If you receive this error Windows cannot load the device driver (Code 38) in the Device Manager, it means that a previous instance of the device driver is still in memory. Every time a device is used, the driver is loaded into memory, and then unloaded.

Bothered by Windows 10 USB Error Code 38
Each time you connect external devices like scanners, printers and the likes to a Windows 10 computer, the device either pushes the drivers through the USB or any other port or you are expected to install the drivers through an external media. In both cases, the driver will be loaded in the system, allowing you to use the device. However, it doesn’t always go smoothly as you could encounter some errors like the “Windows cannot load the Device Driver for this hardware because a previous instance of the Device Driver is still in memory (Code 38)”.

Top Reasons for Error Code 38 Windows 10
To help you better understand this Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware code 38 error, we summarize some main causes as follows:

The hard disk is turned off when the computer is idle.
The USB drive is in trouble.
The USB controller driver is not installed correctly.
The USB controller driver is corrupted.
The USB controller driver is outdated.
The USB controller driver has interfered with some third-party programs & services.
And more….
These things might cause Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware code 38. Focusing on them, we introduce some solutions for you. If you are not sure which is the real cause of the error, you can try these methods one by one until you find the suitable one.

Solution 1: Make Sure the Hard Disk Is Never Turned off
Perhaps, you don’t know that the hard disk on your computer is set to be turned off after a certain period by default. If the Windows 10 Device Manager Error Code 38 issue happens to an external hard disk, you can go to check and modify the settings in Power Option to make sure that the hard disk is never turned off.

Here is a guide on how to do this job:

Click the Windows search box and type Control Panel.
Select Control Panel from the search result to open it.
Click Power Options.
Click the Change plan settings link that is next to Balanced (recommended) in the Preferred plan section.

ClickChange advanced power settings.
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Type never in the Setting (Minutes) box for Turn off hard disk after in the Hard disk section.
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Click Apply.
Click OK to save the change.
If you are using a laptop, you still need to use these steps to modify the settings for all active battery plans.

However, if this method doesn’t work for you, the Device Manager Code 38 error should not be caused by an idle computer. You can try the next solution to see whether the issue can be solved.

Solution 2: Reinstall the Device in the Device Manager
Perhaps, the code 38 Windows 10 issue is just a temporary issue. You can reinstall the device in the Device Manager to have a try.

Open Device Manager.
Unfold Universal Serial Bus controllers and right-click the target controller.
SelectUninstall device from the pop-out menu.
Click Uninstall from the pop-out window. The uninstallation process will start and finish quickly.
Reboot your computer and Windows will begin to automatically reinstall the device.
Solution 3: Update the Driver for the Device
While, if Windows can’t find a driver, you can go to the official web site of the device’s manufacture to download the latest version of the driver and then install it on your Windows 10 computer.

Tip: If you want to update all device drivers on your Windows computer, you can refer to this previous post to do the job: How to Update Device Drivers Windows 10 (2 Ways).

Solution 4: Run the Hardware and Device Troubleshooter
The Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware code 38 error can also be caused by the external drive itself. You can use the Windows snap-in Hardware and Device Troubleshooter to make a check.

You are not allowed to enter the Hardware and Device Troubleshooter in Device Manager. You need to open it via Command Prompt.

Run Command Prompt as administrator.
Type exe -id DeviceDiagnostic in Command Prompt to open the Hardware and Device Troubleshooter.
Click Next to start the troubleshooting process.
If this tool can find some issues on the device, you can follow the on-screen guide to fix the problems. However, if it shows Troubleshooting couldn’t identify the problem, it should not be a hardware problem. Then, you need to consider the software compatibility issue. The next part will show you the details.

Solution 5: Perform a Clean Boot
A clean boot allows your Windows to boot with a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. You can enable other programs and services one by one and check whether the code 38 Windows 10 issue disappears. This is a good method to find out which software and services are conflicting.

Bonus: Rescue Your Data Using MiniTool Power Data Recovery
If the Device Manager Code 38 issue can’t be fixed and you can’t access the files on the drive, you will need to use a professional data recovery software to rescue them. We suggest using MiniTool Power Data Recovery.

This is a free file recovery tool that has four recovery modules: This PC, Removable Disk Drive, Hard Disk Drive, and CD/DVD Drive. You can use them to recover data from external hard drives, SD cards, memory cards, pen drives, and more.

It has a trial edition. You can use it to scan the drive that you want to recover data from and then check whether it can find your needed files.

If you would like to learn more about how to recover with MiniTool Power Data Recovery, kindly check out post.

Solve Other Device Manager Errors
The driver could not be loaded because a previous version of the driver is still in memory code 38 is not the only Device Manager error that you might encounter when using an external drive. Here are some other situations and solutions:

Code 1: This device is not configured correctly. (Code 1)
Code 10: This device cannot start. (Code 10)
Code 22: This device is disabled. (Code 22)
Code 37: Windows cannot initialize the device driver for this hardware. (Code 37)
Code 43: Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems. (Code 43)
And more…
We will not list all the error codes in this part. You can also search for other codes and solutions in the MiniTool official site.

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