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[Fix] Intel Management Engine Interface has a Driver Problem

By Nishant Aryal

[Fix] Intel Management Engine Interface has a Driver Problem

The Intel Management Engine Interface (IMEI) is a microcontroller integrated into the Intel chipsets that offer different features like Anti-theft protection, DRM verification, and many other supports. It is a small subsystem itself inside the chipset that works even while the system is in sleep.  

While going through the Device Manager, If you notice a yellow exclamation mark on any driver, it indicates some issues with it. Many Windows users reported having a similar problem with the IMEI driver. 

The IMEI driver problem is sometimes a transient bug that is resolved with a system restart. Also, When the IMEI driver is corrupted, the problem may still arise; in these circumstances, most users find that reinstalling the driver resolves the problem.

Reasons for Intel Management Engine Interface has a Driver Problem

Some of the prominent reasons behind the Intel Management Engine Interface Driver problem are listed here:
  • Outdated Driver
  • Corrupted system files
  • Issues with the Operating system
  • Problem with the Intel Management Engine Interface
  • Excess power supply 

Fixes for Intel Management Engine Interface has a Driver Problem

If excess power is being supplied to the device, this issue may also manifest with error code 10 in the driver properties. If you are experiencing this problem with error code 10, start by power-draining your device. 

To power drain the computer in such cases, turn it off and unplug all the cables from it. Press the power button and hold it for a few seconds to drain the excess electricity. 

Reinstall Driver

The Management Engine driver installed on your device might have been corrupted.  This is the foremost reason you are seeing this issue. To resolve it, you can reinstall the driver. This will eliminate the existing bugs and fix them for you.

For this, you first have to uninstall the existing one and then download and install the latest version.

  1. Press Windows Key + X and Open the Device Manager.
  2. Expand the list of the System Devices driver and right-click on Intel(R) Management Engine interface.
  3. Click on Uninstall.Uninstall-ME-driver
  4. Follow the prompts to complete the uninstall process.
  5. Now go to Intel’s download center and download the latest Intel Management engine driver version.Intel-ME-1024x404
  6. Now go to the download directory and run the executable file.

Update Drivers

If your driver is outdated, it can be incompatible with the system or not function accordingly. This also can be why you see the error sign beside the Intel ME driver. Most of the time, performing the driver updates fixes the bugs and incompatibility issues with the existing driver and resolves the problem you are experiencing.

  1. Press Windows Key + R, type devmgmt.msc and hit enter.
  2. Go to System Devices and Right-click on Intel(R) Management Engine interface.
  3. Click on Update Driver.Update-Management-Engine-driver
  4. Now, choose Search Automatically for driver. 
  5. If you have the driver locally available on your device, Choose to Browse my computer for drivers. From this option, you can also choose Let me pick a list of available drivers on my computer. Search-Automatically-for-divers-1

Note: You can also install the latest stable driver from the Intel Driver Support Assistant. Just download the application, install and run it to update the Intel Management engine driver.

Disable the IMEI Driver

The Management Engine is primarily for enterprise management and remote assistance functions. If you are a home user, you certainly can disable the driver. Many users have reported having no issues after they disabled it. 

To disable the IMEI driver, follow these steps,

  1. Press Windows Key + X and open the Device Manager.
  2. Expand the driver list under the System Devices.
  3. Right-click on  Intel(R) Management Engine interface.
  4. Select Disable.Disable-ME-driver

Perform Windows Update

The Windows update installs the best drivers for your hardware and also fixes the bugs that can come with these drivers. The Intel Management Engine Interface driver is deployed through Windows Updates. The generic drivers installed by the windows updates make the management engine driver’s more stable. 

Therefore, it is recommended to keep the Operating system updated to prevent such problems.

  1. Press Windows Key + R, type control update, and hit enter.
  2. Click on Check for updates. 
    Windows-Update-7
  3. If the system finds the latest updates available for your device, click on Download and install. 
  4. When the update process gets completed, restart the computer and check the device manager to see if the yellow exclamation mark from the driver has vanished.

Run Hardware and Device Troubleshooter

Sometimes, there can be issues with the Management Engine hardware itself disguised as a driver problem. In order to search for and fix such types of underlying issues, you can run the Hardware and devices troubleshooter.

  1. Press Windows Key + R to open Run.
  2. Type msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic and hit enter. This will launch the troubleshooter.
  3. Click on Next to run the scan.
    Hardware-and-devices-troubleshooter-2
  4. When the scan gets finished, click on Apply this fix.

DISM and SFC Scans 

It is possible that the issue has been generated after the system files related to the management engine have gone corrupted. To scan and fix such types of file corruptions, you can try running DISM and SFC scans. The DISM fixes the Windows system image, while the SFC can scan the protected system files and replace the corrupted ones with a cached copy.

  1. Press Windows Key + X and open the Windows Terminal (Admin).
  2. Now, run these command one by one 
    DISM /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
    sfc /scannow
    SFC-and-DISM-scan