There are thousands of possible Windows error codes, their meanings, and solutions. Device Manager on its own has 38 possible error codes. Here is a list of all known Device Manager error codes and their solutions for all versions of Windows from Windows 7 through Windows 10.

Typically a Device Manager problem comes down to conflict, driver, reboot, or BIOS issue. The most common answers are at the bottom of the page with the video, but we've taken the time to write a how-to on all 38 possible errors.

Code 1 - This Device Is Not Configured Correctly
Code 3 - The Driver for This Device Might Be Corrupted, or Your System May Be Running Low on Memory or Other Resources
Code 9 - Windows Cannot Identify This Hardware Because It Does Not Have a Valid Hardware Identification Number
Code 10 - This Device Cannot Start. Try Upgrading the Device Drivers for This Device
Code 12 - This Device Cannot Find Enough Free Resources That It Can Use. If You Want to Use This Device, You Will Need to Disable One of the Other Devices on This System
Code 14 - This Device Cannot Work Properly Until You Restart Your Computer. To Restart Your Computer Now, Click Restart Computer
Code 16 - Windows Cannot Identify All the Resources This Device Uses
Code 18 - Reinstall the Drivers for This Device
Code 19 - Windows Cannot Start This Hardware Device Because Its Configuration Information Is Incomplete or Damaged
Code 21 - Windows Is Removing This Device
Code 22 - This Device is Disabled
Code 24 - This Device Is Not Present, Is Not Working Properly, or Does Not Have All Its Drivers Installed
Code 28 - The Drivers for This Device Are Not Installed
Code 29 - This Device Is Disabled Because the Firmware of the Device Did Not Give It the Required Resources
Code 31 - This Device Is Not Working Properly Because Windows Cannot Load the Drivers Required for This Device
Code 32 - A Driver (Service) for This Device Has Been Disabled
Code 33 - Windows Cannot Determine the Settings for This Device
Code 34 - Windows Cannot Determine the Settings for This Device. Consult the Documentation That Came With This Device and Use the Resource Tab to Set the Configuration
Code 35 - Your Computer's System Firmware Does Not Include Enough Information to Properly Configure and Use This Device. To Use This Device, Contact Your Computer Manufacturer to Obtain a Firmware or BIOS Update

Code 36 - This Device Is Requesting a PCI Interrupt but Is Configured for an ISA Interrupt (or Vice Versa). Please Use the Computer's System Setup Program to Reconfigure the Interrupt for This Device
Code 37 - Windows Cannot Initialize the Device Driver for This Hardware
Code 38 - Windows Cannot Load the Device Driver for This Hardware Because a Previous Instance of the Device Driver Is Still in Memory
Code 39 - Windows Cannot Load the Device Driver for This Hardware. The Driver May Be Corrupted or Missing
Code 40 - Windows Cannot Access This Hardware Because Its Service Key Information in the Registry Is Missing or Recorded Incorrectly
Code 41 - Windows successfully loaded the device driver for this hardware but cannot find the hardware device
Code 42 - Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware because there is a duplicate device already running in the system
Code 43 - Windows Has Stopped This Device Because It Has Reported Problems
Code 44 - An Application or Service Has Shut Down This Hardware Device
Code 45 - Currently, this hardware device is not connected to the computer. To fix this problem, reconnect this hardware device to the computer
Code 46 - Windows Cannot Gain Access to This Hardware Device Because the Operating System Is in the Process of Shutting Down. The Hardware Device Should Work Correctly Next Time You Start Your Computer
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. To Fix This Problem, Unplug This Device From Your Computer and Then Plug It in Again
Code 48 - The Software for This Device Has Been Blocked From Starting Because It Is Known to Have Problems With Windows. Contact the Hardware Vendor for a New Driver
Code 49 - Windows Cannot Start New Hardware Devices Because the System Hive Is Too Large (Exceeds the Registry Size Limit)
Code 50 - Windows cannot apply all of the properties for this device
Code 51 - This Device Is Currently Waiting on Another Device or Set of Devices to Start
Code 52 - Windows cannot verify the digital signature for the drivers required for this device
Code 53 - Code 53 - This Device Has Been Reserved for Use by the Windows Kernel Debugger for the Duration of This Boot Session
Code 54 - This Device Has Failed and Is Undergoing a Reset

Here are some of the possible fixes for Device Manager error codes.



1: Update Your Drivers

Many of these errors are hardware problems and can be fixed by simply updating your device drivers. We'd try Driver Booster first, reboot, and see if your problem is solved.

2: Remove and Reinstall the Device

Press the Windows Key + S and begin typing in device manager and click on device manager. Windows 7 users can go to Start, and Control Panel as well. Find the hardware that's giving you trouble. For this example, we'll use Realtek High Definition Audio. Right-click and select Uninstall.



You will receive a warning that says You are about to uninstall this device from your system. Also, check the box that says Delete the driver software for this device.



Reboot after Windows is finished. Windows will not redetect and reinstall the device you removed. You might want to update your drivers now with Driver Booster.

3: Restore From a Restore Point

If you're sure you haven't changed your hardware, updated drivers, or installed new software, you can try to restore from System Restore. We think this one's a long shot, but it might just be what you need if all else fails. Enable, Disable, Manage, Delete or Create a System Restore Point

4: Restore Your Registry

If you're getting a registry error, you might be able to restore the registry. How to Back up or Restore the Windows Registry.

5: Reboot

This is a more generic possibility that should be obvious from the error code description. For example, error code 14, This device cannot work properly until you restart your computer, means a reboot should do the trick.

6: Update Your BIOS

If your error code reports a problem with your BIOS or firmware, then you may need to update it. It's always been good advice to only update your BIOS if and when a problem appears that requires you do so. That's good advice still today. We didn't list this solution last by mistake.

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