ERROR_NO_MORE_ITEMS (0X00000103) – No More Data

You see ERROR_NO_MORE_ITEMS (0X00000103) right after you plug in a thumb drive, or when you try to browse network folders, or sometimes during a Windows Update scan. The exact text reads “No more data is available.” It's not a crash—it's the system telling you the list you're asking for is already at the end, and there's nothing left to read.

What triggers this error

I've seen this most often on Windows 10 and 11 machines with USB 3.0 flash drives from lesser-known brands. You plug it in, File Explorer hangs for a second, then the error box appears. Also shows up when you use dir in Command Prompt on an empty network share, or when a piece of backup software tries to enumerate previous restore points and finds none.

Why it happens

At the kernel level, 0x00000103 maps to ERROR_NO_MORE_ITEMS. It's thrown by functions like FindNextFile or RegEnumKeyEx when they've reached the end of an enumeration. The real problem isn't the error itself—it's that the program didn't check for this condition. A well-written app catches this and moves on. Some don't, and they display the raw error to you.

In practice, the cause is almost always one of three things:

• USB device—the drive has no files, or its file system is corrupted so badly Windows can't see any entries.
• Network share—the folder is empty, or permissions block you from seeing what's inside (you get the error instead of a blank folder).
• Registry or system enumeration—something in the registry (like HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall) has a subkey with zero values, and the calling tool chokes.

How to fix it – step by step

Try these in order. Stop when the error goes away.

Fix 1 – Check the USB drive on another PC (for USB errors)

1. Unplug the drive from your computer.
2. Plug it into a different USB port on the same machine. If that fails, try a different computer entirely.
3. Open File Explorer and click the drive. If you see the error again, the drive's directory structure is broken.
4. Run cmd as Administrator, then type chkdsk X: /f (replace X with the drive letter).
5. Wait for the scan to finish. After that, you should see files appear. If not, the drive may be dead.

Fix 2 – Map the network share differently (for network errors)

1. Open File Explorer, right-click This PC, and choose Map network drive.
2. Pick a drive letter that's not already in use.
3. In the Folder field, type the full UNC path, like \\server\share. Don't append a subfolder if you're unsure it exists.
4. Check Connect using different credentials—then enter the exact username and password for that server.
5. Click Finish. If you get the error, the share is empty or you lack read permissions.

Fix 3 – Clean the registry enumeration (for system tool errors)

This is for when a program like CCleaner or Windows Update shows error 0x00000103. It usually means a registry key is stuck with an empty subkey.

1. Press Win + R, type regedit, and hit Enter.
2. Back up the registry first: click File > Export, save a copy somewhere safe.
3. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall.
4. Look for any subkey that has only a (Default) value with empty data. Right-click it and delete it.
5. Close Regedit and restart the app that gave the error.

Fix 4 – Run SFC and DISM (if the error is system-wide)

1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
2. Type sfc /scannow and press Enter. Let it finish—this checks core system files.
3. After that, type DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth and press Enter. This fixes the component store.
4. Reboot your PC. If the error was due to a corrupted system file, this clears it up.

What to check if it still fails

If none of the above worked, you're looking at a deeper issue. Here's what else to try:

• Update the USB controller driver. Go to Device Manager, expand Universal Serial Bus controllers, right-click each one, and pick Update driver. Windows Update may have a newer version.
• Check the Application event log. Press Win + X, choose Event Viewer, then Windows Logs > Application. Look for any error with source Kernel-General or Ntfs around the time you saw the error.
• Try a different USB cable or port. Cables with broken data lines cause enumeration to fail silently, and the system throws this error instead of a connection notice.
• Disable USB selective suspend. In Control Panel > Power Options > Change plan settings > Change advanced power settings, find USB settings and set USB selective suspend setting to Disabled. This keeps the port alive.

The real fix is usually Fix 1 or Fix 2. Fix 3 and 4 are for when the error isn't tied to a specific device. But if you're still stuck after all that, the hardware itself might be the culprit—try a different drive or share.