Device Manager Blank...?

[nzo]

Originally Posted by dragonreese

I believe the ContextPlus is a part of the Apropos spyware module and you were lucky enough to have an automatic uninstaller for it. There are a lot of people going through this issue right now and this is my post from a few other forums.

I have worked on this problem of a corrupted Device Manager, missing Network Connections, slow response times from Windows Explorer and Windows reactivation BS for about 10 hours and this has finally fixed the issue. I previously scanned the system with Spybot S&D, Lavasoft AdAware and Webroot Spy Sweeper but nothing picked up on Apropos.

Step 1.
=====
Download AproposFix.exe:
http://swandog46.geekstogo.com/aproposfix.exe

Step 2.
=====
Restart your computer and enter Safe Mode by pressing F8 on the keyboard repeatedly AFTER your BIOS loads and BEFORE Windows starts to load.

Step 3.
=====
Log into the account where the files you downloaded are on the Desktop. It should be an account with Administor privledges.

Step 4.
=====
Double click on AproposFix.exe and extract the files to your Desktop. Open that folder and double click on Run This.bat and follow the instructions. Restart the computer once you are prompted.

Step 5.
=====
Once you are back in Windows running in normal mode with a working Device Manager, etc. get yourself online and download FireFox and download Microsoft AntiSpyware to help you stay protected against spyware.
http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=en

You should still also use Spybot S&D and Lavasoft Adware.
http://www.safer-networking.org/
http://www.download.com/3000-2144-10...age&tag=button

This worked Great. Thank You very much!!

[Wringer]

I tried the apropos.exe fix with no joy. Guess I didn't have that piece of spyware - but I still had the problem.

A friend of mine - who had the same problems - pointed me here (on this site):

http://www.annoyances.org/exec/forum/winxp/1134095035

Suggestion #5 - Uninstalling Microsoft Windows Update 905749 worked for us.

Good luck all.

[Gripen40k]

Originally Posted by Spectrex

Hi all,

I was having trouble with my laptop a month or so ago. Same as you, I couldn't use the Address Bar in IE, but it worked fine if I used the Google search bar. Windows Explorer would show the hourglass for several seconds before showing the drive and other info.

This problem started soon after I did a few Windoze updates.... coincidence? Probably not. What I ended up doing was disabling Windows Image Acquisition (WIA) in the system Services. Works great now, except that it no longer recognized my camera's SD or Compact Flash cards when I insert them. I can still access them from Windows Explorer (or My Computer), but they won't open automatically. No big deal for me, but I wish MS would get off their butts and fix this glitch. I haven't been able to find a "proper" solution yet.

Hope this helps you out. Good luck!

W00t, this totaly fixed my stupid 'My Computer' problem where it would lag a whole lot. I still can't find any connections and my device manager is still stuck, but at least I got the main problem fixed (it was the problem that eventually alerted me to all the others :P ). I'm going to try the suggestion in the post above mine and see if that works for fixing the rest. Thanks!

[robert_in_fla]

Originally Posted by kobefly

I have EXACTLY the same problem, did you or someone else find the solution so you can save this changes?

Bummer no replies - I'm having the exact problem, too.

If anybody resolves the registry update problem let us know.......

[Bezukoff]

Thanks Jazz. Your fix did the trick. Can't thank you enough!

[sseirider]

Jazz,

I have tried what you propose to enable Security under ENUM, but when I get there via "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\ENUM", there is no Security Entry to select. If I right-click on ENUM, I get Permissions and can do essentially what you say, but is it a problem that there is no Security Entry under ENUM?

I am running XP-Pro-SP3. If I boot in Safe Mode, then Device Manager shows everything. Any more thoughts

sseirider

[PeckerWood]

Name a new desktop folder to extract the files to ,download file below.

aproposfix.exe must be ran in safemode.in safemode choose the icon,'Run This' (icon MS-DOS batch file 9kb.)


Download file here-->http://www.sendspace.com/file/oc56p9

[sseirider]

I've done the apropos fix, turned PnP off and on and every other fix I've found. No changes, but thanks for the suggestion. I've finally swapped out the hard drive, built a new system from scratch and it is fine, but I'd sure like to solve the original problem. Any help welcomed. Thanks.

[TheBigDog]

Originally Posted by Jazz

Try the following obtained from Annoyances.org, as per the following link, as it is a long thread. Naturally, backup the registry prior to making the change/s: -

re: Empty Device Manager

"The issue is security permissions in the registry. I cannot tell how they are lost
but I can tell you how to fix it short of having to re-install Windows!

You must use regedt32.exe in Windows 2000/XP (as I have not seen this problem posted
for any other operating system). Be very carefull making changes in the regisrty!

You must be logged on as a local administrator to perform this task:

1. Go to "Start", "Run", and enter "regedt32"
2. Maximize the "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE" window.
3. Scroll down to "SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum"
4. With "Enum" selected click the "Security", "Permissions" menu.

Note: At this point you will probably notice there are no permissions on this key.

5. Click "Add".
6. Add the group "Everyone" and the user "SYSTEM".
7. Select "Everyone" and check "Read" ONLY!
8. Select "SYSTEM" and check "Full Control".
9. Click the "Advanced" button at the bottom of the window.
10. On the Advanced window check "Reset permissions on all child objects..."
11. Click "OK"
12. On the warning window click "Yes"
13. Close REGEDT32

You should now be able to see everything in Device Manager, Network Places Properties,
and Printers."

Good luck.......................

After spending 1-1/2 hours on different recommendations, your suggestion worked perfectly. The key, over other suggestions, was where you recommended to "reset" permissions on all child objects. Actually my xp says to "replace" Permissions on all child objects. Your the guru - thanks,