SPAPI_E_INCORRECTLY_COPIED_INF (0x800F0237) fix

First Cause: Manually copying an INF file into C:\Windows\INF

This is the most common reason you're seeing the 0x800F0237 error. Someone (maybe you, maybe a script) dragged or copied an INF file directly into C:\Windows\INF folder. Windows expects INF files there to be installed through the proper API, not by hand. When you copy and paste, the file metadata gets mangled — permissions, timestamps, or even partial writes. The driver installer sees this and says "nope, this INF wasn't staged correctly."

Here's how you fix it:

1. Open File Explorer and go to C:\Windows\INF.
2. Sort by "Date modified" to find the INF file you just copied — it'll be the newest one. Look for files named like oem0.inf, oem1.inf, or something with a custom name.
3. Right-click that INF file and choose Delete. You'll get a permission prompt — click Continue. If it won't delete, you need to take ownership of the file first. I'll cover that in a sec.
4. After deleting, reboot the machine. This clears any cached corruption.
5. Now install the driver the right way: right-click the original INF file (from your downloads folder or driver package) and choose Install. Do NOT copy it into C:\Windows\INF first.

After step 5, you should see a brief command window flash, then a success message like "The operation completed successfully." If you still get the error, the INF file itself is corrupt — download a fresh copy of the driver.

Second Cause: A previous driver install left a broken oem*.inf file

Windows renames every INF it installs to something like oem0.inf, oem1.inf, etc. If one of those got partially written during a failed update — say the power cut out while installing a printer driver — that orphaned file will trip up any new driver install. The error code points to that exact scenario.

Here's the fix:

1. Press Win + R, type pnputil /enum-drivers, and hit Enter. A command window opens listing all installed driver packages.
2. Look for any entry with Published Name like oem0.inf, oem1.inf, and check the Class Name or Provider Name to find the broken one. The broken ones often show a date from a failed install or a blank description.
3. Once you found the bad one, run pnputil /delete-driver oem0.inf (replace oem0.inf with the actual published name). You'll see a confirmation prompt — type Y and press Enter.
4. After deletion, run pnputil /enum-drivers again to confirm it's gone. The list should be shorter.
5. Reboot the computer. Then try the driver install again — right-click the original INF and choose Install.

If you're not sure which one to delete, open C:\Windows\INF\setupapi.dev.log in Notepad. Search for "0x800F0237". You'll see a line like !   INF 'oem2.inf' failed - 0x800F0237. That tells you exactly which file to remove.

Third Cause: Antivirus or file-locking tool blocked the copy

Some aggressive security software — looking at you, McAfee and certain corporate endpoint tools — can intercept the INF copy step and write only part of the file. The result is a truncated INF that Windows can't parse. I've seen this happen mostly on Dell and HP business machines with Dell Data Protection or HP Sure Sense.

The fix is straightforward:

1. Temporarily disable your antivirus or file-locking tool. For Windows Defender, turn off real-time protection in Windows Security -> Virus & threat protection -> Manage settings. For third-party AV, right-click the tray icon and choose "Disable" or "Pause protection" for 10 minutes.
2. Delete the broken INF again as described in Cause #1. Check C:\Windows\INF for any recently modified oem*.inf files and delete them.
3. Reboot the machine.
4. Run the driver install again — right-click the original INF and choose Install.
5. After it succeeds, re-enable your antivirus.

If you're still stuck after this, the INF file itself might be digitally signed incorrectly. Right-click the original INF file, go to Properties -> Digital Signatures, and check if there's a valid signature from the vendor. If it says "No signature", the driver package is bad — download it again from the manufacturer's site.

Quick-Reference Summary Table

One last thing: if none of these work, check if the INF file is for a 64-bit driver on a 32-bit system or vice versa. That mismatch can also throw this error. Match the architecture and try again.