Windows cannot use this hardware device because it has been prepared for "safe removal", but it has not been removed from the computer. (Code 47) (vista Home Premium

Question

I have a customer that I sold a new machine to(desktop). He has an SD  card reader in it. The first time he inserted a camera card into it, it was read and he chose the Nero photo editor. He pulled the card out without clicking the remove hardware safely icon, and since then the dang thing won’t work. He is running Windows Vista Home premium, and the other card readers in the panel work fine. It happens regardless of the SD card used, as the same thing happens when I use a known good card.  Insert the card, and it gets read.  Try to remove it using the  hardware removal icon, and it gives you the “this item can be safely removed” signal. Remove it and it cannot be read upon reinserting.  Check Device mangler and there is a yellow icon the says it is a USB Mass storage device. Check properties on the device and you get this. “Windows cannot use this hardware device because it has been prepared for "safe removal", but it has not been removed from the computer. (Code 47)”. The only way to remove it is to uninstall the device and reboot. Then upon inserting the card, it is read but the same thing happens. Rebooting the machine does not clear the error unless the device is uninstalled.

Any Clues? The only answer I could find refered to XP and that answer did not work.

Answer 1

Code 47

Windows cannot use this hardware device because it has been prepared for safe removal, but it has not been removed from the computer. (Code 47)

Recommended resolutions

Here are some things that you can try to resolve this problem.

Reconnect the device

This error code occurs only if you used the Safe Removal application to prepare the device for removal, or pressed a physical eject button.

Reconnect the device to your computer

Disconnect this device from the computer, and then connect it again.

Restart your computer

Make sure that the device is connected correctly to your computer, and then restart your computer. Click Start, click Shut Down, and then select Restart in the Shut Down Windows dialog box to restart the computer.

I would do this :

Control Panel - Device Manager - click in the blank/white area - then VIEW at top

Check Show Hidden Devices

Now look for ALL instances of the SD Device (or whatever it is labeled as) in Disk Drives and everywhere EXCEPT USB Controllers

If you find any right click on them and UNINSTALL

Now - go to USB Controllers and RIGHT CLICK and UNINSTALL EVERYTHING except the category itself.

APPLY/OK

REBOOT

This will refresh your entire USB setup and often fixes your issue.

A utility to help :

USBDeview is a small utility that lists all USB devices that currently connected to your computer, as well as all

USB devices that you previously used. Under OPTIONS - check the top 4 choices do you see everything. You

would be looking for ALL instances of that device to remove it. I would do the above procedure 1st.

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usb\_devices\_view.html

BTW here is that procedure in XP from Microsoft, it is same in Vista except in your case we also

want to remove the disk devices so they can also refresh.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310575

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Rob - Bicycle - Mark Twain said it right.

Answer 2

I followed the directions to " go to USB Controllers and RIGHT CLICK and UNINSTALL EVERYTHING except the category itself."  Great idea, except that when you get to the controller for one particular USB and uninstall it, all of a sudden you have lost the use of your USB mouse and keyboard.  At that point you are dead in the water and must shut down the PC with the power button.  When it rebooted, it installed all the USB controllers, but of course I wasn't able to unistall ALL of them first, because I lost the use of the mouse and keyboard.

DUH?