In case you don’t know, the Windows Registry contains a System Hive which is a core part of Windows. The Windows operating system store various settings, options, and configurations. And if you encounter a Device Manager Error 49 for a device then it means that the system hive has exceeded its size limit. Worry not for this post will provide you with possible solutions that can help you in fixing error code 49.
You will see the following error message when you encounter error code 49:
“Windows cannot start new hardware devices because the system hive is too large (exceeds the Registry Size Limit), (Code 49)”
There are instances when it may so happen that the device or devices are no longer attached to the computer but they are still listed in the system hive of the registry. For instance, if you were removing hardware and application for years but they weren’t removed from the registry then the size of the system hive keeps on growing until it hits the maximum limit.
As you know, making changes in the registry manually, no matter how knowledgeable you are on such things is not sage since the registry is not only important but also complex. In addition, the System Hive is also a permanent part of the Registry associated with a set of files that contain information related to the configuration of the computer on which the OS is installed. To resolve this error, you must remove or uninstall any hardware devices that are no longer in the system. In fact, the Device Manager hides them by default so you need to enable hidden or non-present devices.
Follow the instructions given below to set the Devices Manager to display devices that are no longer connected to the computer.
Step 1: Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Step 2: After that type in “cmd” and hit Enter to open the Command Prompt.
Step 3: Type “set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1” in the Command Prompt and hit Enter to enable the hidden devices option.
Step 4: After that, exit Command Prompt and tap Win + X + M to open the Devices Manager.
Step 5: After opening the Devices Manager, click on View and then select the “Show hidden devices” option. This will show you all the devices that are not connected to the computer but are still mentioned.
Step 6: Next, select a non-present device and click Uninstall from the Driver tab.
Step 7: After that, repeat what you’ve done on step 5 for any other device that you no longer use.
Step 8: Restart your computer.
You can check the device Properties dialog box in the Device Manager after you’re done removing all the useless devices, to check if the error is now fixed or not.
Moreover, you can also try running the Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter as it can also help resolve hardware-related problems. To use it, refer to the steps below.
- The first thing you need to do is click on Start and then on the gear-like icon to pull up the window for Settings.
- After opening Settings, look for the Update and Security option and select it.
- From there, go to the Troubleshoot option located on the left-hand side of the list.
- Next, select Hardware and Devices from the list and open the Troubleshooter and run it. Once it is doing its job, wait for it to complete the process and then restart the system.
- After the system restarts, check if the problem’s now fixed. If not, refer to the next option given below.