Windows 8.1, Samsung Galaxy 5 issue

[Charlzm]

QUESTION ORIGINALLY POSTED IN MAY, 2018

I have a Samsung Galaxy S5 - SM-G900V, Android 6.0.1, Kernel 3.4.0.
I have a computer running Windows 8.1.

Whenever I connect the phone to the computer with a USB cable, a Windows pop-up tells me "The last USB device you connected to this computer malfunctioned and Windows does not recognize it." The error message is "(Device Descriptor Request Failed)" and is error code 43.


Here is what I have tried that did not work:

• I have two different official Samsung USB cables I have tried to use. Both are in good working condition; I have verified they work fine on my iMacPro at work. All USB transfer options are available on that system.
• I plugged the phone into every USB 2 port on the case front and the back (these are connected directly to the motherboard and not a USB hub) as well as all 4 of my USB ports on a PCI card.
• I have deleted the driver and let Windows reinstall it.
• I have downloaded and installed the latest driver from Samsung as well as some older drivers as suggested by a Samsung rep.
• I have downloaded and installed the Samsung Kies app then tried to use it to install a new driver.
• I downloaded and installed the Microsoft MTP kit.
• I downloaded and installed Samsung Smart Switch and tried to use it to update the driver.
• I rebooted the phone in safe mode and tried to connect to the computer.
• I put the phone into developer mode and forced it to connect as MTP every time a USB cable is connected.
• In Windows Device Manager, I uninstalled the device then searched for hardware changes.
• In Device Manager, I uninstalled the device then restarted the computer with the device attached.
  
  Since this is not a laptop, power options settings as suggested by several "how to fix" articles online do not apply.
  
  I looked back through my Windows update history and I see that an update called "Samsung Mobile MTP device" installed successfully on 2/17/2018. The phone itself reports a similar update on 2/18/18.
  
  I have successfully been connecting USB 2, USB 3, eSATA, Firewire 400 and Firewire 800 devices to this computer for years without issue. Only this phone has had any trouble.
  
  I contacted Samsung tech support via chat and was eventually told that Microsoft needed to flash my computer's OS. I realized after hearing that nonsense answer that I wasn't going to get any help that way. I'm hoping that, since Windows 8.1 and the S5 have both been around for at least 4 years, that this is a known issue with a fix?
  
  UPDATE - FEBRUARY 2019
  
  I built a new PC, put my old system HD into it, connected my phone and voila! The phone is recognized now. It may have been an issue with the old motherboard, I thought.
  
  However, Windows Update soon "helpfully" installed the update "Samsung Mobile MTP device" and... what do you know, just like before on the old hardware, the update broke my computer's ability to talk to my phone via USB3. I undid the update and everything is fine.
  
  So... the fault is the Windows update called "Samsung Mobile MTP device".

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