Unknown Device - USB error Code 43

Anonymous
2011-12-15T00:54:36+00:00

Dell XPS m1330 running Win7 Pro 32-bit, service pack 1.

I have had this problem seemingly forever but have been ignoring it, as it doesn't seem to affect the performance of my laptop, but now I'm wondering why it has happened.

I have 7 Intel ICH8 host controllers, a Microsoft Keyboard and Mouse driver, USB Composite Device, USB Mass Storage Device and 7 USB Root Hubs that all seem to work fine, I have no problems using any devices I plug in to the machine, but there is an Unknown Device, with no hardware/device details available, reporting a Code 43.

I have uninstalled and reinstalled all the USB drivers, didn't help, in fact it made it worse as it seems to have lost my fingerprint reader (the reader is installed but apparently not connected to anything). There are no new driver updates. I have no idea what the Unknown Device is referring to, other than Port#0002 Hub#0001.

As I said, all external USB ports work fine, and until I tried fixing it, the Fingerprint reader was fine as well, I don't know what else should be on USB, so don't know what to fix.

Any help?

Chris

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | 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.

0 comments

43 answers

Sort by: Newest
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2012-05-11T04:36:37+00:00

    I'm not going to delete anything in my registry until I get home tonight, as someone on that linked thread got locked out of their boot menu after doing that. 

    Here's what I just tried:

    1. Safely remove all devices from USB ports
    2. Go into Control Panel -> Devices
    3. Right-click the Unknown Device, click Uninstall
    4. Takes a few minutes to uninstall
    5. Re-insert one USB flash drive, computer did not recognise it (it was working fine and dandy when Unknown Device was there - Unknown Device is not specific to this drive, it comes up even when nothing is plugged in externally to USB)
    6. Re-insert different device to the other USB port, connected fine
    7. Safely remove everything again
    8. In Devices, go Action -> Scan for Hardware Changes
    9. Finds Unknown Device, tries to reinstall driver for Unknown Device, installation fails, Unknown Device persists with the warning flag
    10. All USB ports work again.

    I'm on a laptop, so ripping the thing apart to see if a USB port has 8 or 9 pins (a suggestion from mural's link) seems excessively painful. I have to agree with what some other people have said, this is not a problem with any external device, it seems to be either Windows, or the Windows driver for this particular USB host.

    (Side note - all ports and devices have been working nicely on Ubuntu 10 on the same machine)

    Thoughts?

    Was this answer helpful?

    4 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2012-05-10T21:40:11+00:00

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2012-05-10T21:07:41+00:00

    Hi Chris,

    My laptop is  Dell-VOSTRO 3550 and I have the exact same problem and I tried everything like you. Could you find any solution?

    Was this answer helpful?

    2 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2012-04-02T23:33:06+00:00

    This did not answer my question. I still get the message, and I still don't know what is causing it. None of my USB devices are failing, all of my IO on the laptop are still fully functional, and in fact I get the message when there are no devices attached to USB.

    Given that you are just repeating the same answer (which I will allow should work for most cases, but as stated does not apply to mine), I'm guessing that means you don't know what to do about it either, so I will leave your answer marked as "answer" and abandon this thread.

    Was this answer helpful?

    10 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  5. Anonymous
    2012-03-03T02:34:27+00:00

    Hi,

    Recommended resolution for code 43:

    One of the drivers controlling the device notified the operating system that the device failed in some manner.

    If you have already run the Troubleshooting Wizard, you might want to check the hardware documentation for more information about diagnosing the problem.

    Hope the information is helpful.

    Was this answer helpful?

    6 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments