Drivers in a Windows computer are the link between the hardware and software of the machine. If these drivers are missing or corrupt, the hardware may cease to work. However, some drivers can prevent certain functions on your system and need to be deleted when their job is over. One such driver is EspoDriver.sys. Many users have complained that they are unable to delete this driver. If you encounter this problem on your system, then please read through this article further.
What is the EspoDriver.sys driver – The EspoDriver.sys driver is the driver associated with Esports games. It is responsible for the anti-cheat policies of the game. However, it has a negative that it prevents memory integrity in Core Isolation from enabling.
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Cannot Delete EspoDriver.sys
Here is how to fix Cannot Delete EspoDriver.sys in Windows:
Delete Esports and any Esports game
The EspoDriver.sys driver is associated with Esports games and the Esports application. If you uninstall the application, the driver will get deleted by itself. The procedure to delete the Esports application is as follows:
- Right-click on the Start button and select Settings from the menu.
- In the Settings menu, go to the Apps tab on the left pane.
- In the right pane, select Installed Apps.
- Scroll down to the Esports app.
- Click on the three dots associated with the Esports app.
- Select Uninstall.
- Repeat the process for any other game downloaded through Esports.
- Reboot your system.
Restart your system in Clean Boot state
In case you are not sure which application is pushing the driver to your system, you can consider rebooting your system in the Clean Boot state. When rebooted in the Clean Boot state, all third-party applications will be disabled at startup. The procedure is as follows:
- Press Windows + R to open the Run window.
- Type MSCONFIG in the Run window.
- Hit Enter to open the System Configuration window.
- Go to the Service tab.
- Check the box associated with “Hide all Microsoft Services” and click on Disable all.
- Select Apply and then click on OK.
- Restart your computer.
- The system will boot in the Clean Boot state.
Now, isolate the problematic application and uninstall it.
Stop the driver using Command Prompt
If you are unable to uninstall the driver, the main cause is that the driver is still in use. A Clean Boot should definitely stop it, but if not, then you can consider using elevated Command Prompt to stop the driver. The procedure is as follows:
- Type Command Prompt in the Windows Search bar.
- Click on Run as administrator to open the elevated Command Prompt window.
- Type the following command in the elevated Command Prompt window and hit Enter to execute it.
net stop espodriver
- Once the command has been executed, reboot your system.
Delete the EspoDriver.sys file
Other than the solutions mentioned above, you can also consider deleting the EspoDriver.sys file directly. If the file is deleted, the driver gets uninstalled automatically. All drivers are in the System32 folder. The procedure to delete this file is as follows:
- Open the following folder: C:\Windows\System32\drivers
- If you notice the EspoDriver.sys file, right-click on it and select Delete.
- If you encounter the prompt for administrator permissions, please click on Yes.
- Restart your system.
I hope this was helpful. Please let us know in the comment section below.
Methods:
Delete Esports and any Esports game
Restart your system in Clean Boot state
Stop the driver using Command Prompt
Delete the EspoDriver.sys file
That’s all!!