USB flash drives are one of the most useful and compact data storage devices. The low prices at which they are now available has made them all the more attractive and useful.
Like all hardware devices, USB devices also experience issues occasionally due to which you may lose data. In this article, we discuss one such error called ‘Error code 43’. It is one of the most common types of Device Manager error codes. This error 43 can be pretty confusing as it can either indicate a problem as simple as a corrupted driver or something as complex as a failed USB.
Hence, in order to resolve this error easily, we’ve compiled a list of troubleshooting steps starting from the simplest. So, let’s jump right in.
Solutions to resolve error code 43 on USB drives
Solution 1: Restart your computer
This may sound extremely basic, but restarting your systems is found to resolve many issues including error code 43. So try restarting your system and check if the error is resolved. If not, proceed to the next step.
Solution 2: Install Windows service packs
If you don’t have Windows updates installed, please update using the latest Windows updates available for your version of Windows.
Solution 3: Restore to an earlier point
A recent update or any related software change may have caused the error 43 on your USB drive. In order to undo this change, you can restore to an earlier point using the System Restore feature. To do so, please follow the steps below.
- Open Control Panel and click on System & Security in Control Panel
- Click on System > System Protection link
- Then click on the System Restore button and hit Next
- Choose a restore point to undo any changes you think caused the error to occur
Solution 4: Update/Reinstall the drivers
Out-dated drivers can cause a variety of issues including the error 43 on USB drives. This issue can be resolved by updating the drivers as explained below.
- Click on Windows + X and open Device Manager
- Expand the section and identify your device
- Once you have found your device, right click on it and select Update Drivers
- Then click on Search Automatically for driver software
If for some reason, you are unable to update the drivers, you can also reinstall them by right-clicking on the device and selecting Uninstall. Then restart your computer for the system to automatically reinstall drivers for you.
Solution 5: Recover data and replace the USB
If none of these methods help you resolve the ‘error 43’, there may be a problem with your USB hardware itself. In which case, you can replace the hardware. But before you do that, it is advisable to recover data from the drive using Hi5 Software. Using this tool, you can recover data from inaccessible or corrupt USB’s. Even if the USB is producing errors such as error 43 or similar, data can be recovered using this tool.
Not just USB’s, but data can be recovered from other storage devices like external hard drives, SD cards etc. Just use the partition recovery option in the tool and have all your data recovered in minutes.
If files are deleted or lost accidentally from your USB’s, Hi5 also provides a USB file recovery version to help recover these files. Both the hard drive version as well as file recovery version is available for free! Download a trial and recover your data!
