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Error code 38: Windows USB Devices not working

Anonymous
2022-02-09T17:33:10+00:00

I have just recently started having an issue where my USB flash drive devices will no longer work after being plugged in and removed once.
It is possible that USB flash drive devices have not been working for a while now because I do not regularly use them, but regardless, I do not know the reason why they aren't working.

Essentially, if I plug in any flash drive and then unplug it, any attempts to plug it back in afterwards do not work, and the device shows up in device manager as a USB Mass Storage device with a yellow ! warning about code 38:

"Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware because a previous instance of the device driver is still in memory. (Code 38)

The driver could not be loaded because a previous version of the driver is still in memory."

I have tried updating my drivers and removing programs that I think would be causing the issue but I haven't found a solution yet. Any help appreciated!

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Devices and drivers

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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  1. Anonymous
    2022-02-09T18:14:20+00:00

    -Hi, my name is Claudeir, I'm happy to help you!

    -Let's do some steps, test if it solved after each one:

    -Go to the manufacturer's website and keep everything updated, BIOS, Chipset.

    -Keep everything up to date with system, right click on start, settings, update and security, check for update.

    -Right click on start, run PowerShell(admin) or Command Prompt(admin)

    Copy and paste the following command:

    DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

    and press Enter. (Note: This step may take a few minutes to start and up to 30 minutes to complete).

    Once you see a message saying "The operation completed successfully", copy and paste this command:

    Sfc /scannow

    and press Enter.

    Wait for a message that says "Verification 100% complete".

    -Let WIndows reinstall the drivers, in Device Manager > USB Controllers > right click on All Drivers > Uninstall.

    • Clean boot:

    Clean boot is for you to determine if a background program is interfering with the system or to optimize system loading.

    For clean boot follow the steps below:

    On the Desktop, simultaneously press Windows + R keys to open Run;

    In the Run Menu, type the command msconfig and click OK to open the System Configuration;

    On the Services tab, check the option Hide all Microsoft services and click on Disable All;

    Click Apply and OK;

    Restart the computer.

    NOTE:This procedure disables all third party services and programs. You can later, if the problem is resolved in this way, enable the programs and services that will start with Windows selectively, rather than having them all disabled. If the problem returns after activating the startup of a specific service or program, the problem is exactly in the startup of this software and it is recommended to remove it.

    -Uninstall any third-party anti-malware, many antiviruses have their own removal tool. Visit the Installed Software website for more information. Your system will not be unprotected as Windows has its own security system that automatically enables it as soon as you restart your computer.

    leave only Windows Defender, then Windows+i, Update & Security, Windows Security, Open Windows Security, Virus & Threat Protection, Scan options, tick and do a full scan, then tick and do an offline scan.

    -Recovery to replace corrupted files on the system:

    Access:

    https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-downlo...

    Click 'Download tool now' > run MediaCreationTool.exe > proceed with the Windows installation until you can select 'Keep personal files and applications' wait, when finished, restart your PC and test. Everything will be kept, your applications and files, only the system image will be reinstalled.

    -If nothing solves the problem, there is probably a hardware problem, I suggest you take the PC to a specialized technical assistance.

    -Feel free to leave your opinion, marking as answered if the answer helped, or leaving more details so that we can continue the service, this is very important to us.

    Graciously,

    Claudeir

    3 people found this answer helpful.
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13 additional answers

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  1. Anonymous
    2022-02-27T17:43:55+00:00

    I had the same problem. In my case I had solve fix problem with uninstall BIT DEFENDER and BIT DEFEFENDER AGENT (antivirus). I hopo my solution it will useful someone else.

    4 people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Anonymous
    2022-03-01T00:51:31+00:00

    For others seeing this if the top answer doesn't work for you, if you have Bit Defender free installed on your computer, uninstall it and reboot. For some reason it's recently caused an issue in certain Windows laptops. No one is quite sure why it happens yet, but this worked for me immediately after trying nearly every conceivable solution short of a full reinstall.

    See here: (Code 38) USB devices working only once after every startup. Windows 10 - Super User and here Windows cannot load the Device Driver for this hardware because a previous instance of the Device Driver is still in memory (tencomputer.com)

    3 people found this answer helpful.
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  3. Anonymous
    2022-02-20T02:32:22+00:00

    I reproduced this problem as described (first USB plugin is OK, the second fails, reboot brings it back to first plugin OK state) on two different Windows 10 machines from different manufacturers running Win10 version 19044 with several different USB devices. None of the remedies given make a difference although I didn't go as far as replacing the OS on two different machines to chase it. Something did change recently....

    Regards,

    Myles

    3 people found this answer helpful.
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  4. Anonymous
    2022-02-27T20:36:59+00:00

    Based on this, I uninstalled BitDefender and problem solved!

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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