From: not.my.real@email.address   
      
   Shadow wrote:   
      
   > On Sat, 27 Jan 2024 19:54:52 -0000 (UTC), "Auric__"   
   >  wrote:   
   [snip]   
   >>What I would do is delete %APPDATA%\devmgmt, and *MOVE* those text files   
   >>out of %APPDATA%\MMC -- put them on your desktop. Then retry devmgmt and   
   >>see what you get.   
   >   
   >      OK. Done. Same error message.   
   >      Running out of ideas...   
   >   
   >      This is the first time I've "lost" my device manager in over 2   
   > decades.   
   >      Google is *NEVER* friendly when you really need it. And M$   
   > treats XP like it was a contagious disease.   
      
   I hate to say it, but in today's world, XP connected to the internet *is* an   
   infectious disease.   
      
   >      PS I'll try rebooting into safe mode and running it. Maybe a   
   > driver or service is conflicting somehow. Maybe tomorrow. Have stuff   
   > to do.   
      
   That's certainly possible. Or some program running in the background or   
   something. Just remember: If all else fails, reinstalling Windows generally   
   fixes anything except hardware failure. It sucks, but before Win7 I generally   
   reinstalled 2-3 time per year.   
      
      
   On an unrelated side note, please do me a favor and add a space after your   
   sig delimiter. "-- " and not "--". Newsreaders generally can recognize the   
   form with the space and automatically remove it from replies; Xnews (at   
   least) doesn't recognize the version without the space.   
      
   --   
   Sometimes the hardest thing to believe is the truth.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)