Unable to install cifX Device Driver V1.0.0.0 or later

Owned by Michael Trensch
Last updated: 2016-03-04 by Robert Mayer
1 min read

Some user reporting an error when trying to update an existing driver. The error is usually a message box showing the following text "Fatal Error during installation"
or an error that installation was not possible.
It seems to be a problem that Windows does not recognize the new driver if old INF files are still present.

Please uninstall the old driver before updating. If this does not fix the problem please execute the following steps and try again:

Until Windows XP:

  • Delete cifXDrv.sys from "Windows\system32\drivers" folder
  • Delete cifX32dll.sys and cifXcpl.cpl from "Windows\system32" folder
  • Search in "\Windows\INF" folder for all oem*.inf files belonging to the old cifX Device Driver. (This can be done by searching all files for the string "cifX")
  • Delete all previously found OEM*.inf and OEM*.pnf files from the step above
  • Delete INFCACHE.1 from "\Windows\INF" folder
  • Uninstall all cifX devices using the device manager (Right-click on the cifX device and select "Uninstall...")
  • Reboot and try re-installation after reboot

Windows Vista and newer:

  • Open Control Panel, open Programs and Features
  • Search cifX Device Driver, right click to the entry and choose Uninstall
    or
  • Open Device Manager and go to group cifX Communication Interface
  • Rigth click to the cifX devices located in the the group and choose Uninstall and check the Remove Driver chek box