Hack 95 Troubleshoot Hardware by Decoding Device Manager Error Messages

The Device Manager is a great hardware troubleshooting tool, but you'll need this hack to make sense of the error messages it relays to you. Here's how to decode the cryptic messages and how to use the messages to solve hardware woes .

If you install and uninstall enough hardware on your system, error messages and system conflicts are a way of life. XP does a far better job than previous versions of Windows at keeping conflicts to a minimum, but on occasion they still pop up.

The first step in resolving these problems is to use XP's built-in Hardware Troubleshooters. Choose Start Help and Support Hardware "Fixing a hardware problem" and under "Fix a problem" click Hardware Troubleshooter. It's a wizard-style interface, so follow the prompts.

But that won't always solve the conflict. Luckily, XP includes a built-in way to resolve system conflicts by hand: using the Device Manager, XP's best all-around hardware-troubleshooting tool. Run it by typing devmgmt.msc at a command prompt or in the Run box. You'll see a list of all the devices installed on your system, as shown in Figure 12-1.

Figure 12-1. The Device Manager displaying all the devices installed on your system

To find information about any device, right-click on it and choose Properties. The device's multitabbed Properties dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 12-2. You'll be able to get comprehensive information about the device from here. You can also do troubleshooting by clicking on the Troubleshoot button.

Figure 12-2. The Device Manager General tab

When you open the Device Manager to the view shown in Figure 12-1, an icon will be displayed next to any device involved in a system conflict. A yellow exclamation point means that the device has a problem or conflict of some sort . A red "X" means that the device is disabled. A blue "i" (which stands for information) means that the device's resource configuration has been altered via the Device Manager.

The blue "i" icon shows up only when you choose one of two views: "Resource by type" or "Resource by connection." To switch to those views, use the View menu.

Only the yellow and red icons mean that there's a problem of some sort. To find out more details about the problem, double-click on the device that has an icon next to it, and an error message and error code will appear in the "Device status" section of the General tab shown in Figure 12-2. Those error messages are supposed to help you solve the hardware problem. Unfortunately, though, they're cryptic at best, and, as a general rule, you won't be any closer to resolving the problem after you read them.

However, armed with the right knowledge, you can resolve the problems based on the error message you see. The advice in Table 12-1 ( adapted from MS Knowledge Base article 125174) tells you how to use the Device Manager to solve the problem.

Table 12-1. Device Manager error codes, messages, and potential solutions

Code	Error message	Recommended solution
1	This device is not configured correctly.	Update the drivers by choosing Update Driver from the Driver tab, and follow instructions in the Hardware Update wizard. You can also try removing the device in the Device Manager and running the Add New Hardware wizard from Control Panel.
2	The `<type>` device loader(s) for this device could not load the device driver.	Update the drivers by choosing Update Driver from the Driver tab, and follow instructions in the Hardware Update wizard. You can also try removing the device in the Device Manager and running the Add New Hardware wizard from Control Panel.
3	The driver for this device might be corrupt or your system may be running low on memory or other resources.	Update the drivers by choosing Update Driver from the Driver tab, and follow instructions in the Hardware Update wizard. You can also try removing the device in the Device Manager and running the Add New Hardware wizard from Control Panel. In addition, check memory and system resources by right-clicking My Computer, choosing Properties Advanced tab, and then clicking Settings under Performance to see whether that is the problem. You might have to install more RAM to solve the problem. Also, try clicking Troubleshoot on the General tab of the device, in order to run the troubleshooting wizard.
4	This device is not working properly because one of its drivers may be bad, or your Registry may be bad.	Update the drivers by choosing Update Driver from the Driver tab, and follow instructions in the Hardware Update wizard. You can also try removing the device in the Device Manager and running the Add New Hardware wizard from Control Panel. If neither of these resolves the problem, get a new .inf driver file from the hardware manufacturer.
5	The driver for this device requested a resource that Windows does not know how to handle.	Update the drivers by choosing Update Driver from the Driver tab, and follow instructions in the Hardware Update wizard. You can also try removing the device in the Device Manager and running the Add New Hardware wizard from Control Panel.
6	Another device is using the resources this device needs.	Click on Troubleshoot on the General tab to run the Hardware Troubleshooter.
7	The drivers for this device need to be reinstalled.	Click Reinstall Driver.
8	Code 8 has many error messages associated with it.	Click Update Driver. You can also try removing the device in the Device Manager and running the Add New Hardware wizard from Control Panel.
9	Code 9 has several error messages associated with it.	Try removing the device in the Device Manager and running the Add New Hardware wizard from Control Panel. If that doesn't work, contact the manufacturer for the correct registry settings or updated drivers. You might also need to update your system's BIOS.
10	This device either is not present, is not working properly, or does not have all the drivers installed. This code may also have a manufacturer-specific error message associated with it, depending on the device.	Make sure that the device is physically connected to the computer properly. If that doesn't work, update the driver from the Driver tab.
11	Windows stopped responding while attempting to start this device and therefore will never attempt to start this device again.	Contact the hardware manufacturer for updated drivers.
12	This device cannot find enough free `<type>` resources that it can use. Note: `<type>` is a resource type, such as IRQ, DMA, Memory, or I/O.	Click Hardware Troubleshooter and run the troubleshooting wizard.
13	This device either is not present, is not working properly, or does not have all the drivers installed.	Click Detect Hardware. You can also try removing the device in the Device Manager and running the Add New Hardware wizard from Control Panel.
14	This device cannot work properly until you restart your computer.	Restart your computer.
15	This device is causing a resource conflict.	Click Troubleshoot on the General tab of the device, and run the troubleshooting wizard
16	Windows cannot identify all the resources this device uses.	Click the Resources tab and manually enter the settings as detailed by the manufacturer's documentation.
17	The driver information file `< name >` is telling this child device to use a resource that the parent device does not have or recognize. Note: `<name>` is the .inf file for the device.	Click Update Driver. You can also try removing the device in the Device Manager, and running the Add New Hardware wizard from Control Panel.
18	Reinstall the drivers for this device.	Click Reinstall Driver.
19	Your Registry may be bad.	Click Check Registry.
20	Windows could not load one of the drivers for this device.	Click Update Driver.
21	Windows is removing this device.	Wait several seconds and then refresh the Device Manager view. If the device appears, restart your computer.
22	This device is disabled.	Click Enable Device.
22	This device is not started.	Click Start Device.
23	Several error messages may appear with Code 23.	Click on Properties or Update Driver, depending on which button appears.
24	This device is not present, is not working properly, or does not have all its drivers installed.	Click Detect Hardware or Update Drivers, depending on which button appears.
25	Windows is in the process of setting up this device.	Restart your computer.
26	Windows is in the process of setting up this device.	Restart your computer.
27	Windows can't specify the resources for this device.	Remove the device in the Device Manager, and run the Add New Hardware wizard from Control Panel. If the device still does not work, get updated drivers or other assistance from the manufacturer.
28	The drivers for this device are not installed.	Click Reinstall Driver. You can also remove the device in the Device Manager and run the Add New Hardware wizard from Control Panel. If the device still does not work, get updated drivers from the manufacturer.
29	This device is disabled because the firmware for the device did not give it the required resources.	Check the device's documentation on how to enable its BIOS. If that doesn't work, enable the device in your computer's CMOS settings.
30	This device is using an Interrupt Request (IRQ) resource that is in use by another device and cannot be shared. You must change the conflicting setting or remove the real-mode driver causing the conflict.	Check Device Manager to see if another device is using the same IRQ and disable it. If you can't find another device using the IRQ, look for drivers loaded in a Config.sys or Autoexec.bat file, and disable them.
31	This device is not working properly because Windows cannot load the drivers required for this device.	Click on Properties. If that doesn't work, remove the device in the Device Manager, and run the Add New Hardware wizard from Control Panel. If the device still does not work, get updated drivers or other assistance from the manufacturer.
32	Windows cannot install the drivers for this device because it cannot access the drive or network location that has the setup files on it.	Restart the computer.
33	Windows cannot determine which resources are required for this device.	Contact the hardware manufacturer and configure or replace the device. Also try starting the troubleshooting wizard by clicking on Troubleshoot on the General tab.
34	Windows cannot determine the settings for this device. Consult the documentation that came with this device and use the Resource tab to set the configuration.	Change the hardware settings by following the manufacturer's instructions and then using the Resources tab to configure the device. Also try starting the troubleshooting wizard by clicking on Troubleshoot on the General tab.
35	Your computer's system firmware does not include enough information to configure and use this device properly. To use this device, contact your computer manufacturer to obtain a firmware or BIOS update.	Run the troubleshooting wizard by clicking on Troubleshoot on the General tab. If that does not work, get a new or updated BIOS from your computer manufacturer.
36	This device is requesting a PCI interrupt but is configured for an ISA interrupt (or vice versa). Please use the computer's system setup program to reconfigure the interrupt for this device.	Check your computer's documentation for how to reconfigure the IRQ settings in the BIOS. Also, try starting the troubleshooting wizard by clicking on Troubleshoot on the General tab.
37	Windows cannot initialize the device driver for this hardware.	Uninstall and then reinstall the driver. Also, try starting the troubleshooting wizard by clicking on Troubleshoot on the General tab.
38	Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware because a previous instance of the device driver is still in memory.	Restart the computer. Also, try starting the troubleshooting wizard by clicking on Troubleshoot on the General tab.
39	Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupt or missing.	Uninstall and then reinstall the driver. Also, try starting the troubleshooting wizard by clicking on Troubleshoot on the General tab.
40	Windows cannot access this hardware because its service key information in the registry is missing or recorded incorrectly.	Uninstall and then reinstall the driver. Also, try starting the troubleshooting wizard by clicking on Troubleshoot on the General tab.
41	Windows successfully loaded the device driver for this hardware but cannot find the hardware device.	Uninstall and then reinstall the driver. Also, try starting the troubleshooting wizard by clicking on Troubleshoot on the General tab. If the device is non-Plug-and-Play, you may need to run the Add Hardware wizard. To do that, from the Control Panel, choose Performance and Maintenance -> System -> Hardware -> Add Hardware Wizard.
42	Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware because there is a duplicate device already running in the system.	Restart the computer. Also, try starting the troubleshooting wizard by clicking on Troubleshoot on the General tab.
43	Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems.	Check the hardware documentation. Also, try starting the troubleshooting wizard by clicking on Troubleshoot on the General tab.
44	An application or service has shut down this hardware device.	Restart the computer. Also, try starting the troubleshooting wizard by clicking on Troubleshoot on the General tab.
45	Currently, this hardware device is not connected to the computer.	Reconnect the device to the computer.
46	Windows cannot gain access to this hardware device because the operating system is in the process of shutting down.	No fix should be necessary; the device should work properly when you start your computer.
47	Windows cannot use this hardware device because it has been prepared for "safe removal" but it has not been removed from the computer.	Unplug the device from your computer and then plug it in again.
48	The software for this device has been blocked from starting because it is known to have problems with Windows. Contact the hardware vendor for a new driver.	Get and install a new or updated driver from the hardware manufacturer.
49	Windows cannot start new hardware devices because the system hive is too large (exceeds the Registry Size Limit).	Uninstall any devices you are no longer using. To see devices that are using drivers, but are no longer attached to your computer, see [Hack #96]

12.2.1 See Also

[Hack #96]