RGB Lighting and Fan Control Stopped Working After inpoutx64 Was Blocked

Three different things stop inpoutx64 loading and the right fix is different for each. Two minutes here saves you editing a registry key that was never the problem.

Applies to: Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2, Windows 10

1. Press the Windows key, type cmd, and open Command Prompt. Ask Windows about the service. No administrator rights are needed for this.

   sc query inpoutx64

2. If the reply is "The specified service does not exist as an installed service", the driver was deleted rather than disabled — that is what the delete-the-service workaround does. Reinstalling or updating the utility that provided it is the route back; skip to the next fix.
3. If the service exists, check how it is set to start.

   sc qc inpoutx64

4. A START_TYPE of DISABLED means something wrote 4 to the Start value — either you followed a registry workaround, or Microsoft's block applied. Microsoft's block announces itself: it displays a message window saying the driver has been disabled, and it targets PCs that have both this driver enabled and ARC Raiders installed.
5. If the start type looks normal but your RAM and motherboard devices still are not detected, suspect a kernel anti-cheat instead. OpenRGB's FAQ names Riot Vanguard as a known blocker of this driver. Close the anti-cheat's service, or test on a boot without it running, and see whether detection returns.

Source: Microsoft, OpenRGB, Fan Control issue tracker, OpenRGB issue tracker

This is the fix the software authors themselves point at. Both major open-source tools moved off legacy port-I/O drivers, so a current build gets your devices back without re-enabling anything Windows or an anti-cheat objects to.

Applies to: OpenRGB, Fan Control V238 and later, Vendor RGB and fan suites

1. For OpenRGB, install the current release. OpenRGB's own documentation states that on Windows it now uses the PawnIO driver to access the SMBus, that early versions used WinRing0 and even earlier versions used InpOut32, and that those older drivers are no longer used and should be removed to avoid warnings from anti-cheat and anti-virus software.
2. Run OpenRGB as administrator once after updating. Its documentation says administrator rights are required for PawnIO to reach the SMBus.
3. For Fan Control, update to V238 or later. Its README says V238 and above ship a PawnIO build of LibreHardwareMonitor and no longer ship WinRing0, which Windows Defender flags as Trojan:Win32/Vigorf.A in V237 and below — a different driver from inpoutx64, but the same move away from legacy low-level access.
4. For a motherboard or peripheral vendor's own suite, check that vendor's download page for a newer build before doing anything else. We could not confirm from primary sources which OEM suites ship inpoutx64, so treat a vendor update as the first thing to try rather than an assumption about your specific software.
5. Launch one lighting app and restart the PC, then re-check detection.

Confirmed by the vendor.

Source: OpenRGB, OpenRGB, Rem0o (Fan Control)

Some utilities expose the legacy driver as a toggle. Turning it off stops the app waiting on a driver that will not load, and costs you only the devices that genuinely need the SMBus.

Applies to: Fan Control, OpenRGB, Utilities exposing an inpout toggle

1. In Fan Control, turn off the inpout option in settings. A user on Fan Control's issue tracker hit exactly this — Vanguard blocking inpoutx64.sys on v153 for privilege-escalation reasons — and resolved it that way.
2. Expect to lose the SMBus devices and nothing else. OpenRGB's documentation says SMBus, also called I2C, is what reaches RGB controllers on RAM modules and some motherboards. USB-connected keyboards, mice, headsets and most external controllers do not go through this driver at all.
3. If detection is still partial, close every other RGB suite and its background services. OpenRGB's FAQ says the SMBus only works properly when one application at a time is accessing it, so a vendor suite left running in the tray will keep taking devices away from whatever else you open.
4. Restart and re-check. Treat the reduced device list as the working state until a vendor build lands.

Reported to work by one user; not confirmed by the vendor.

Source: Fan Control issue tracker, OpenRGB

Reversible, and the honest last option if no current build of your software exists. It puts back the exact driver Microsoft and at least one anti-cheat are blocking on purpose.

Applies to: Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2

1. Only consider this if no updated build of your utility exists and you do not play the titles involved. If you do play them, the crash comes back with the driver.
2. Press the Windows key, type regedit, and open Registry Editor. Navigate to the key below, then use File > Export to save a backup of it before changing anything.

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\inpoutx64

3. Restore the Start value you recorded before you disabled it. If you did not record it, do not guess a number — reinstalling the utility that installed the driver recreates the service with the start type it expects, which is the safer route.
4. Restart the PC and re-check your lighting software.
5. If Windows disables it again and shows the disablement message, Microsoft's block has reapplied on that PC. The block also ships in the September 2026 security updates and later, so this is not a state you can hold on to — go back to updating the utility.

Source: Microsoft, OpenRGB, OpenRGB