Error 37 – “Windows Cannot Initialize the Device Driver” Fix
Error code 37 on Windows is what’s known as a “driver error” on your computer, and is caused because your hardware is damaged or the drivers on your system are corrupt. If you are seeing this error on your PC, it suggests that there are is something wrong with the way your computer is interacting with your hardware, and needs to be fixed.
This error will often show in this format:
- “Windows cannot initialize the device driver for this hardware. (Code 37)”
The error you’re seeing is actually caused by the way in which your computer handles the hardware on your system. Every piece of hardware that your system uses has to be controlled & accessed by using a piece of software called a “driver”. These software components basically allow your system to interact properly with all the hardware of your PC, and are therefore amongst the most important parts of your Windows system. If you’re seeing this error, it generally means that there is some sort of issue with the drivers of your computer – with them either being not installed correctly, or damaged and unreadable.
The way to resolve this error is actually quite straightforward. The first step is to update any drivers which are damaged. This can be done by following the steps here:
- Click Start > Control Panel > Device Manager
- Upon loading Device Manager, locate the hardware component with the “Yellow Exclamation Mark” icon by it
- Right-click this device and then press “Uninstall”
- This will remove the hardware from Windows
- Momentarily, your PC will say it has found new hardware – let it install any new drivers it needs to run this hardware
- This should resolve most cases of the 37 error code
Performing the steps above will basically “reinstall” or “update” the driver on your system. It’s often the case that a hardware driver will either become damaged, corrupted or just unreliable – making it essential that you’re able to get Windows to update any of the issues it may have with it.
You should also clean out the “Registry” of your computer by using a registry cleaner tool. Registry cleaners are software programs that are designed to scan through the registry database of your computer and fix any of the problematic files that are inside. The registry database is essentially a central storage facility which allows Windows to recall a huge number of different options, from your desktop wallpaper settings to your most recent emails. The registry is a major player in the installation of drivers & hardware on your system, and if you have any damaged elements inside it, the likelihood is that your computer will become damaged and erroneous as a result. You should use a registry cleaner to make sure that no further problems are causing the errors to show on your system, which can be done by downloading one of these tools from the Internet, installing it and then letting it fix any possible problems on your PC.