Top 5 Ways to Fix Hardlock.sys Error on Windows 10

Windows updates are fraught with problems and this has been the case since Microsoft’s inception. Things keep breaking down and users often face the dreaded BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) error. It’s the same with the last October update. At the bottom of the screen you will find the message ‘What failed: hardlock.sys’. Another error you may see is the ‘Page_Fault_in_Non-Paged_Area’ error.

You can find the hardlock.sys file in the following folder location.

C:\Windows\System32\drivers

What is noteworthy is that the file is not required to run your Windows10 computer. Developed by a third-party vendor but signed by Microsoft. This does not mean that you should delete the file completely. There are ways to fix the problem and we will discuss them all below.

Let’s start.

1. Registry Editor

Always create a restore point before making system-level changes or even installing a major Windows update.

Stage 1: Search for and open Registry Editor from the start menu. You will be asked to grant administrator rights.

Step 2: Examine the folder structure below.

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Hardlock

Stage 3: If there is no Hardlock folder on your computer, do nothing. Assuming you can view this, double click Start Login in the right window pane and set the value data to 4. Don’t forget to save all changes.

Reinstall the latest Windows 10 update and check if you still encounter the BSOD hardlock.sys error.

2. Hard Lock Device Driver

We wrote a detailed guide about drivers, but not everyone can access the system normally due to the BSOD error. Instead I will share a CMD (Command Prompt) hack that you can use in Safe Mode. We will uninstall Hardlock Device Driver.

Stage 1: Open Command Prompt from the Start menu by selecting ‘Run as administrator’.

Step 2: Download and unzip this Haspdinst Utility.

Get Haspdinst

Stage 3: Issue the following command in CMD.

haspdinst.exe -kp -r -fr -v -purge

Restart your computer once and try updating Windows again. Check if you still get the hardlock.sys error.

3. Uninstall the Sentinel Driver

If you cannot access the drivers normally from Device Manager, boot your computer in Safe Mode once again.

Stage 1: Search for and open Device Manager from the start menu. Here you will find all the drivers installed on your Windows 10 computer.

Step 2: Scroll to the bottom of the window to find Universal Serial Bus controllers. Double click on it to expand it. You should find a driver entry that says ‘Sentinel HASPKey’ or ‘Sentinel USB Key’.

Right click the key to select remove device.

4. Pause Windows Update

You can pause or delay the available updates and wait for Microsoft to fix the issue in the next updates. Many users have disabled automatic updates and preferred to delay them, so they have time to evaluate if it is safe to install them later.

Here’s how to pause updates in Windows 10.

Stage 1: Press Windows key+I to open Settings and click Updates & Security. There you can at least ‘Pause updates for 7 days’.

Then you can pause the updates for another 7 days using the same option.

Step 2: Click on Advanced options below to find more update options.

Stage 3: Scroll a little and you can delay or pause Windows updates up to a maximum of 30 days.

5. Uninstall Windows Update

What about the current situation? You will have to uninstall any existing updates that are causing all the problems and pause until a stable version is released.

Stage 1: Go back to Settings > Update & Security and click View update history.

Step 2: You can view a list of all recent Windows updates here, along with the option . Uninstall updates more.

After that follow the on-screen instructions and restart your computer once to finish.

Those who like to use the command line, try this line of code instead.

wusa /uninstall /kb:1234567

remove 2020

We all want that to happen, right? This hardlock.sys The error in Windows 10 is frustrating because it leads to the Blue Screen of Death or BSOD error. You are left with no choice but to restart your computer and you have to do it forcefully. Press and hold the power button for a few seconds before the computer turns off.

I hope one of the solutions mentioned above worked for you. Again, I recommend you do your due diligence before installing new updates on any Windows 10 computer. Particularly notable or major updates. Browse the news to check for any broken computer reports. If not, you can update it manually quite easily.

Next: Updating single apps can be tedious and time consuming on Windows. Click the link below to learn how to batch update all Windows apps at once.