USB Mass Storage Device (Code38

Question

Hi All,

I've been working on this issue for a few weeks now and still no joy.

My issue is as follows and I hope someone can point me in the right direction;

If I boot the workstation fresh my external USB drive is present and works.

That night I am able to run the backup successfully.

But...

In the morning when we swap the backup drives no drive appears in the File Explorer or in the Disk manager and the Device Manager shows the errors below.

To get the drives back we need to reboot the computer.

 

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've run all the software and hardware updates I can and when I try to update the windows driver for this device it says that the driver is the latest version.

Backup assist (Backup software) say it's not their software that's causing the issue.

Dell say that its not a hardware issue with the computer.

I've uninstalled all Antivirus software.

I've installed the WD drive utilities to check the drives and to make sure the drivers are up to date.

It feels like a windows 10 update issue but I can't put my finger on it, as it was all working really well and no changes were made except of cause Windows Updates.

Any suggestions will be welcome.

[Moved from : Windows 10 / Files, folders, & storage]

Answer 1

Hi auggy,

Funny story but I've actually also got a Windows 2016 server that doing the same thing and it has a LowerFilters and UpperFilters.

LowerFilters  = EhStorClass

UpperFilters = partmgr

Are you looking at this key (for USB)? :

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class{36FC9E60-C465-11CF-8056-444553540000}

Answer 2

Hi auggy,

Funny story but I've actually also got a Windows 2016 server that doing the same thing and it has a LowerFilters and UpperFilters.

LowerFilters  = EhStorClass

UpperFilters = partmgr

Answer 3

Thanks Devlin Sco,

Sorry about the delay in getting back to you.I ran the troubleshooter as suggested and it did locate the USB Mass Storage device and fixed it.

I had the Disk Manager open and the drive came back instantly.

I reset the computer as suggested and right as I type I'm running the backup and will see if the problem reappears following a drive eject and reinsertion.

Thanks 

JP

Answer 4

Hi,

Can you check the following registry key?:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class{36FC9E60-C465-11CF-8056-444553540000}

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

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

Answer 5

Hello John,

Thank you for providing a screenshot of the issue. It seems that your concern is caused by a driver conflict. To help you resolve the issue, I advise performing these troubleshooting methods:

Disconnect the external device and restart your PC

Restarting your PC refreshes all existing device driver on your system. Thus, once you connect the external driver again, it will be detected as a different device.

Run the troubleshooter for hardware and device

This diagnostic tool will scan and fix your PC for any issues found with your device drivers. You will need administrative permission to run the tool.

1. Right-click the Start button, select Settings > Update & Security > Troubleshoot.
2. Select Hardware and Devices under Find and fix other problems.
3. Click Run the troubleshooter.
4. If prompted, click Yes or enter the administrator password.
5. Follow the on-screen instructions.

If you continue to have this issue even after performing the above steps, please reply to this thread. The system will notify me so I can get back to you and provide you with more answers.