[FIX] Amifldrv64.sys BSOD when Updating BIOS on Windows 10

Some Windows users are experiencing a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) pointing towards the amifldrv64.sys, whenever they try to update their BIOS version (at the very beginning of the flashing process). There are multiple error codes linked with this issue, but the most common one is 0xc1 error.

In case you’re trying to update your BIOS directly through your OS, keep in mind that this is not the best approach and this procedure by itself might end up facilitating the apparition of various BSOD due to two 3rd party drivers conflicts. If possible, try updating your BIOS version from a flash drive.

As it turns out, one of the most common causes that will end up triggering a BSOD during the process of updating the BIOS version is a utility called Driver Verifier. This built-in tool puts stress on the driver intentionally, and some BIOS flashing utility will crash as a result. In this case, you can resolve the issue by disabling the Driver Verifier while the BIOS updating process is taking place.

If a machine interruption during the BIOS has caused the problem, you can resolve the issue by using the System Restore utility to return your computer to a healthy state. If that doesn’t work, consider performing a repair install.

Another potential driver that might cause conflict is the WiFi (wireless), driver. Reinstalling it has solved the problem for some affected users.

Method 1: Disable Driver Verifier

Driver Verifier is a built-in diagnostic tool that is present on Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10. Its main purpose is to verify both native Microsoft drivers and third-party drivers. It works by putting the drivers under a lot of stress in order to force incompatible or outdated drivers to misbehave.

While this feature is good for maintaining a healthy selection of drivers, it tends to conflict with BIOS flashing utilities. Keep in mind that BIOS flashing utilities tend to be a little more than basic scripts that aren’t updated often by motherboard manufacturers.

Because of this, the vast majority of BSODs that show up during a BIOS updating procedure are actually caused by Driver Verifier – especially if it points to the Amifldrv64.sys.

If this scenario is applicable, the solution to your problem is simple – you’ll need to disable the driver verifier while updating the BIOS firmware and then enable it again after the procedure is complete.

And since the procedure is different according to your OS version, we featured two different sections – one for users that are able to boot and one for users that are unable to get past the login screen.

Use the first guide if you can get to the Windows menus, or use the second one if your machine is no longer able to boot in order to do it from the Recovery menu.

How to Disable & Enable Driver Verifier via Driver Verifier Manager

1. Press Windows key + R to open a Run dialog box. Next, type ‘verifier.exe’ inside the text box and press Enter to open up the Driver Verifier utility.

   

   Note: If you are prompted by the UAC (User Account Control) window, click Yes to grant administrative privileges.

2. Once you’re inside the Driver Verifier Manager window, select Delete existing settings (under Select a task) and click Finish.

   

3. Now that Driver Verifier is disabled, restart your computer and attempt to flash your BIOS once again.
4. If you manage to install it without issues this time, move down to the steps below to enable driver verifier once again.
5. Press Windows key + R to open up a Run dialog box. Next, type ‘verifier.exe’ inside the text box and press Enter to open up the Driver Verifier utility.

   

6. Once you manage to return to the Driver Verifier Manager utility, select the toggle associated with Create custom settings (for code developers) under Select a task and click Next to advance to the next menu.

   

7. After you move forward to the next menu, ensure that the boxes associated with Standard settings, IRP Logging and Force pending I/O requests are enabled. Then, click Next to advance to the following screen.

   

8. At the next screen, select the toggle associated with Select driver name from a list and click on Next to advance to the next menu.

   

9. Once you see the list of drivers, click on Provider once to sort out the list according to their manufacturers. Next, begin to check every driver that is not provided by Microsoft Corporation. After you are done with the entire list, click on Finish and click Ok at the final confirmation prompt.

   

10. Restart your computer. After your machine boots back up, the Driver Verifier should be re-enabled.

How to Disable & Enable Driver Verifier via Windows Recovery

1. Insert the installation media compatible with your Windows version, restart your computer and press any key once you get asked if you want to boot from the installation media.

   

2. Once you arrive at the first screen of Windows Setup, click on Repair your computer (bottom-left corner of the screen). This will take you directly to the Recovery Menu.

   

   Note: Keep in mind that you can also force the Advanced Recovery menu to appear by itself (without an installation media) by forcing 3 consecutive machine interruptions – By restarting/powering off your computer during the booting procedure.

3. Once you’re inside the  Recovery Menu, click on Troubleshoot, then click on Advanced Options from the list of troubleshooting sub-items.

   

4. At the Advanced Options menu, click on Command Prompt to open up an elevated CMD prompt.

   

5. You will then be prompted to choose your account and type the password associated with it.
6. After you do so, and you manage to get inside the elevated Command prompt, type the following command and press Enter in order to disable Driver Verifier:

   verifier /reset

7. Close the elevated CMD prompt and restart your computer. At the next startup, follow the procedure according to your motherboard manufacturer to update your BIOS version and see if the procedure now completes without issues.
8. Regardless of the outcome, follow the steps below to re-enable Driver Verifier and configure it in the same way that it was before.
9. Follow steps 1 to 4 in order to return to the elevated CMD Prompt. This time, type in ‘Verifier’ and press Enter in order to open up Driver Verifier.
10. Once you’re inside the Driver Verifier Manager window, select Create custom settings (for code developers) and click on Next to advance to the next window.
    
11. At the next prompt, ensure that the checkboxes associated with I/O verification, / Force pending I/O requests (*) and IRP logging (*) are enabled. Once every essential setting is enabled, click on Next to advance to the next menu.

    

12. Once you get to the next screen, select the toggle associated with Select driver names from a list, then click on Next to advance to the next menu.

    

13. After you manage to get to the next screen, click on Provider to order everything alphabetically, then go ahead and enable the checkbox associated with every driver that is not signed by Microsoft Corporation. Once you are finished with it, click on Finish to complete the process.

    

14. Finally, you will be prompted to restart your computer in order to allow the changes to take effect. Do this by clicking Ok, then wait for your computer to boot back up.

In case the same issue is still occurring even if after you disable the Driver Verifier, move down below for an alternative of fixing the amifldrv64.sys BSOD.

Method 2: Using system restore

Keep in mind that amifldrv64.sys is normally associated with the MSI Live update agent and a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) associated with it typically appears after a failed BIOS update.

If this happened in your scenarios, chances are you are no longer able to boot up your computer properly. In this case, one viable fix is to use the system restore utility to bring back your computer to a state before the BIOS update was attempted.

To do this, you can follow this article here. It will show you how to use a previously created restore point and how to open the System Restore utility in case you can’t get past the initial booting sequence.

In case you’ve already tried this with no success or you don’t have an appropriate restore snapshot, move to the next potential fix below.

Method 3: Uninstall the MSI Live Update Program

If the BSOD points towards the amifldrv64.sys or NTIOLib_X64.sys files, but the BSOD doesn’t happen at startup (you can get past the booting sequence), it’s very likely that the random BSOD crashes are caused by the MSI Live update program.

Several affected users that we’re also struggling to resolve this problem have reported back that they finally managed to stop the BSOD from occurring after uninstalling the Live Update program.

Getting rid of it means that you’ll lose the ability to update BIOS and chipset drivers automatically, but if it allows you to achieve stability it’s better than frequent BSOD crashes.

Here’s a quick guide on how to uninstall the MSI Live Update Program:

1. Press Windows key + R to open up a Run dialog box. At the next screen, type ‘appwiz.cpl’ and press Enter in order to open up the Programs and Features menu.

   

2. Once you’re inside the Programs and Features menu, scroll down through the list of installed applications and locate the MSI Live Update Program.
3. When you see it, right-click on it and choose Uninstall from the newly appeared context menu to get rid of it.

   

4. Inside the uninstallation wizard, follow the on-screen prompts to complete the uninstallation process, then restart your computer and see if the frequent BSODs stop with the next booting sequence.

In case you’re still encountering this issue, move down to the next method below.

Method 4: Creating a Bootable BIOS Update USB

If you’re receiving this BSOD while trying to flash your BIOS within your OS, chances are you’ll have to go for the flash drive utility method in order to complete the procedure without receiving the error.

Flashing the BIOS in your OS is definitely an easier procedure, it’s also known to cause a lot of problems and might even break your PC ability to boot up.

If this scenario is applicable, you should be able to fix the issue by creating a bootable USB containing the BIOS update and install it from the initial screen.

Keep in mind that each manufacturer has its own BIOS updates according to their various models and the steps of installing it will be slightly different. Although there is no universal way of flashing a BIOS via USB, we’ve created some general steps that should point you in the right direction.

Important: Consult the official documentation provided by your manufacturer on how to update your BIOS version via USB.

Here’s how to create bootable BIOS Update USB:

1. Ensure that you have a blank USB flash drive at the ready. If it already contains data, back it up and then right-clicks on the flash drive and choose Format from the newly appeared context menu.

   

2. Inside the Format screen, set the File System to FAT32 and check the box associated with Quick Format. Click Start once you are ready to format the drive.

   

3. Once the process is complete, go ahead and download the BIOS update that you want to install from the manufacturer’s website and copy it on the USB flash drive.

   

   Note: Depending on your motherboard manufacturer, you might be required to make some specific files to the files in order to allow them to install them from a USB drive.

4. After the Boot files are copied on the USB flash drive, restart your computer and press the required key (Setup key) at the next startup to enter your BIOS settings.
   

   

   Note: Typically, the setup key is either Esc, Del, or one of the F keys (F2, F4, F6, F8, F12). In case you can’t find it by yourself, look online for specific steps of accessing your BIOS settings according to your motherboard model.
5. Once you’re inside your BIOS settings, look for an option named Update System BIOS (or similar).

   

6. You will then be asked to confirm the process and select the drive containing the BIOS update. Once you select the appropriate drive and confirm, the process of updating your BIOS will start automatically.

   

7. Once the procedure is complete, restart your computer and wait for it to boot up. At this point, you can safely remove the USB flash disk from your computer.

In case the same issue is still occurring or the issue started occurring after you managed to install your BIOS update, move down to the next potential fix below.

Method 5: Reinstalling the WiFi adapter

If you started to encounter the issue immediately after you completed a BIOS update (or after a failed attempt), you should also investigate your WiFi adapter driver. As it turns out, a botched BIOS update can also affect the WLAN driver.

We managed to identify several users reports confirming that this particular culprit was causing the issue in their case – In every case, the issue was resolved by reinstalling the WiFi adapter driver via Device Manager.

Here’s a quick guide on reinstalling the WiFi adapter driver via the Device Manager in order to stop any BSOD’s pointing towards  amifldrv64.sys or NTIOLib_X64.sys:

1. Press Windows key + R to open up a Run dialog box. Next, type ‘devgmt.msc’ and press Enter to open up Device Manager. When prompted by the UAC (User Account Control), click Yes to open Device Manager with admin access.

   

2. Once you’re inside the Device Manager, scroll down through the list of installed devices and expand the drop-down menu associated with Network Adapters.
3. Next, from the list of available sub-items, right-click on the entry associated with your WiFi driver and select Properties from the newly appeared context menu.

   

4. Once you’re inside the Properties screen of your Wi-Fi Driver, select the Driver tab from the menu at the top, then click on Uninstall Device to remove it from your computer.
5. When you’re prompted by the confirmation prompt, click Uninstall once again to confirm the process, then wait for it to complete.

   

6. Once the process is complete, restart your computer in order to allow your OS to replace the missing WIFI driver with a generic equivalent. At the second restart (once your internet connection is working again), Windows will update the WiFi driver to the latest version according to your motherboard manufacturer.
7. After your WI-Fi driver is reinstalled, repeat the action that was previously causing the BSOD to see if the issue is now resolved.

In case the issue persists, move down to the final method below.

Method 6: Performing a repair install

If none of the instructions above have worked for you, chances are you’ll need to refresh every OS component in order to replace the corrupted instances.

The most efficient way of doing so is by doing a repair install. But keep in mind that you’ll need a compatible media in order to complete the process.

Here’s how to create compatible installation media for Windows 7 or Windows 10.