Memory Integrity Protection question


win11freak

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11:19 PM
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OS
Windows 11 Pro 22H2
Currently, I'm running Windows 11 on my old Dell 5490 laptop which was running Windows 10 and now I recently clean installed Windows 11 24H2 and running without any issues. Since it's an older laptop, the Memory Integrity protection was off by default after installation of Windows 11 and it was off the whole time when I was running Windows 10 on it.

I'm in the market of purchasing a Lenovo thinkpad t14 gen 5 in the future and my question is, if I download the needed drivers directly from Lenovo's website page, would the Memory Integrity allow it to install the Lenovo drivers or should I let Windows 11 just download all the needed drivers under the Windows Updates / Optional Updates and just let the Updates install the drivers from there?

I'm just afraid the Memory Integrity feature will block some drivers if I download them directly from the official Lenovo drivers web page.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 22H2
The Memory Integrity feature defends your memory from malicious apps that try to exploit Windows drivers to take over your computer.

It will not block device driver update installation.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
    Motherboard
    Erica6
    Memory
    Micron Technology DDR4-3200 16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC671
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster U28E590
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    SAMSUNG MZVLQ1T0HALB-000H1
I believe that the Lenovo thinkpad t14 has this feature on by default anyways since it's a much newer model laptop.

So I shouldn't have any issues installing the drivers manually directly from Lenovo's website?

The Memory Integrity should not block them or report it as incompatible drivers?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 22H2
Be aware that if Windows finds an "incompatible" driver it will turn Memory Integrity off automagically. I had the problem when I had an old Logitech joystick driver installed. Memory Integrity couldn't be enabled until I took it out.

God knows how MS decides what is an incompatible driver, so you may run into this problem no matter where you get the drivers from. It just depends on the driver, and it seems, its age.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self build
    CPU
    Intel i7 13700KF
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z790 UD AC
    Memory
    32 GB Team Group DDR5 - 6000 CL 30
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS TUF GAMING RTX 3070 Ti
    Sound Card
    On board Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung 32 inch curved - one 4K, one 1080p
    Screen Resolution
    4K, 1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Samsung 980 Pro Nvme, 1 TB Samsung 970 EVO Nvme, 2 x Samsung 970 2TB SSD SATA
    PSU
    EVGA 1000Q
    Case
    Rosewill something or other
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15. A whole schwak of Noctua case fans. $$$
    Keyboard
    Logitech G815
    Mouse
    Logitech G502 Hero
    Internet Speed
    700 up, 600 down
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    MalwareBytes
The reason is MS has updated the standards for writing a device driver. Before Memory Integrity, manufacturers had more flexibility in making drivers.

To lock down Windows kernel memory (where device drivers run) from bad behavior, changes have to be made. Any driver which doesn't meet the updated standards is allowed to run, but Memory Integrity is disabled until there are no "out of spec" drivers. Windows has a way of determining which drivers meet that criteria.

A real problem is some manufacturers don't want to revise older drivers. It's not worth their time. If you're stuck with older HW, it's unlikely you will benefit from Memory Integrity since a compatible driver won't be written. Memory Integrity for the most part is a "nice to have" security feature.

The exception being if you have an app (or game) which requires it in order to run.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
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