Token ring group address 0X8034001A still in use

Quick answer

Reboot into Safe Mode, open Device Manager, uninstall the network adapter that uses the token ring group address, then delete leftover driver files from C:\Windows\System32\drivers.

What's going on with 0X8034001A?

You're seeing this error when something tries to remove a token ring group address from a network adapter, but Windows NDIS says “nope — something else is still using it.” This happens most often when you're removing a legacy token ring card or a driver for an old network adapter that isn't fully unloaded. The group address is a multicast address assigned to the adapter for Token Ring networks — think of it like a shared mailbox that multiple services can read from. If even one service still holds a reference to that address, NDIS blocks the removal with error code 0x8034001A.

I've seen this on Windows 10 machines that had old IBM Token Ring PC Cards installed years ago, or on systems where a VPN client installed a virtual NDIS miniport that borrowed the group address. The real culprit is almost always a driver that didn't clean up after itself.

Fix steps (start here)

1. Reboot into Safe Mode – Hold Shift while clicking Restart, then go to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart. Press 4 or F4 to boot into Safe Mode. This stops most services and drivers from loading, so NDIS won't protest when you remove the address.
2. Open Device Manager – Right-click Start, select Device Manager. Look under “Network adapters” for any device named something like “IBM Token Ring,” “3Com TokenLink,” or any adapter with “Token” in the name. If you don't see one, click View > Show hidden devices — stale drivers may be hiding there.
3. Uninstall the adapter – Right-click the adapter, choose “Uninstall device.” Check the box that says “Delete the driver software for this device” if it appears. After it disappears, close Device Manager.
4. Clean up leftover drivers – Open File Explorer and go to C:\Windows\System32\drivers. Sort by Date modified. Look for any .sys file with a name matching the token ring adapter (like tokring.sys, trclass.sys, or ibmtok.sys). If you see one, right-click it and delete it. Windows may ask for admin permission — give it.
5. Open a Command Prompt as Admin – Right-click Start, choose “Command Prompt (Admin)” or “Windows Terminal (Admin).” Type pnputil /enum-drivers and look for any token ring driver in the list. If you find one, note the Published Name (like oem42.inf). Then type pnputil /delete-driver oem42.inf /uninstall. This removes the driver package entirely.
6. Reboot normally – Restart your PC. The error should be gone. If you were trying to remove a virtual adapter or change a multicast group, the operation should now succeed.

Alternative fixes if the main one won't work

Use the registry to kill stubborn references

If the driver refuses to uninstall, open Regedit as Admin and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services. Search for “TokenRing” or “TR” in the key names. If you find a key that matches the driver, right-click it and delete. Be careful — only delete keys you're certain belong to the token ring adapter. Back up the key first: right-click > Export.

Disable the adapter via Network Connections

If you can't uninstall, at least disable it. Go to Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center > Change adapter settings. Right-click the token ring adapter and choose Disable. This won't remove the address, but it stops other components from trying to use it. Then try the uninstall again.

Force removal with Device Manager command-line tool

Open Command Prompt as Admin and type devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1 then press Enter. Then type start devmgmt.msc. Device Manager now shows ghost devices. Find the token ring adapter under Network adapters (you may need to enable “Show hidden devices” again). Uninstall from there.

Prevention tip

If you're ever messing with network adapters — especially legacy ones — always uninstall the driver from Device Manager before you physically remove the card. And use the “Delete the driver software for this device” checkbox every single time. That single checkbox saves you from orphaned group addresses and errors like 0x8034001A. If you need to change multicast addresses, always stop the service that holds the reference first — check with netstat -ano to see which PID is using the adapter.