Windows 10 May 2020 Update is blocked by this security feature – here’s how to fix it

Turn off memory integrity protection, although there are alternatives

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

Windows 10May 2020 Update hasbeen released by Microsoft, bang on the date that therumor mill predicted, but some users are receiving a message that the upgrade is blocked due to a security setting.

As ever, theMay 2020 Updateis being rolled out in stages, but if your PC is one of the initial machines to be offered the upgrade, you could find that theoperating system’s security settings are interfering with the installation.

AsWindows Latestreports, there is a compatibility issue with the new update and Windows Security settings, and if you’re one of those suffering from this particular gremlin, you will see receive a message informing you that the May 2020 Update can’t be installed until you ‘turn off memory integrity protection’.

That’s a security feature which is designed to protect kernel mode processes from the insertion of malicious code and subsequent exploitation. If you’re happy to do without that protection, here’s how you can turn it off and get the May 2020 Update:

Note that your PC may not have any device security measures listed, and that part of the Settings menu will simply say that ‘standard hardware security’ is not supported in this case. But obviously you won’t have any problems with memory integrity protection if that’s the case.

Driver fix

If you’d prefer not to turn off memory integrity protection, there’s another possible route forward, and that’s updating your graphics driver, according to the report by Windows Latest.

Furthermore, if you do switch off memory integrity protection but are still blocked from installing the May 2020 Update, you may also want to make sure that your graphics driver andIntelWi-Fi and Bluetooth drivers are fully up to date.

Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.

Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.

Microsoftwill hopefully be working on a full fix for this bugbear so that PCs using memory integrity protection can receive the May 2020 Update, and fingers crossed that before long – perhaps even before the update is offered to your machine – you won’t have to jump through any hoops to upgrade to the latest version ofWindows 10.

Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - ‘I Know What You Did Last Supper’ - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).

Windows 11’s Paint and Notepad apps are getting smart new AI features – though one of the best will be for Copilot+ PCs only

Windows 11 24H2 misery continues, as Microsoft’s buggy update is now breaking printers – especially on Copilot+ PCs

Black Friday is here: Sony XM5 over-ears drop to their lowest-seen price – act fast!