Smart Card Reset (0x80100068) — Fix the Shared State Error

You're in the middle of logging in with your smart card, maybe on a Windows 10 or 11 machine at work, and then it hits you — SCARD_W_RESET_CARD (0x80100068). The message says the smart card has been reset, and any shared state information is invalid. This usually happens when you pull out the card too fast, or the card reader loses power briefly, or even after a Windows update that messes with the smart card driver. I've seen it most often when someone swaps cards between readers or after a USB hub hiccup.

Why Does This Happen?

The root cause is simple: your computer keeps a temporary memory of what your smart card is doing (the "shared state"). When the card gets reset — either by you removing it, the reader glitching, or a driver reload — that memory gets wiped. So the next time you try to use the same card, Windows says "I've got no idea what's going on with this card, it's like new." That's the 0x80100068 error.

The fix isn't complicated. You basically need to clear that old state and start fresh. Sometimes it's a driver issue, sometimes it's a service issue, and sometimes it's just the reader being flaky.

Fix It in 3 Steps

I'll give you the most reliable steps first. Skip the fancy stuff unless step 1 doesn't work.

Step 1: Restart the Smart Card Service

This clears the shared state without rebooting your whole machine. Works most of the time.

1. Press Win + R, type services.msc, hit Enter.
2. Scroll down to Smart Card service. Right-click it, choose Restart.
3. Also restart Smart Card Device Enumeration Service and Smart Card Removal Policy Service.
4. Now try your card again.

If that doesn't fix it, go to step 2.

Step 2: Replug the Card Reader

This forces the reader to reinitialize and drop the old state.

1. Unplug the smart card reader from the USB port. If it's built into a laptop, skip this and try a USB one if possible.
2. Wait 10 seconds. Plug it back in — use a different USB port if you can, not the same one.
3. Reinsert your card. The error should be gone.

Step 3: Restart the Computer

I know it's boring, but sometimes Windows just needs a full reboot to reset the driver stack. If steps 1 and 2 didn't work, restart your machine.

What to Check If It Still Fails

If you're still seeing 0x80100068 after all that, here's what's likely wrong:

• Driver corruption — Go to Device Manager, find your smart card reader under "Smart card readers", right-click it, select Uninstall device. Then reboot. Windows will reinstall the driver fresh.
• Broken card or reader — Try the card on another computer. If it works, your reader might be bad. Try another reader on your computer to see if it works. If not, your card might be dead.
• Windows update bug — Check for pending updates. If you just ran an update and the error started, roll it back from Settings > Update & Security > View update history > Uninstall updates.
• USB power saving — Open Device Manager, expand "Universal Serial Bus controllers". Right-click each "USB Root Hub" device, go to Power Management, uncheck "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power". This stops the reader from randomly cutting power.

That's it. You should be back to using your smart card without that annoying error. If not, check your company's IT policy — they might have a custom driver that's causing the issue.