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I have HP envy with a fingerprint reader. Few months ago, the reader was working fine, but then it suddenly stopped.

I went to the settings to set up it again, and the windows showed me the following message:

enter image description here

Each time I try to set up the fingerprint reader, I get the same above message.

I tried searching for updates (using windows update) but it doesn't work. I also found a solution online saying that I should deactivate the reader from the Device Manager, but also nothing worked.

Any suggestion?

Minions
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2 Answers2

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Had the same problem, tried reinstalling drivers, even Windows, nothing worked.

Finaly found the solution here: https://blog.goptg.com/how-to-reset-windows-hello-biometrics

  1. Stop the Windows Biometric Service from the Control Panel. Log into the computer using your PIN. Then, go to Control Panel > All Control Panel Items> Administrative Tools > Services. When you click Services, a new window will pop up. Find “Windows Biometric Service” and highlight it. In the left column, click “Stop the service.”
  2. Create a backup. Create a new folder somewhere on your computer called WinBioBackup. Then, open Windows Explorer and go to C:\Windows\System32\WinBioDatabase. Back up the Dat files in this folder by copy and pasting the files into the new folder you created.
  3. Delete the original files. Delete the original files in the WinBioDatabase folder.
  4. Start the service again. Go back to the Control Panel and follow the instructions from Step 1, but this time, click “Restart the Service.” Register your face/fingerprint again. Go to your account settings, then Sign-in options and go through the registration process again to re-register your biometrics. If this machine has multiple users, everyone will need to re-register.

Hope this helps someone else.

Sorin PASCANU
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If you've followed all the suggestions online, such as at Help Desk Geek, but to no avail, here are a couple of other thoughts:

  • Windows Updates have, on occasion, caused the fingerprint reader to fail. Here's another example, successfully resolved. This may be due to legacy HP drivers being incompatible with updated Windows requirements. Specifically check HP's site for newer drivers.
  • These devices may be quite moisture sensitive. Has anything spilled on the reader? If so, you might try very gently heating it, from a distance, with a hair dryer at low setting, or take it in for replacement.
DrMoishe Pippik
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