If you are a Windows 10 user, you might have recently tried to upgrade it to Windows 11. Upgrading Windows is not a cumbersome job, but you may encounter various issues while upgrading, and cFosSpeed driver error is among them.
It prevents the Windows 11 installation and will honestly give you a headache when you don’t know what is causing this issue.
cFosSpeed is nothing but just a software that is known for prioritizing the traffic flow in your network (known as traffic shaper). Most MSI, ASUS, GIGABYTE, and ASRock products use the cFosSpeed driver. It optimizes the data transfer rate and reduces the ping of the network.
Troubleshooting the cFosSpeed driver error is not a tedious job to do. You can start fixing the issue with something as simple as updating the driver to a fresh installation of Windows.
This article will discuss the various troubleshooting methods you can apply when the cFosSpeed driver interferes with the Windows installation.
How to Fix cFosSpeed Driver Installation Error in Windows 11?
Whenever you are upgrading your PC, you may see the error window that says Your PC has a service that isn’t ready for this version of Windows. A new version is available. It is normally the software faults that cause this error.
Update the cFosSpeed Driver
An outdated cFosSpeed driver is one of the main reasons to show errors during the Windows upgrade. So, once you update the driver, it will most probably solve the problem.
You can go to the official website of cFos software and download it easily. Once downloaded, install it, and it will automatically update your cFosSpeed driver to the latest version.
Tip: If you own a computer with MSI motherboards, you don’t need to bother downloading the cFosSpeed driver. You can update your MSI Dragon Center App to update it. Also, don’t forget to install the utility tools. Inside the Dragon Center, Click on Support Icon > Scan > Select the utilities to install > Click the Install button.
Uninstall the cFosSpeed Driver
cFosSpeed driver is supposed to increase your network speed. But many users have complained that it decreases the speed instead of increasing the speed and shaping the traffic. So, considering it and the error during Windows 11 installation, you can uninstall it and see if it solves the problem.
You can uninstall it in three ways:
From Apps and Features
Follow these steps to uninstall the cFosSpeed driver from Apps and Features:
- Open Settings
- Under the Apps menu, navigate to Apps & Features tab.
- Type
cfos
in the search box, and you will see the cFosSpeed driver listed there. - Click over the app name and then uninstall it.
You are done! It will uninstall the cFosSpeed driver from your system.
From Network Connections
Follow these steps to uninstall from Network Connections:
- Open the Run dialog box. You can use Windows key +R to open it.
- Type
ncpa.cpl
and press Enter key. A new Network Connections window will open. - Look for your current network adapter, Right-click on it, and select the Properties option.
- Find cFosSpeed for faster Internet connection option under the Networking tab and click on Uninstall.
- It will open a confirmation dialog box.
- Click the Yes button to proceed.
That’s all. cFosSpeed driver will now be uninstalled from your system.
From Program Files
It is another method to uninstall the cFosSpeed driver. Follow these steps:
- Open File Explorer and then open your C:\ drive.
- Navigate to Program Files > Lan Manager. Depending upon your PC, you may also need to look inside the Program Files (x86) folder.
- Search for the
unins001.exe
file in it. - Double click the exe file and it will begin uninstallation.
- Restart your PC when done.
Note: It is found that cFosSpeed driver reinstalls itself after a reboot, so, you can permanently delete the Lan Manager folder and you will be on the safe side.
Change the Extension of the cFosSpeed Driver
It is one of the easy and proven methods to solve the error. It would help if you change the extension of the driver from .exe
to any other extension that is not recognized as an executable file format. Follow the steps below to accomplish this:
- Open your C:\ drive.
- Find the driver file inside the Lan Manager folder, located inside the Program Files or Program Files (x86) folder.
- Search for the
.exe
driver file in the folder. - Right-click on it and choose the Rename option. You can now change the extension of the driver.
- Change the extension to any other format (example:
.jpg
,.pdf
, or whatever you want) and press Enter.
That’s all! Once the driver is made non-executable, it will not interfere with Windows 11 installation.
Use Clean Boot Mode
You can try to solve this issue by booting your system in a clean boot mode. What clean boot mode does is it only uses basic drivers and software to load the system.
If any software disputes are preventing the installation of Windows 11, they will be solved afterward. Try updating the Windows once you boot your PC in clean boot mode.
Follow these steps to boot your system in clean boot mode.
- Open the System Configuration application by typing
msconfig
in the Windows search box. - Under General tab > Selective startup, uncheck the Load startup items option and check the remaining two.
- Then Navigate to the Services tab and check the Hide all Microsoft services option.
- Click the Disable all button.
- Next, on the Startup tab, click on Open Task Manager. It will show you which programs are enabled or disabled during the startup.
- Select each item and disable them.
- Close the task manager window.
- Click Apply > OK
After you complete these steps, your PC will boot in a clean boot mode.
Note: Also, uncheck the Load system services option under the General tab if the problem persists. Once your problem is solved, revert the changes to boot in normal mode.
Fresh Install Windows 11
If you tried everything discussed above and still can’t get rid of the cFosSpeed driver error, you can install a fresh copy of Windows 11.
We have a comprehensive guide that will take you through detailed steps to fresh install Windows 11.
Should I Use cFosSpeed Driver?
It’s totally up to you whether to use it or not. Although it is supposed to shape and speed up your Internet traffic, almost all its users are unsatisfied with it. Modern routers perform the traffic shaping very well. There is no need to add extra overheads to your network.