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Windows 8 doesn't load USB Mass Storage Drivers (USB Ports) - Code Error 38!

Anonymous
2013-10-06T08:27:58+00:00

Hi Guys,

I have recently upgraded to Windows 8 Pro (2 days back) from Windows 7 and after installing all my softwares I was quite happy using incredible Windows 8. The next day when I restarted my Windows, I'd noticed a very strange problem and windows weren't able to show my WD external HDD. I tried all most everything but nothing worked, I'd transfer my data from my external HDD so it was important. Finally after wasting the whole day, I restored my laptop to the 1st restore point. Windows started after an hour and all my installed softwares & all data on my C drive was gone. Anyways the USB mass storage was working and I was quite happy. To see if some of my software created some problem, I didn't install any software except Quick Heal Pro anti virus & Chrome. Next day again when I started my laptop, I was so frustrated to see the same problem again. Anything I put in my USB ports isn't working, only my Samsung Galaxy S4 & BELKIN wireless mouse were working in all the USB ports but my external HDD or Pen Drives or even my internal card reader wasn't working. Finally I tried to enter in the BIOS, that was another difficult task to do, I had to shut down & restart my laptop 15 times to try all the keys (Esc, all F'keys to Del) but nothing worked, finally after reading forms I could start BIOS but couldn't find any setup there to see the USB port option. Finally I just clicked on the default (F9) and exit and restarted my laptop and they all worked. Now the problem is, whenever I finish my work and shut down my laptop and restart it next day, the same problem is still there.

I also tried to troubleshoot the problem and I got following error message for USB MASS STORAGE DEVICE "Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware because a previous instance of the device is still in the memory. (Code 38). The driver could not be loaded because a previous version of the driver is still in the memory."

I'm using Acer Aspire 4736Z Laptop. Any suggestions to the problems would be much appreciated... Thanks!

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Devices and drivers

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  1. Anonymous
    2013-10-23T07:54:14+00:00

    Hi Abdul R

    Many thanks for your reply. I'm still facing the same problem even after following your steps. Windows read the pendrives for the first time only, when I try the same pendrive again, it doesn't read at all. Same problem in the inbuilt card reader. Though there isn't any problem in reading my Samsung mobile device and printers and even my Belkin wireless mouse. I'm facing this problem only in the pebdrives and cards. Please provide some solution.

    Thanks!

    2 people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Anonymous
    2014-08-10T09:52:59+00:00

    PLEASE HELP ME

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-01-27T04:58:56+00:00

    Also, can you check the following registry key?:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class{4D36E967-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

    At that registry key, in the right window, is there a "Name" UpperFilters and/or LowerFilters?

    If so, what is "Data" for those Names?

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  4. Anonymous
    2014-01-26T07:25:31+00:00

    Hi Kay,

    Check the link mentioned below and see if it helps.

    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/what-device-isnt-installed-properly

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  5. Anonymous
    2013-10-07T02:22:57+00:00

    Hi Kay-Ess,

    I appreciate your efforts for trying to troubleshoot the issue.

    Since the issue still persists, I would suggest you to uninstall and reinstall the USB controller drivers and check if it helps.

    a. Press Windows Key + R, type devmgmt.msc.

    b. Expand the Universal Serial Bus Controllers section by clicking on the**"+"** sign.

    c. Uninstall each of the devices under the USB Controller section by right-clicking on each one, and then clickingUninstall.

    d. Close the Device Manager and restart your computer. Windows will automatically re-install the USB controllers in your computer, without you having to do anything further. Your computer will now run USB devices properly.

    Also update chipset drivers for windows 8 from the computer manufacturer’s website.

    Since the Windows 8 driver are not available for your computer model. I would suggest you to install it in compatibility mode.

    Make older programs compatible with this version of Windows

    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-IN/windows-8/older-programs-compatible-version-windows

    Drivers and Manuals

    http://www.acer.co.in/ac/en/IN/content/drivers

    Please let us know if you have any questions.

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