PCI Bus Driver Service Defaults in Windows 11
Default Settings
| Startup type: | Boot |
| Display name: | PCI Bus Driver |
| Service name: | pci |
| Service type: | kernel |
| Error control: | critical |
| Group: | Boot Bus Extender |
| Path: | %SystemRoot%\System32\drivers\pci.sys |
| Registry key: | HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\pci |
Default Behavior
PCI Bus Driver is a kernel driver. In Windows 11 it starts by the operating system Boot Loader before the Kernel initialization, as a part of the driver stack. If PCI Bus Driver fails to start, Windows 11 tries to record the error details into Event Log and restart the PC, using the Last Known Good configuration. If the Last Known Good configuration can't be used, Windows 11 startup process halts with a Stop error. If you disable or delete the pci service, Windows 11 won't start.
Restore Default Startup Configuration of PCI Bus Driver
1. Run the Command Prompt as an administrator.
2. Copy the commands below, paste them into the command window and press ENTER:
sc config pci start= boot
sc start pci
3. Close the command window and restart the computer.
The pci service is using the pci.sys file that is located in the C:\Windows\System32\drivers directory. If the file is removed or corrupted, read this article to restore its original version from Windows 11 installation media.