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How to Disable the rtwlane.sys Driver to Resolve Blue Screen of Death

Angus McLauchlan

Summary

This article guides you through the process of disabling the problematic rtwlane.sys driver that causes a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) on computers with Realtek wireless adapters.

Issue Description

A newly deployed computer experiences a BSOD upon signing in. The error references the rtwlane.sys driver. This issue prevents users from logging into the system normally and also affects attempts to use safe mode with networking due to the absence of an ethernet adapter.

Affected Systems

Systems using Realtek wireless network adapters, particularly those models where the rtwlane.sys driver is causing stability issues.

Resolution Steps

  1. Boot into the Command Prompt by restarting the computer, pressing Shift while selecting Restart, navigating to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Command Prompt.
  2. Locate the rtwlane.sys Driver by using the command:
    dir /s c:\rtwlane.sys
    This searches the C: drive for the file. Note the directory it is located in, which is typically C:\Windows\System32\drivers
  3. Disable the Driver by renaming the driver file to prevent Windows from loading it on startup using the command:
    ren C:\Windows\System32\drivers\rtwlane.sys rtwlane.sys.old
  4. Restart Your Computer by typing exit to leave the command prompt and then using the command:
    wpeutil reboot

Additional Notes

  • If the problem persists after these steps, consider downloading and installing the latest driver from the manufacturer's website or through Windows Update.
  • Ensure that all system updates are applied to prevent similar issues.

Follow-Up

If you've encountered this issue and followed the steps outlined in this article, we'd love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below to share whether this solution helped resolve the problem. Additionally, if you found a different method that worked, we encourage you to share that as well. Your feedback is invaluable in helping us and others who may face similar issues.

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Comments

1 comment

Date Votes
  • Sandra Acosta

    Thanks for the input.  I tried to disable the rtwlane602.sys through the command prompt and was not able to do it, is there any other way?

    Below how I did it following your recommendations:

    X:\Windows\System32>dir /s c:\rtwlane.sys

    Volume in drive C has no label.  Volume Serial Number is D62C-6116

    Directory of c:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\netrtwlane.inf_amd64_9f581aa49737d7bf

      03/28/2024 04:49 AM   

      11,456,000 rtwlane.sys

      1 File(s)

      11,456,000 bytes

    Directory of  c:\Windows\WinSxS\amd64_dual_netrtwlane.inf_31bf3856ad364e35_10.0.26100.1_none_1 ac2368c9a6207. 

     33/28/2024 04:49 AM    11,456,000 rtwlane.sys

     1 File(s)   11,456,000 bytes

     Total Files Listed:  2 File(s)   

     22,912,000 bytes

    0 Dir(s) 979,430,686,720 bytes free

    :: \Windows\System32>ren C:\Windows\System32\drivers\rtwlane.sys rtwlane.sys.old

    The system cannot find the file specified.

     

                                            DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

                                            FAILED:  rtwlane602.sys

    0

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