Windows 10: Windows Security Core Isolation Memory Integrity Driver Clash - cannot delete

Hi,After Win 11 upgrade I notice one of the components of Windows Security showing a warning. The section is Device Security / Core Isolation / Memory Integrity. You cannot switch this on if you already have insecure drivers on your system. It's pretty well documented - it's the solution that I am having trouble with. The driver that is preventing the feature from coming on is from DELL and called HBtnKey.sys. It is very old. When I first ran the check it was showing twice. Once as the driver for 'Dell Tablet PC Key Buttons HID' and once as per this image:The firs

:)

 

Windows Security - Core Isolation - Memory Integrity - No incompatible drivers found

New post on Dell forum:
‎Windows Security - Core Isolation - Memory Integrity - No incompatible drivers found | DELL Technologies

 

Windows Security - Core Isolation - Memory Integrity - No incompatible drivers found

I own a Dell XPS 13 9300, with all latest updates of Windows 11 and drivers through Dell's SupportAssist software installed, as of May 26th, 2023. I've noticed an alert icon on Windows Security a couple days ago and it says my Memory Integrity was disabled due to incompatible drivers, and it was specifically pointing out a smart card reader related to digital signing certificates called "AlcGener.sys - Giesecke & Devrient GmbH".

Let's get the obvious out of the way:

• Windows is updated to its latest version
  
• Ran winget /upgrade --all to get the latest version of all software installed (nothing related to the driver issue or the programs that use the device was shown)
  
• Already used windows update and dell software to look for updated drivers
  
• No issues are shown in device manager, all drivers seem to be working fine
  
• Virtualization and Hypervisor are enabled
  
• I use this machine with WSL2 enabled
  

I've looked it up and multiple answers in videos and help forums such as this one stated I should delete it in order to enable the core isolation again (yes, it was working before). So multiple sources helped identify the offending driver using:

It was not possible to delete the driver at first, so they recommended using "/uninstall /force" with the command as well. This did seem to work. Unfortunately, despite the driver no longer existing on my system, I still got the Memory Integrity alert.

When I ran the scan verifying driver compatibility, it stated there is an issue, and recommended fixing driver incompatibility issues before being able to enable the Memory Integrity, only this time, when I wen to check on driver incompatibility, nothing was shown, no drivers whatsoever.





I figured I've done something wrong so I set to uninstall all related programs that were supposed to use the smart card digital signing certificate thing, restarted the computer, ran Windows Update and Dell SupportAssist once again (nothing was added nor installed), and still the Memory Integrity status says there are driver incompatibility issues that need resolving.

I've been looking for this for a couple days now and could not find anything on this particular case, when there is no info on the offender driver show by Windows Security. Just so you know I already covered the basics, here are some of the links I've already went through:

• On Microsoft Community
  
  • Memory Integrity turned itself off due to incompatible drivers. - Microsoft Community
    
  • Memory Integrity: Core Isolation Error - Microsoft Community
    
  • Cannot enable Core Isolation in Windows 11 due to incompatible drivers - Microsoft Community
    
  • Core Isolation (Memory Integrity) disabled due to incompatible driver - Microsoft Community
    
  • Core isolation can't be activated because of incompatible driver - Microsoft Community
    
  • Drives incompatíveis - Isolamento de Núcleo - integridade da memória - Microsoft Community
    
  • A integridade da memória está desativada. Seu dispositivo pode estar - Microsoft Community
    
  • Why do incompatible drivers prevent using Memory integrity? - Microsoft Support
    
• On YouTube:
  
  • 
    
  • 
    
  • 
    
• Other Websites:
  
  • Core Isolation Failed- Incompatible Driver - Microsoft Community
    
  • Core isolation can't be activated because of incompatible driver called AlcGener.sys How... (****)
    
  • AlcGener.sys: What Is This Smart Card Reader Driver and What Is It For? – Maison da Silva
    
  • How to Enable Core Isolation to resolve “Kernel-mode Hardware-enforced Stack Protection is off – Maison da Silva
    
• On the driver itself:
  
  • Giesecke & Devrient GmbH StarSign CUT - Should I Remove It?
    

I know I shouldn't have forced removing the driver in the first place, but given I already put this much effort on solving this, I would appreciate any help on figuring out and solving this issue on my computer.

 

Cannot Turn On Core Isolation Memory Integrity in Settings

From Tutorial -> Turn On or Off Core Isolation Memory Integrity in Windows 10 Windows 10 Tutorials

Not able to perform steps in Option 1
Under "Windows Defender Security Center", "Device Security" is not an option.
Winver reports Version 1709 (OS build 16299 402)
The processor is Intel I3
Virtualization is enabled in system BIOS.


Please advise.