Resetting Windows Security to Fix Memory Integrity Warning
So, I ran into that annoying “Memory Integrity is off” message on my Windows machine and was pretty sure I had it enabled. Turns out, sometimes the error isn’t about hardware—more often, it’s a glitch in the Windows Security app itself. The app controls some of the hardware-preservation features, and if it gets corrupted or misconfigured, it can show that false warning even if everything’s fine on the hardware side. This bug tends to pop up after updates or system changes, making troubleshooting a bit tricky.
Here’s what finally worked for me. First step was to mess around in Windows Security itself, because I read that resetting or repairing that app can clear up weird integrity conflicts. It seemed logical—if the app is acting weird, restarting or resetting it might do the trick. Just a heads-up though: resetting Windows Security can sometimes cause you to lose preferences, and it’s good to remember that changing security settings might temporarily lower your protection, so proceed with caution.
Getting to the Installed Apps List
To start, I opened up the Settings app—that’s Windows key + I for quick access. Nothing fancy there, but on some systems, especially after certain updates, the menu layout can be a little different. In Settings, I clicked on Apps, then poked around in Apps & Features to see the full list of installed programs. The goal was to find “Windows Security” (sometimes called Windows Defender or Microsoft Defender Security Center depending on your Windows version). On my older ASUS, it was buried a bit, so I had to scroll down quite a bit or even look under “Optional Features”—just keep digging.
What I Did to Reset the App
Next, I clicked the three-dot menu icon next to Windows Security (or a gear icon if it shows up that way). From the options that popped up, I chose Advanced options. It might sound intimidating—like, what does advanced even mean here? But really, it’s just a more detailed UI for managing app settings. If you don’t see this, the alternative is to run PowerShell commands, but I wanted to try the GUI first.
Inside that menu, I found the options for Repair or Reset. The Repair option is usually safer—it tries to fix the app without deleting your data. If Repair isn’t present, then Reset is the fallback. Resetting actually clears the app’s cache and settings, so it’s a bit like reinstalling it from scratch. I also ran DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth from an Admin PowerShell beforehand, just to make sure my system image wasn’t corrupted—better safe than sorry.
After clicking Repair (or Reset), Windows did its thing and prompted a restart. Trust me, a few times I needed to reboot twice because the first one didn’t quite fix things. Once I was back in, I opened PowerShell as Administrator (search for PowerShell, right-click, Run as administrator) and ran Get-AppxPackage *WindowsSecurity* | Reset-AppxPackage just to double-check that the app was properly reset. It’s a bit of a workaround, but it helped resolve some lingering glitches.
Checking if the Issue Is Gone
After that, I checked if the warning stuck around. Opened Windows Security again, or used msinfo32 and Windows Memory Diagnostic (hit Windows key + R, type mdsched.exe, and hit Enter). The memory diagnostic can be useful if you suspect hardware problems, but often, just resetting the app clears up the false alerts. When I ran the diagnostic, it prompted me to restart and scan—worth doing if you suspect memory issues beyond the software warning.
Oops, but sometimes, even after all this, the error persists. If that happens, I’d check your BIOS to make sure virtualization and memory remapping are enabled. Sometimes toggling Secure Boot or Intel VT-d / AMD equivalent settings helps, because firmware bugs can cause Windows security features to get confused. On my machine, I had to go into BIOS, find the virtualization options, and make sure they’re turned on, then update my system firmware if possible.
Also, I ran sfc /scannow and DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth in CMD to make sure Windows system files are intact. Outdated or incompatible drivers—especially graphics, chipset, and RAM controllers—can also trigger these false errors, so double-check those are up-to-date. Sometimes, a quick driver update or rollback helps fix the issue.
Wrapping Up
Honestly, dealing with this error was a bit of a pain, mostly because of all the hidden menus, vague labels, and the fact that resetting app setups isn’t always straightforward. But after resetting Windows Security, disabling and re-enabling virtualization in BIOS, and updating drivers, the warning finally disappeared. Just keep in mind that the whole process involves some risks (like resetting security apps and BIOS tinkering), so backup your data and make sure your recovery options are up-to-date.
Hopefully, this saves someone else some time—because I wasted enough trying to figure out whether it was hardware, firmware, or just some weird app glitch. Now I can finally rest knowing my Memory Integrity setting is actually turned on, and Windows isn’t freaking out for no reason.
Quick checklist for next time: double-check BIOS virtualization and Secure Boot, run sfc/dism, reset or repair Windows Security, and do driver updates. If all else fails, a clean reinstall or rolling back Windows versions sometimes helps too. Good luck — it took me way too long to nail down this fix. Anyway, hope this helps someone avoid the frustration!