Problem: The Device Manager is empty.
Solutions, tools and suggestions:Make sure your PC is clean. Before doing anything else, scan for viruses, malware and spyware. The information provided
*here* will get you started.
Ensure your Plug and Play service is not turned off. Click Start-->Run. In the box that appears, type services.msc and hit OK. In the services list that appears, find Plug and Play and double click on it. (If configuration manager appears click OK.) In the Startup Type, click Automatic and then OK. Click Apply, then click OK. Restart computer.
The problem may be related to a spyware program called Apropos. This may also cause your Network Connections icons to disappear, and slow down other Windows processes. A file called AproposFix.exe may fix the problem. Download it
*here*.
NOTE: Aproposfix.exe must be run in safe mode! Save it to your desktop, then reboot to Safe Mode thusly:
1) Restart your computer
2) After hearing your computer beep once during startup, but before the Windows icon appears, press F8.
3) Instead of Windows loading as normal, a menu should appear
4) Select the first option, to run Windows in Safe Mode.Once in Safe Mode, double-click aproposfix.exe.
This will create a new folder on your desktop called aproposfix. Open the aproposfix folder on your desktop and run RunThis.bat. Follow the prompts. Then Reboot back to normal mode.
A malware file called "contextplus" may be to blame.Go to Add/Remove Programs, find an item called "contextplus", click Remove, and reboot.
Edit your registry. (Don't forget to back up your registry before proceeding!)
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 "Edit", "Permissions" menu.
