0xC000036C Fix: Driver Blocked from Loading

What This Error Means

When you see STATUS_DRIVER_BLOCKED (0xC000036C), Windows is refusing to load a driver. The full message reads: "Driver %2 has been blocked from loading." The %2 is a placeholder that gets replaced by the actual driver name in your system event log. This usually happens after a Windows update changes driver signing rules, or after you install a driver that isn't digitally signed properly. I've seen it most often with network adapter drivers, printer drivers, and older hardware that doesn't have updated drivers for Windows 10 or 11.

Fix 1 (30 seconds): Disable Driver Signature Enforcement Temporarily

This is the quick test. It doesn't permanently fix the issue, but it tells you if the driver itself is okay — just blocked by signing requirements.

Restart your PC.
As soon as the screen lights up after the restart, start tapping the F8 key every second. On some systems (especially newer ones with fast boot), you may need to hold Shift while clicking Restart in Windows to get the advanced startup menu.
Choose Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart.
After the PC restarts, you'll see a list of options. Press 7 or F7 to select Disable driver signature enforcement.
Windows boots normally but with signing checks turned off for this session only. If your device works now, the driver is fine — the issue is the signing policy.

Expected outcome: If the error disappears and your hardware works, you've confirmed a driver signature problem. Move to Fix 2 to make it stick. If the error remains, skip to Fix 3.

Fix 2 (5 minutes): Reinstall the Blocked Driver Properly

This is usually the real fix. The driver itself may be corrupted or partially installed. Never trust a driver that throws 0xC000036C without reinstalling.

Press Win + X and choose Device Manager.
Find the device that's showing a yellow triangle or not working. Common culprits: network adapters, sound devices, and USB controllers.
Right-click the device and select Uninstall device. Check the box that says Delete the driver software for this device if it appears. This is important — without that box checked, Windows keeps the old driver files.
Restart your PC. Windows will try to reinstall a generic driver automatically. If that works, you're done. If it doesn't, you need to get the correct driver from the hardware manufacturer's website — not from a generic driver update tool. I've seen too many of those tools install the wrong signed driver, causing this exact error.
Download the driver from the manufacturer's support page. Make sure you select the correct Windows version (10, 11, 64-bit vs 32-bit).
Run the installer as Administrator: right-click the downloaded file and choose Run as administrator.

Expected outcome: After the installer finishes and you restart, the error should be gone. Check Device Manager — the device should show no errors. If the error returns, proceed to Fix 3.

Fix 3 (15+ minutes): Check Event Log, Safe Mode, and System File Checker

This is for stubborn cases where the driver still gets blocked after reinstalling, or you can't find the exact driver name.

Step 1: Find the exact driver name

Press Win + R, type eventvwr.msc, and press Enter.
In Event Viewer, expand Windows Logs and click System.
Click Filter Current Log on the right. From the Event sources dropdown, check Microsoft-Windows-CodeIntegrity or DriverFrameworks-UserMode — these often log 0xC000036C events.
Look for events with ID 3033, 3076, or 1003 around the time the error appeared. The event details will list the driver file name (like olddriver.sys or netwlan.sys). Note it down.

Step 2: Boot into Safe Mode and remove the driver

Safe Mode loads only essential drivers. If the problem driver is blocked, Safe Mode won't load it either — but you can delete it cleanly.

Boot into Safe Mode with Networking: same process as Fix 1, but press 4 or F4 for Safe Mode, or 5/F5 for Safe Mode with Networking.
Once in Safe Mode, open a command prompt as Administrator: press Win + R, type cmd, then press Ctrl + Shift + Enter.
Run this command to list all drivers and their statuses:
```
dism /online /get-drivers /format:table
```
Find the driver name from the Event Log in the output. If it's there, note the Published Name (like oem123.inf).
Remove the blocked driver with:
```
pnputil /delete-driver oem123.inf /uninstall
```
Replace oem123.inf with the actual published name from step 4.
Reboot normally. Windows will install a generic driver. If your hardware still needs a specific driver, reinstall it from the manufacturer as described in Fix 2.

Step 3: Run System File Checker (if the issue persists)

Sometimes the driver block happens because Windows system files are corrupted. This is rare, but worth a check.

Open Command Prompt as Administrator again.
Type sfc /scannow and press Enter. Wait for it to finish — this can take 15-20 minutes.
If it finds corrupted files and repairs them, restart your PC.

Expected outcome: After these steps, the 0xC000036C error should be gone. If it still appears, the driver is fundamentally incompatible with your version of Windows. You may need to update the firmware or replace the hardware. I've had to retire a few old printers because of this — there's no workaround for a driver that was never signed for Windows 10 or 11.

Pro tip: If you're running Windows 11 and this error popped up after a feature update (like 22H2 or 23H2), many users report that the built-in drivers got overwritten. Rolling back the driver to the previous version in Device Manager (Properties > Driver > Roll Back Driver) often fixes it in 30 seconds.