Windows is the most widely used computer operating system in the world, but this does not mean that it cannot be affected by errors that can spoil our user experience. One of its most frequent problems is the appearance of the error code 43 that appears mainly when we use the Device Manager. In this way, it alerts us that a hardware device or software driver has a problem. Therefore, today we are going to see its causes and how we can solve it.
Problems in Microsoft’s operating system are more frequent than we wish. Luckily, we have different tools to try to solve it.
Why do I get error code 43?
We are talking about a generic message that Windows emits mainly when we are using Device Manager and it stops some hardware devices on the computer to inform the system that some type of unspecified error has occurred. With this message it informs us that we may be facing a hardware problem or it simply indicates that there is a problem with a controller that the system is not able to identify as such, causing the hardware to be affected by it. Along with the appearance of the error code, it is usually accompanied by an attached message: Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems.
This problem usually appears mainly when it comes to hardware problems related to USB devices such as webcams, printers and other similar peripherals. We can find it in almost any of Microsoft’s operating systems such as Windows 10, 8 or 7.
Steps to fix it in Windows
If the appearance of the error code 43 has prevented our device from working correctly, there are several methods that we can try to solve this problem.
Restart or shutdown the system
The first method that we must try before getting into other more complex options is to restart or turn off the system. It is possible that the appearance of the problem was caused by a temporary hardware problem or because we have made a change to the PC causing it to have a pending restart. That is why we must try to restart the system. If it doesn’t work, it can also help us if we turn it off completely, wait a few minutes and turn it on again. Both shutting down and restarting can be done by pressing the Start menu and then clicking on the “Start / Shutdown” button.
Use hardware and device troubleshooter
If a reboot or shutdown of the system does not prevent the failure from appearing, the next thing we should do is run the hardware and devices troubleshooter. This system tool is specialized in solving problems, which will need to be launched from a command line.
Therefore, the first thing to do will be to press the keyboard shortcut Windows + R to launch the Run command. Here we must write the following command and press Enter or the OK button.
This will bring up the troubleshooter window. Now we just have to click on the «Next» button and the system will take care of looking for possible hardware problems for a while. Once finished it will give us a detailed report on the results.
Graphics card driver issues
Another way to solve the problem is making sure that we have updated the drivers of our graphics card, since otherwise they could be the cause of this problem. It is also possible that we may need to revert to a previous version or have to uninstall and reinstall. This is something that we must do from the Device Manager, which we access by selecting it from the menu that appears when pressing the keyboard shortcut “Windows + X”. Within the list of devices that are shown, we look for and display the display adapters.
Update driver
Next, we check if our graphics card appears with an exclamation point in yellow. This will indicate that there is a problem with the drivers. Later we click on the device with the right mouse button and then we click on «Properties». In the new window we select the “Driver” tab and click on “Update driver”. Finally, we select the option “Search for drivers automatically”.
Go back to a previous version
In case the problem has started to occur after a driver update, we may be able to fix it by reverting to a previous version of the driver. To do this, from the Device Manager itself, we right-click on the graphics card that has the error. We access its properties and in the “Controller” tab, click on the “Revert to the previous controller” button. This button will only be enabled if we have recently carried out an installation.
Uninstall and reinstall the drivers
If the error code 43 persists, we can try to uninstall and reinstall the graphics card drivers. To do this, from the Device Manager, click on the “Properties” of the graphics card, and on the “Driver” tab, click on the “Uninstall device” option.
Later we restart Windows and access the Device Manager again. Now we right-click on the PC name and click on the “Search for hardware changes” option.
If for some reason, Windows is not able to install the drivers for our graphics, we can download the latest version available from the manufacturer’s website, either Intel, AMD or NVIDIA, and install it on our computer.
Once this is done, we can right-click on our device to access its properties. Here from the General tab, we check that the message “This device works correctly” appears, which should put an end to our problem.
Power problems with the USB device
It may be that the energy saving function of our computer is responsible for the device showing error code 43. In order to verify and eliminate the energy saving option we must access the Device Manager, by pressing the keyboard shortcut «Windows + X ». We scroll down the list and expand the “Universal Serial Bus Controllers” option.
Next, we right-click on the USB Root Controller option and select Properties. In the new window that opens, click on the Power Management tab and uncheck the box “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save energy.” Finally, we click on «Accept».
We only have to repeat the same process in case there is another UBS root device in the list and check if this ends up solving the problem.
Restore the system
If we installed a device or made changes to Device Manager recently, before the error code 43 appeared, these changes may be responsible for the problem. For this reason, the possibility of undoing the changes made by means of a system restore can be of great help, returning it to the previous point where everything works correctly. This causes any changes made caused by the failure to be reversed, so it must disappear.
To do this, we will write control panel in the search box of the Start menu and select it. Once open, in the group by tab, we select small icons. Next, click on “System” and then on “Advanced system settings”, which we find in the right part of the window. This will open the window with “System Properties”, where we will click on the “System Protection” tab. Finally, we click on the “System Restore” button.
In the new window, click on «Next» to see the restore points that we have available. We select the desired one and click Next again to start the entire restoration process. We should not fear losing our data since the system will offer us the possibility of keeping it if we wish.