After the last unsolicited update from Microsoft, the Creators Update for 2018, instead of a seamless upgrade, I was greeted by

PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED AREA. Cause of Error: SbieDrv.Sys

This was combined with Windows frantically trying to restart multiple times, trying to roll back the changes it had made, all to no avail. As I was sitting in front of the computer, beeping with every restart, I started researching on my phone in order to take matters into my own hands.

SbieDrv.sys

Sandboxie is a sandbox-based program that provides an isolated environment for applications to run. SbieDrv.sys is a kernel-mode driver that belongs to the Sandboxie program. This is not an essential Windows process and can be disabled if known to create problems. – file.net

So, I had found the culprit! However, Windows on its own, with all its self-repair measures, couldn’t quite figure out that not loading the problematic kernel driver for once might be a good idea.

The oldest fix in the book

After Windows gave up on another iteration of the self-fix marathon, it presented me with the restoration options. Here’s what I did to get my machine back up running.

  • Click on “Advanced Options” until you see an option to open up the Command Prompt. Execute it.
  • You will find that the default drive that is mounted is X:/Windows. Since this is kind of a “live” system running from RAM, the drive lettering is going to be different.
  • Type C:, D:, ... until you find the drive that actually has your Windows installation (or more importantly, your Program Files folder on it). Type dir to see contents of the drive.
  • Once you know which one is your drive, navigate to :/Program Files/Sandboxie/ and locate SbieDrv.sys. Use ren SbieDrv.sys SbieDrv.sys.bad to rename the problematic driver.
  • Restart your machine. It will now boot up properly.
  • Uninstall the Sandboxie version you have currently running. If you are an active user of Sandboxie, consider installing a new version afterwards.