How to Enable Windows 11 Core Isolation and Memory Integrity for Security

Windows 11 includes several advanced security features designed to protect your PC from sophisticated malware, ransomware, and malicious drivers. Two of the most powerful, yet often misunderstood, features are Core Isolation and Memory Integrity.

Memory Integrity is a subset of Core Isolation. It utilises hardware virtualisation to create a secure, isolated area of system memory. Windows places critical system processes and security software inside this protected bubble. If a malicious program attempts to inject code into these core processes, it is physically blocked from accessing the isolated memory space.

In this guide, you will learn how to check if your Windows 11 PC supports these features and how to enable Memory Integrity for enhanced protection against malware.

Prerequisites: Hardware Virtualisation

Because Core Isolation relies on creating virtualised environments, your PC’s processor must support hardware virtualisation, and it must be enabled in your motherboard’s BIOS/UEFI settings.

Most modern PCs (built within the last five years) have this enabled by default. If you attempt the steps below and the options are greyed out or missing, you will need to restart your PC, enter the BIOS, and enable “Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x)” or “AMD-V”.

Step 1: Open the Windows Security App

All Core Isolation settings are managed within the built-in Windows Security dashboard.

1. Click the Start button on your taskbar.
2. Type Windows Security into the search bar and press Enter to open the app.
3. In the left-hand navigation pane, click on Device security.

Step 2: Access Core Isolation Details

The Device Security page provides an overview of your hardware’s built-in security capabilities.

1. Look for the section titled Core isolation near the top of the window.
2. Click the blue link that says Core isolation details.

Step 3: Enable Memory Integrity

You are now on the settings page specifically dedicated to isolated memory protection.

1. Locate the toggle switch directly beneath the Memory integrity heading.
2. Click the switch to turn it On.
3. Windows will immediately prompt you with a User Account Control (UAC) warning. Click Yes to allow the change.
4. You will be prompted to restart your computer to apply the new security architecture. Save any open work and restart your PC.

Troubleshooting: Dealing with Incompatible Drivers

When you attempt to turn on Memory Integrity, Windows performs a quick scan of all the drivers currently installed on your PC. If it detects an older, poorly written, or inherently insecure driver, the toggle switch will fail to turn on, and you will receive an “Incompatible drivers” error.

Windows blocks the activation because if it isolated the memory, the insecure driver would crash the system entirely, resulting in a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD).

To resolve this:

1. Click the Review incompatible drivers link that appears below the failed toggle switch.
2. Windows will display a list of the specific files causing the issue (e.g., wdcsam64_prewin8.sys).
3. You must either update these specific drivers by visiting the hardware manufacturer’s website or uninstall the associated software entirely.
4. Once the incompatible driver is removed, return to the Windows Security app and try toggling Memory Integrity on again.

By enabling Core Isolation and Memory Integrity, you add a formidable, hardware-backed layer of defence to Windows 11, ensuring that even if malware breaches your system, it cannot compromise the operating system’s most critical functions.