• 95-ME = v4
• 2K-XP = v5
• Vista, 7, 8, and 8.1 = v6
• 10-11 = v10

Here's a convo on reddit Why did Microsoft decide to call Windows 11's build number, build 10. highernumber still?

Windows 11 starts from OS Build 10.22000.

Windows 10 starts from OS Build 10.0.10240.

Answer 3

Jay,

It's a single command that needs to be typed in Command Prompt.

After getting the service name, I'll post the instructions about backing up the service.

Answer 4

There is a Corel KB on this subject.

Roxio: You cannot enable the Windows Memory Integrity feature because PxHlpa64.sys is not compatible:

https://kb.corel.com/en/129332

However, I don't know how PxHlpa64.sys got into your computer when you have no disk-burning program installed.

To eliminate the driver, follow the steps in the article.

What is PxHlpa64.sys and How to Uninstall it:

https://www.winhelponline.com/blog/pxhlpa64-sys-uninstall-driver/

Answer 5

Hi Nicole,

I did read that thread first. Did you read how different their circumstances were? Especially did you notice that their PC has a DVD drive with which this driver keeps getting associated and the advice given there centers around that DVD drive while, like I wrote, my new AIO PC does not have a DVD drive?

Bottom line, their advice does not apply here. I have no DVD drive in my new PC.

Thank you.