Winsock IFS Driver (ws2ifsl) Service Defaults in Windows 11

Winsock IFS Driver.

Default Settings

Startup type: Disabled
Display name:Winsock IFS Driver
Service name:ws2ifsl
Service type:kernel
Error control:normal
Group:PNP_TDI
Path:%SystemRoot%\system32\drivers\ws2ifsl.sys
Registry key:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\ws2ifsl

Default Behavior

Winsock IFS Driver is a kernel driver. In Windows 11 it is disabled. If Winsock IFS Driver fails to start, the failure details will be recorded into Event Log. Then Windows 11 should boot up and notify the user about the ws2ifsl service startup failure.

Restore Default Startup Configuration of Winsock IFS Driver

1. Run the Command Prompt as an administrator.

2. Copy the commands below, paste them into the command window and press ENTER:

sc stop ws2ifsl
sc config ws2ifsl start= disabled

3. Close the command window and restart the computer.

The ws2ifsl service is using the ws2ifsl.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.