Hardlock.sys error

Question

I'm using Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC. I'm trying to install drivers for a camera. Every time I try to install the drivers I get a blue screen of death with a hardlock.sys error. The computer will restart like normal, but it hasn't installed everything I need. I've used this same file to update drivers on other computers and it works just fine. Is there a way to correct the hardlock.sys error?

Answer 1

Dear EE,

The hardlock.sys file is typically associated with third-party licensing software such as Sentinel HASP. While the driver may work on other systems, compatibility issues can arise depending on the specific configuration of your IoT device. To resolve this, we recommend modifying the registry setting for Hardlock by setting the Start value to 4 under HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Hardlock, which disables the driver during startup. Alternatively, uninstalling the driver via Command Prompt or updating it to the latest version may also help1.

Please ensure you back up your registry before making any changes.

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Best regards,

Harry Phan

Answer 2

Found the issue. I ended up having to download and install an updated Sentinal LDK Runtime Environment: https://supportportal.thalesgroup.com/csm?sys_kb_id=92c90aa5db52e78cfe0aff3dbf96196a&id=kb_article_view&sysparm_rank=5&sysparm_tsqueryId=7d56d5c33bbfee50893da7e0c5e45a95&sysparm_article=KB0018318.

Afterwards I was able to install the drivers without issue.