Driver Talent Blog

Device Manager Error Codes — How to Fix

You must have seen error codes when using a computer. There are various different types of error codes: Device Manager error codes, system error codes and software error codes for individual programs. In this post, we’ll discuss the Device Manager error codes that could make you at your wits end. We’ll detail what they are and the solutions to fix them.

Device Manager error codes are generated when the computer is experiencing device driver issues, system resource conflicts, or other hardware problems.

Note: Don’t mix up with the error codes in device manager and the system error codes. If you see an error code outside of device manager, it’s not a Device Manager error code.

Normally, when there is an error, the error messages will pop up. But if you want to view the error code for a device, open the Device Manager, right-click the device and the Properties, click the Genera tab and you will see the error code text in the Device Status box.

Here are the Device Manager error codes that most of you will encounter.

Device Manager Error Code 1

Device Manager error code 1: the device is not configured properly.

Cause: the device has no drivers installed or is not configured correctly.

Solution: update the driver. Driver Talent (formerly called DriveTheLife) is recommended because it’s free, safe and professional. It will help to update to the latest driver quickly.

Device Manager Error Code 3

Device Manager error code 3: the driver for this device might be corrupted, or your system may be running low on memory or other resources.

Cause:  the driver is corrupted or there is not enough available memory to run, so the driver cannot successfully load.

Solution: reinstall the driver with Driver Talent (formerly called DriveTheLife).

Device Manager Error Code 10

Device Manager error code 10: the device cannot start.

Cause: the device can’t start due to some conflicts.

Solution: update the driver with Driver Talent (DriveTheLife), or contact the device manufacture’s technical support for help.

Device Manager Error Code 12

Device Manager error code 12: the device cannot find enough free resources that it can use.

Cause: two devices have been assigned the same I/O ports, the same interrupt or the same Direct Memory access channel.

Solution: the solutions are various specifically. Go to Microsoft support site: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=538 and search for help.

Device Manager Error Code 14

Device Manager error code 14: this device cannot work properly until you restart your computer.

Cause: the installation of a device driver requires overwriting some files that are in use.

Solution: reboot your computer.

Device Manager Error Code 16

Device Manager error code 16: Windows cannot identify all the resources this device uses

Cause: the device is only partially configured.

Solution: restart the computer.

Device Manager Error Code 18

Device Manager error code 18: reinstall the drivers for this device.

Cause: the drivers for this device are not working properly.

Solution: reinstall the drivers or update the drivers with Driver Talent.

Device Manager Error Code 19

Device Manager error code 19: Windows cannot start this hardware device because its configuration information (in the registry) is incomplete or damaged.

Cause: the device data in the registry and the driver have been broken or damaged.

Solution: reinstall the driver with DriveTheLife. Or restart the computer in Safe Mode and select Last Know Good Configuration.

Device Manager Error Code 28

Device Manager error code 28: the drivers for this device are not installed.

Cause: drivers for the devices have not been installed.

Solution: find and install drivers with Driver Talent.

Device Manager Error Code 31

Device Manager error code 31: the device is not working properly because Windows cannot load drivers required for this device.

Cause: Windows cannot load the driver.

Solution: restart the computer or reinstall the driver with Driver Talent.

Device Manager Error Code 43

Device Manager error code 43: Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems.

Cause: the device hardware fails or the device driver fails.

Solution: reinstall the driver with Driver Talent. Or reinstall the device.

Device Manager Error Code 45

Device Manager error code 45: currently, this hardware device is not connected to the computer.

Cause: the device is not attached to the computer.

Solution: Restart your computer or attach the device to the computer.