Accidentally Uninstalled Biometric using Device Manager and its not coming back

Anonymous
2019-01-10T04:37:08+00:00

Hello,

I seem to have permanently deleted the "biometric devices" category in the Device Manger. Windows Hello using a biometric device no longer works. 

I have a home built desktop with a Mouse Cm-01a Window Hello camera. It was working very well for about a year. Some combination of the 1809 update and new AMD Graphics Card Drivers stopped it from working consistently.

I began trying to roll back graphics card drivers and do other troubleshooting. I even performed a recovery and it did not solve the issue. I read that I could uninstall the camera and have Windows reinstall the drivers. When this didn't work, I attempted to uninstall biometric devices and have it reinstall the divers. Unfortunately this category has never returned.

Now my Window Hello setting in Sign-in options says "Face and fingerprint recognition are not available on this device".

I have tried a lot of the steps you would see from other troubleshooting sites (edit group policy settings, restart the Windows Biometric Service), but no luck. 

I'm at my wits end here. I would rather not have to do another restore (that state wasn't working perfectly well as it was). Perhaps I have to do a Repair Install. Let me know if I have any other options (or if I just need to bite the bullet). Thanks!

Here are some system stats:

Processor: Intel i5-4690

RAM 16 GB

OS: Windows 10 Pro

Version: 1809

Build: 17763.253 (I am in the release preview track)

GPU: Radeon RX 580 Series (XFX brand)

Radeon Software Version: 18.40.21.06

Edit: Some of the responses have asked that I contact the manufacturer. Unfortunately, that would be me since this is a home-built desktop. I will see if I can find anything through Intel or ASRock (motherboard manufacturer).

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Windows Hello, lock screen and sign-in

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-11-19T11:06:43+00:00

    Someone above mentioned to go under C:\Windows\System32\WinBioPlugIns\FaceDriver and reinstall the driver by right-clicking on HelloFace.inf and click install. That did not work for me....

    What worked for me was 

    1. launch powershell as admin
    2. cd into the C:\Windows\System32\WinBioPlugIns\FaceDriver directory
    3. use PNPUtil to first remove the HelloFace driver. Command: pnputil.exe /delete-driver .\HelloFace.inf
    4. now use PNPUtil to install the driver. Command: pnputil.exe /add-driver .\HelloFace.inf /install
    5. the biometric driver should now show up in device manager

    Let me know if this helps!

    Thats work for me too.

    many many many thanks ...

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-11-17T05:17:22+00:00

    I followed what DenizSelcok said but when I got to the folder FaceDrive there was no HelloFace.inf but only HelloFace without the extension" .inf." I right clicked and it installed. I ran the search for new hardware and the DebiceBiometric showed up.  

    Thank you for your work,

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-11-10T10:13:01+00:00

    Thanks a lot, thanks a lot, and a bit more. This absolutely worked. What you should have added was how to cd. Most people do not know how to do that. Just type cd and enter C:\Windows\System32\WinBioPlugIns\FaceDriver and hit enter.

    And, by the way, thanks again.

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  4. Anonymous
    2020-11-09T23:57:44+00:00

    Someone above mentioned to go under C:\Windows\System32\WinBioPlugIns\FaceDriver and reinstall the driver by right-clicking on HelloFace.inf and click install. That did not work for me....

    What worked for me was 

    1. launch powershell as admin
    2. cd into the C:\Windows\System32\WinBioPlugIns\FaceDriver directory
    3. use PNPUtil to first remove the HelloFace driver. Command: pnputil.exe /delete-driver .\HelloFace.inf
    4. now use PNPUtil to install the driver. Command: pnputil.exe /add-driver .\HelloFace.inf /install
    5. the biometric driver should now show up in device manager

    Let me know if this helps!

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    30+ people found this answer helpful.
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  5. Anonymous
    2020-10-25T04:01:59+00:00

    This is not working for me. I have installed from the helloface file, got a message saying the operation was successful. Then, I scanned for hardware changes in device manager. But still, I could find the biometrics option. Please help.

    Specs:

    Surface Pro 5

    Intel core i5, 7th gen.

    16 GB RAM

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