Question from Karren: I have a Verbatim 16GB USB flash drive that works fine with my laptop, but when I plug it into my desktop computer it displays the following error message:
“Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems.(Code 43)”
Does this mean there’s a problem with my computer or with the flash drive? And how can I fix it? My laptop is running Windows Vista and the desktop is running Windows 7.
Rick’s answer: Karren, a “Code 43” error typically indicates that there is a problem either with the device itself or with the driver. Since the flash drive seems to work just fine with the laptop, I suspect that the driver for the device on the desktop PC has become corrupted somehow. If so, the following steps should fix the problem right up:
1 – Plug the flash drive into your desktop PC, then click the Start orb.
2 – Type the word device into the search box, then click on Device Manager when the list of search results pops up.
3 – Scan the list of devices for the USB flash drive that’s malfunctioning. Once you find it, right-click on it and click Uninstall.
4 – Click Ok to confirm that you really want to uninstall the device.
5 – At the top of the Device Manager window is a menu. Click Action>Scan for hardware changes. Windows should scan for new hardware, “find” your USB flash drive, and then install a fresh driver for it.
If all went well, the flash drive should now work with your desktop PC without causing a “Code 43” error. If not, let me know and I’ll give you something else to try.
Update from Karren: Thanks Rick. That fixed it.
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