It’s confirmed that an outstanding infrastructure update might be responsible for this error, but in most cases, the problem is indeed related to an incompatible driver belonging to FTDI Bus Driver. You can take steps to update it, uninstall it via the CDM Uninstaller, repair the driver structure, remove all the remnants using Autoruns, or delete it manually. Another way to fix this error is to disable CPU-based virtualization – if VTX or SVM is disabled, Windows Security won’t have a reason to enable core isolation or memory integrity. In some circumstances, you can also experience this error due to a corrupted USB controller driver. If you’re just starting to troubleshoot the Incompatible Drivers error, follow the confirmed fixed below.
1. Install the Latest Windows Updates
One of the most common causes of this issue is when there is at least one outstanding infrastructure update that has to be deployed. As it turns out, your OS might be unable to launch the Core Isolation function if the latest security update is not installed. If you’re just beginning to troubleshoot the issue, the first step in resolving this issue should be to install all pending Windows updates. Follow the instructions below to access the Windows Update component and ensure that you are using the most recent release of Windows 11. Here’s what you need to do:
2. Update FTDI driver from the official website
The most frequent cause of this error is when the core isolation or the memory integrity feature of Windows Security is actually blocked by a severely outdated driver belonging to the FTDI BUS Driver service which is an integral part of the USB Serial Converter Driver. Note: FTDI (the parent company of this driver) is specialized in USB devices that bridge the gap between legacy devices and modern computers. If you’re on Windows 10 or Windows 11, The FTDI BUS Driver is likely a remnant driver from the Windows 7 era. If you always upgraded your OS instead of clean installing it since Windows 7, chances are this legacy kept being migrated by the Windows upgrade agent whenever you upgraded to a new operating system version. This driver doesn’t have the ability to update itself, but the good news you can do it manually by accessing the official website and downloading the latest version for your Windows version. In case you still use the FTDI BUS Driver service in some capacity, follow the instructions below to update it to the latest version available and avoid the ‘incompatibility’ flag:
3. Run the CDM Uninstaller (if applicable)
If you previously used software from FTDI, there’s a big chance you see the Incompatible drivers error due to a problem caused by legacy versions of the FTDI USB-Serial converters. This problem is quite widespread on every Windows version from Windows 7 to Windows 11. To address this issue, you’ll need to run the DM uninstaller to uninstall all devices signed with Vendor ID 0403. Note: This procedure will affect every USB-serial converter signed by FTDI and any other product currently installed on your PC that uses the FTDI chipset. Only follow the instructions below if you have FTDI software installed. Running the CDM uninstaller will also help fix a conflict between two or more converters installed on one computer and conflicts caused by a driver version mismatch. Follow the instructions below to run the CDM Uninstaller utility to fix the Incompatible drivers: ftdibus.sys error:
4. Disable Intel or AMD Virtualization (if applicable)
Keep in mind that memory integrity & core isolation are two security settings that your OS will not attempt to start if virtualization is disabled at a BIOS or UEFI level. If you’re looking for a quick fix that will stop the incompatibility ftdibus.sys errors without treating the root cause of the issue, you can simply disable Virtualization inside the BIOS settings. Note: This action will affect other 3rd party programs that need virtualization. Skip this method if you use VirtualBox, QEMU, Citric, BlueStacks, VMware Fusion, Parallels Desktop, Oracle VM Virtual Box and VMware Workstation, and any other virtualization software. Depending if you’re using an AMD or Intel CPU, the virtualization technology that you are using will be different:
If you have an Intel CPU, you must disable the Intel (Intel Virtualization Technology) (a.k.a. Intel VT-x)If you have an AMD CPU, you must disable AMD (AMD Secure Virtual Machine) (a.k.a. AMD SVM)
If you want to go for this fix and you understand that this action might affect other 3rd party apps and you’re fine with it, follow the instructions below to disable virtualization:
5. Reinstall all Universal Serial Bus Controllers
This problem can also be indirectly caused by an inconsistency rooted inside the Serial Bus Controllers drivers. If you get the ftdibus.sys error when attempting to use a device connected via USB, reinstalling the FTDI BUS Driver will not help you fix the issue. In this case, you’ll need to reinstall the entire fleet of USB controllers. The easiest way to do this is to use Device Manager to uninstall every USB controllers that may have contributed to this problem. By doing this, you will force Windows to reinstall the generic set of USB controller drivers at the next startup. Here’s a simple tutorial on how to uninstall and reinstall USB controllers using Device Manager:
6. Use Autoruns to delete the driver
If you get this incompatibility error exclusively the ftdibus.sys driver, one easy way to take care of the issue is to use Autoruns to remove every mention of the incompatible driver. This is especially useful in situations where you already tried removing the driver and you still have some remnant files that are causing this problem. Note: Autoruns can help you locate, group, and eliminate superfluous runonce, run, startup folders, and registry keys. In this case, we’ll use it to completely delete the driver and eliminate the conflict that is preventing you from enabling Core Isolation or Memory Integrity. Here’s a quick guide to setting up and using Autoruns to fix and remove every mention of the ftdibus.sys driver:
7. Reformat driver structure with DISM
This problem can also occur due to an improper driver structure. As it turns out, there are documented scenarios where the ftdibus.sys driver is not actually incompatible – it’s just incorrectly formatted in the driver’s table. This will force Windows Security to label it as incompatible. Update: Microsoft has recently changed and updated the driver list structure at the end of 2022 and FTDI (the company that developed the underlying ftdibus.sys) didn’t update to the new naming convention. Fortunately, if this scenario si applicable, you can use a DISM command to get the list of drivers under your local computer and modify the naming convention using the pnputil command to delete the driver from the list. Here’s a quick step-by-step guide that will allow you to do this:
8. Delete the ftdibus.sys driver manually
If you prefer the brute force method and you have no use for the incompatible driver (ftdibus.sys), one easy way to prevent Windows from showing the error is to go into your System32 directory and delete it manually. Important: Don’t follow this method if you’re actively using a converter from FTDI. This will break the functionality of the FTDI Bus driver and prevent the device from being discovered. But if the ftdibus.sys is a remnant from a driver that you no longer use, you can safely follow the instructions below to delete the driver file manually:
