empty device manager (W2K)

[N0mad]

My Device Manager is empty. I tried the Apropos fix found while searching the Technet site. Win2K-SP4, Zone Alarm, McAfee, Spyware, Spysweeper. Nothing I try finds anything. No clue as to if this is a simple malfunction in the OS, spyware/malware, virus.....what?? Any help would be appreciated.

running **regsvr32 dmocx.dll** did not work either. It said it succeeded, but..no go.<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by N0mad on 09/05/06 21:16.</FONT></P>

[amaru96]

Try this:

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

1. Go to "Start", "Run", and enter "regedt32" (Be very carefull making changes in the registry)
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.

If that doesn't help, try: Start &gt;Run&gt; msconfig
under the services tab and click on "Enable All" and reboot.

Also, have a look in your Add/Remove Programs for something called ContextPlus. It's a part of the Apropos spyware module. If it's there, remove it.

One other thing, try running the Apropos fix in safe mode.

Good luck.

[N0mad]

I have tried all of this with no luck. The one thing odd was that when I tried to run regedit32 it errored, but regedit.exe ran just fine, but there is no "Security" and thus no "Permissions" section. This is really frustrateing. Thank you for trying.

[amaru96]

What error do you get when running regedt32? And did you try running it in safe mode?

Otherwise you could try doing a recovery using the Windows install CD.

But you may have to do a complete reinstall?!<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by amaru96 on 09/08/06 18:06.</FONT></P>

[N0mad]

When I try to run regedit32 it says "cannot find the file 'regedit32.exe' (or one of it's componants). make sure the path and filename are correct and that all required libraries are available." I did run the Apropos file in Safemode. It seemed to run just fine and didn't find anything as far as I know. I did a search of the hard drive and didn't find regedit32.exe. Could I simply copy it from another machine and run it?

[tom_keefer]

There is no "i" in "regedt32.exe", try again with correct spelling.

<font color=purple>Tom</font color=purple>


XP Pro SP2 - Intel D925XCV - P4 2.8 GHz, 800MHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache, HTT, socket 775 - WD 36GB SATA - WD 250GB USB2 HD - 2GB Crucial DDR2 PC2-4200 - Plextor 716A - XFX GeForce 6800 Xtreme, 256MB - Samsung 19" LCD -

[N0mad]

Oh man....
Those times when you feel like a dummy. :(
You're correct! It worked just fine without the i. All devices are now "present".
I'm not sure exactly what happened to cause this, but it appears to be fixed.
I thank you both very much for your time and skills.
N0mad

[tom_keefer]

You're welcome. /images/forums/icons/smile.gif

<font color=purple>Tom</font color=purple>


XP Pro SP2 - Intel D925XCV - P4 2.8 GHz, 800MHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache, HTT, socket 775 - WD 36GB SATA - WD 250GB USB2 HD - 2GB Crucial DDR2 PC2-4200 - Plextor 716A - XFX GeForce 6800 Xtreme, 256MB - Samsung 19" LCD -

[windowsfixer]

The Win2K empty device manager appears to have something to do with Winternals RootKit Revealer. This is unconfirmed, but I do remember that this problem started around the time I ran that program. The program IS NOT spyware, or anything like that, but may have a bug which tries to protect your computer by setting privliges so that they cannot be accessed. Just a GUESS, I do not want to start rumours, I may be completely wrong. The computer this happened on is not attached to the internet or a network, wireless connection, etc, and has IE removed completely. I was concerned about the XCP rootkit from Sony, and scanned my PC. Due to my disabling some services, my computer is immune to XCP. I was given a few XCP discs to mp3 encode, from a local radio station who could not load them into their automation system. I found out about the possible rootkit, and have had excellent experiences with winternals software, so I tried it.
I discovered this problem three weeks later, but I had not used the computer for this lenght of time, so I am not sure. Thank's for the fix, this worked!