Windows 10: Code 38 - Have Tried All Advice Posted Here and Elsewhere!

Currently running - Windows 10 Pro / Version 21H2 / OS Build 19044.1526The seemingly ever-present Code 38 error with removeable USB drives. I've tried absolutely everything - including carefully changing registry entries backed-up first - I'm on the point of giving up!I have grabbed some screen shots to illustrate what is happening:The first image shows the status at a boot from completely off.The second image shows the status after plugging a USB drive in for the first time.- It shows in Disk Management as Disk 3 - assigned drive letter J:- It shows in Device Manager as a new USB Mass S

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38-character "product code"

I ran the troubleshooter for uninstalling a program that isn't listed in Windows 10 apps list that is described at Fix problems that block programs from being installed or removed

The troubleshooter asks for a 38-character product code.

To find the code, I tried running this command in a command prompt and an administrative command prompt:

Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product

That was not recognized as a command. Next, in Powershell, I ran
Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product. I got a list of installed apps with 38-character codes, but the one that I want to uninstall was not on the list.

What should I try next?

 

USB Devices not work - code 38

Hi,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.



I understand that you are receiving an error Code 38 for USB mass storage device. I’ll certainly help you with the issue.



The error code 38 states that Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware because a previous instance of the device driver is still in memory. It is caused because the driver could not be loaded because a previous instance is still loaded.
For more information, see
Error codes in Device Manager in Windows.



I would suggest you to refer the troubleshooting steps mentioned below:



Method 1: Reboot your computer



The simplest way would be to reboot your computer and check if that helps.



Method 2: Rollback the driver



If the issue persists, I would suggest you to try rollback the driver and check. Refer the steps mentioned below:

1. Press and hold the Windows key + X, and select
   Device manager.
   
2. In Device manager, expand Universal Serial Bus controllers.
   
3. Right click on USB Mass Storage device and select
   Properties.
   
4. Navigate to the Driver tab and click on
   Roll Back Driver.
   
5. Restart the computer.
   

Method 3: Reinstalling the driver



If the issue persists, I would suggest you to try reinstalling the driver and check. Refer the steps mentioned below:

1. Press and hold the Windows key + X, and select
   Device manager.
   
2. In Device manager, expand Universal Serial Bus controllers.
   
3. Right click on the USB Mass Storage
   device and click on Uninstall.
   
4. Uncheck the box Delete the driver software for this device
   and click on OK.
   
5. Restart the computer.
   

Let us know how it goes.



Regards,

Nikhar Khare

Microsoft Community - Moderator

 

Asus AC68 PCI-E Wireless adapter not working after Windows update (Code 38)

As the title suggests, after the most recent Windows update (brought my version of Windows to 1803), my Asus AC68 PCI-E Wireless adapter ceased to function. According to Device Manager, it was a "code 38" error (Windows cannot load the device driver
for this hardware because a previous instance of the device driver is still in memory.)

Multiple searches have suggested that this is because of an issue with AMD processors, but this is not my situation as I have a Intel based processor.

I have attempted the following troubleshooting steps (without success)

• Uninstall and reinstall the driver
• Use to "PCI lock" function in msconfig
• Restore my computer to a previous state
• Delete the Asus software
• Change PCI port of my card

The only step I could take that did work was to restore a previous version of Windows (it brought me back to version 1709). So, for the moment my card works again, but my PC wants to update again, and I feel like this whole process will begin again if I
do so. For the record, I have already been in touch with Asus support, and they have been less than helpful (some of the steps taken above were at their suggestion). Thank you in advance for any advice.