Windivert Driver Cannot Be Installed You Must Restart Your Computer -

Encountering the "WinDivert driver cannot be installed, you must restart your computer" error is a sign that your Windows system is functioning as intended—it's protecting itself from a kernel-level change. However, for legitimate networking tools, this protection can be an obstacle. You can successfully get past this error by understanding its causes, whether they be Windows Security's Kernel Isolation, Driver Signature Enforcement, or corrupted installation files.

Once Windows boots up, run your application as an administrator.

Also check that C:\Windows\System32\drivers\ is writable and not corrupted.

If a corrupted installation or lingering files are the issue, a clean reinstallation is the answer. This process is often recommended by developers to fix the problem permanently. Encountering the "WinDivert driver cannot be installed, you

Go to > Protection history to see if WinDivert was blocked. If blocked, select the action and click Allow on device .

Many applications extract the WinDivert.sys file to your system's temporary directory during execution. If this file becomes corrupted, installation fails. Press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog box. Type %temp% and press .

– it’s a legitimate library used by many networking utilities. However, some malware can abuse it to inspect/modify network traffic. If the error appears unexpectedly from an unknown program, run a malware scan (Malwarebytes, Windows Defender Offline) to be safe. Once Windows boots up, run your application as

If restarting doesn't fix the issue, check these common conflicts:

WinDivert is a "user-mode" driver, but only one application can hook into it at a time. If you have two pieces of software trying to use WinDivert simultaneously, the second one will fail with this error.

Scroll down to Exclusions and click . Click Add an exclusion and select Folder . This process is often recommended by developers to

The "Windivert driver cannot be installed. You must restart your computer" error can be frustrating, but it's often resolvable with the right troubleshooting steps. By following the solutions outlined in this article, you should be able to successfully install the Windivert driver and continue using your network monitoring or packet capture tools. If issues persist, consider seeking additional help from the Windivert community or support forums.

Press or F7 to select "Disable driver signature enforcement." 6. Clean the Registry If all else fails, old registry keys might be conflicting. Press Win + R , type regedit , and hit Enter.