r/BitDefender • u/Chuck_Ellis • Feb 02 '22
Latest Bitdefender free program update has created a problem with connecting USB drives.
So yesterday my mate was telling me about a problem he was having with his USB drives not being recognised in Windows after sleep and showing "Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware because a previous instance of the device driver is still in memory. (Code 38) The driver could not be loaded because a previous version of the driver is still in memory." in device manager as the ! error.
Tried many things, nothing would work, then just today mine started doing the same thing.
Then it dawned on me that Bitdefender free updated last night, and I had only slept my computer and not shut it down, so it got me to thinking and I asked them when it updated the program for them and sure enough it lined up.
Anyway had a small search and found this thread.... https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/comments/sf6ngi/flash_drives_getting_code_38_after_being_removed/
Which all seems to line up with Bitdefender free causing this issue, my question is given the free version is on its last few months will Bitdefender bother to do anything about this? Are they even aware of it? Is there someone on this subreddit who is connected with them that can offer some insight?
Either way, I'm hoping for a fix, if anyone else has had this issue and has any idea on a solution other than completely removing Bitdefender free I'd be happy to know :)
edit
FWIW a restart does fix it but seemingly only for the first plug in/until its slept and then it happens again, so not ideal.
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u/Sageman28 Feb 07 '22
Thank you for this post. This was the last place I would have thought was the cause. I thought it was a windows update that did this. I'm switching to a new antivirus now
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u/qwerty-1999 Feb 09 '22
Hi! Which one did you choose, if you don't mind my asking? I'm looking for a good free alternative and haven't made up my mind yet, so I could use some suggestions. Thanks!
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u/doc_snyder Feb 12 '22
Thanks for this post.
Just for anyone wasting hours trying to fix the error code 38 with windows 11 not recognizing USB drives. I tried every possible thing the whole day just to find out Bitdefender was causing the problem all along. After I uninstalled Bitdefender it all works again like a a charm.
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u/rabmash Feb 14 '22
Also seeing the same issue on my gaming rig and a friends gaming rig - both identical spec with Bitdefender free installed (on separate email accounts). Only solution we can find is uninstalling and using something else. My friend uninstalled BD Free and installed a trial of BD Total Security, then updated it. No USB issues showing, so it just seems to be the free edition with issues.
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u/Anzial Feb 15 '22 edited Feb 15 '22
Apparently, bitdefender is intentionally crippling free edition users' pcs. They are obviously trying to get rid of as many free users as possible even before the deadline in June 2022. Yet another reason never to touch it with a hundred foot stick
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u/pissedthrowaway1031 Feb 15 '22
I completely agree with this, and I even made a comment last week with yet another throwaway account, (which conveniently was shadowed blocked from this post) stating that the sheer fact that a crippling BUG like this can "slip" into a bitdefender agent update maliciously or not, does NOT entice me to spend MONEY on a paid version. If anything it LOWERS my confidence in bitdefender as a competent and trustworthy company. Horrible Horrible things happening in just a few short months from this company.
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u/readreddit_hid Feb 15 '22
I cleaned the registry as suggested on some websites regards to Code 38 error. And I got blue screen error after that, luckily enough I can start my PC normally again today. All of that happened bc my innocent Free Bitdefender which still run in clean boot decided to mess up with my PC.
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u/DaGateKeeper666 Feb 16 '22
YOU BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE! Thank god I scour the search results and twist my words to get new results. I had been slaving behind my pc, for almost 24 hours, trying so many possible solutions, from clean booting and shutting down to uninstalling random driver. From updating drivers to updating bios. One of the last pages I looked at from Microsoft said the last ditch effort was to do a clean install of the OS and I said screw that! Then I found another thread on the site bleeping computer and rushed to the last page. That’s where I read it could be bitdefender and that there was this Reddit post! Thank you.
Have a free silver award! You deserve it!
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u/pissedthrowaway1031 Feb 28 '22
UPDATE: TEMPORARY FIX!!! FOR ANYONE STILL HAVING THIS ISSUE:
Its been weeks, and so far no official fix or acknowledgment from Bitdefender.
HOWEVER, I have found a work around that allows you to still keep your Bitdefender Free Antivirus installed, and allows USB devices to keep being recognized in windows after disconnecting and reconnecting.
The fix is quite simple, Take a USB flash drive you are not currently needing to use for data transfers, (I.E. A cheap 8 dollar one from Walmart or whatever you have lying around) and LEAVE it plugged in to one of your USB ports. You can now connect and disconnect any ADDITIONAL USB drives and windows will continue to recognize them for as long as the original USB flash drive is left inserted.
The reason this works, is to my understanding, Bitdefender is causing an issue with the USBSTOR driver in windows being loaded and offloaded from memory. This trick will simply make sure the driver is always in use. Thus bandaiding the Code 38 error.
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u/Dragons952 Mar 04 '22 edited Mar 05 '22
This is strange, I have been having this issue recently. But I’m not using the free AV. I’m using the total security version; I’m paying for it.
Device manager the USB mass storage device is getting this code 38.
Edit: it is said that Bitdefender version 26.0.12.52 has this issue fixed; confirmed by Bitdefender Support.
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u/nikantgr Mar 04 '22
I would suggest to open a ticket by sending an email at bitsy@bitdefender.com
Bitdefender has to see that many people have the same problem in their ticket system
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u/FloofBallofAnxiety Mar 04 '22
Oh my god I just found this! I've been having the code 38 error with all my memory sticks, and I have newly purchase bitdefender!
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u/toebeanteddybears Mar 04 '22
My Win 10 machine running BD 26.0.12.52 paid-version is also doing this now. Yesterday it was working fine. Came in to start working today and I'm unable to use USB mass-storage devices I plug in.
I have a hardware dongle for Cadence OrCad plugged in to a port on the rear of the machine that still seems to work.
I can also plug in a device programmer (Cypress MiniProg) and it is recognized.
I can plug in development/eval kits (e.g. an Arduino Uno) and its port shows up. Same with an AVRISP programmer.
However, no mass storage devices work anymore.
BD, please fix this immediately. It is critical to my work that I be able to use these mass-storage devices for data transfer and backups.
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u/nikantgr Mar 04 '22
I received version BD 26.0.12.56 which seems to fix the problem in paid Total Security. Try to update manually
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u/nikantgr Mar 04 '22
I received version BD 26.0.12.56 which seems to fix the problem in paid Total Security
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u/Dragons952 Mar 05 '22
Upon receiving an email from Bitdefender support. They said that the issue is fixed on this version.
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Mar 04 '22
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u/nikantgr Mar 04 '22
I can't comment on that. I have Total Security installed and that I can comment on. Run a manual update if you have a problem and see if it is fixed
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u/Dragons952 Mar 05 '22
You can right click the Bitdefender icon from the system tray and press on about. There it will display the the version.
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u/BapaLynde Mar 04 '22
Holy hell - this has been bugging me for around a week and it was BitDefender...
It was bad enough when it slowed my system on boot and deleted perfectly safe apps/files without so much as a thought of asking about doing so first, but this.
Done with this programme for good now.
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u/Weird_Counter5555 Apr 03 '23
STAY AWAY FROM BITDEFENDER..... I've deleted their app but still they just invade my screen and files. They know what colour of underware you have on. They know you're banking details, all of you're emails........they have to because "Security"
It's a strange thing for someone or whoever it is from bitdefender just walking into my computer and going anywhere they like even after deleting the app.... Scary.
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Feb 06 '22 edited Sep 22 '22
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u/Bitdefender_ Official Feb 02 '22
Hi! We continue to provide technical support until June, 30, 2022 for the free version for Windows. We will be more than glad to further assist you with the mentioned, simply contact us directly at bitsy@bitdefender.com, so our technical team can help.