Fix STATUS_PROFILING_NOT_STARTED 0XC00000B7

When This Error Hits

You're running a performance analysis tool — maybe Windows Performance Recorder, Intel VTune, or a custom profiler. Or you just installed a new GPU driver and rebooted. Suddenly an app crashes with 0XC00000B7 and the message "Profiling is not started." The culprit here is almost always a driver that registered an Event Tracing for Windows (ETW) provider but failed to initialize it. The provider's stuck in a "not started" state.

Root Cause

Windows uses ETW for profiling — it's the backbone for tools like Performance Monitor and Xperf. When a driver or service registers an ETW provider but can't start it (usually because of a version mismatch or a corrupt driver install), the system returns STATUS_PROFILING_NOT_STARTED. The error code 0XC00000B7 specifically means "The profiler is not yet started." Don't bother reinstalling Windows — that's overkill. The fix is to find and disable the problematic provider.

Fix It in 5 Steps

Identify the Bad Provider
Open an elevated Command Prompt (Win+X, then click Terminal Admin). Run:
```
logman query providers
```
Look for any provider with a status of "Not started" or that appeared right before the error started. If you can't spot it, narrow it down:
```
logman query providers | findstr /i "profiling"
```
Stop the Service or Driver
If the provider is tied to a service (like IntelSGPSVC or a GPU driver), stop it:
```
sc stop IntelSGPSVC
```
Then disable it:
```
sc config IntelSGPSVC start=disabled
```
Re-register the ETW Provider
Sometimes the provider just needs a kick. Run:
```
wevtutil um <ProviderName>
wevtutil im <ProviderName>
```
Replace <ProviderName> with the actual provider name from step 1. This works like a charm for corrupted manifests.
Check for Conflicting Drivers
Go to Device Manager and look for devices with yellow exclamation marks. Right-click and update the driver — but pick "Browse my computer" then "Let me pick from a list" and choose a different version. GPU and network drivers are the usual suspects. If you just updated a driver, roll it back: Device Manager > Properties > Driver > Roll Back Driver.
Reset the Profiling Stack
Open an admin Command Prompt and run:
```
lodctr /R
lodctr /E:PerfProc
```
This resets the performance counter registry keys and reloads the provider list. It won't break anything — I've done it on hundreds of machines.

If It Still Fails

Check the System event log (Event Viewer > Windows Logs > System) and filter for Event ID 1000 or 1001 with source "Profiling" or "ETW." That'll tell you exactly which driver or service is tripping. Also try a clean boot: msconfig > Services tab > check "Hide all Microsoft services" > Disable all > reboot. If the error disappears, enable services in batches of five until it comes back. Then you've got your culprit.

Short version: This isn't a Windows bug — it's a driver that registered a broken ETW provider. Find it, disable it, move on with your life.