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ERROR_DRIVER_DATABASE_ERROR
Driver package processing failed before Windows could complete device installation
PnP and SetupAPI use device identifiers and driver package metadata to choose and install a driver. The device installation log records package search, rank, signature, and installation activity. This status reports a failure while processing the driver database rather than a runtime I/O failure in an already started device.
Preserve SetupAPI.dev.log and locate the section for the affected device instance. The embedded secondary error value, when available in the event or caller context, is important because this Win32 code only identifies the stage broadly. Check package staging, INF parsing, driver-store access, and signing messages around the first failure. Avoid deleting arbitrary driver-store files: that destroys evidence and can damage unrelated devices. A clean diagnosis follows the device instance, candidate package, and first failing SetupAPI operation.
What to inspect
- Find the device instance section in SetupAPI.dev.log.
- Record the candidate INF/package and the first lower-level error in the log.
- Check Driver Store and signature diagnostics without manually removing store files.
References
- Microsoft: SetupAPI device installation log entries
- Microsoft: SetupAPI logging
- Microsoft: kernel-mode driver signing policy
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