re: Blank or Empty Device Manager in Windows XP - A Compilation of Solutions
Thursday, December 22, 2005 at 12:38 pm
Windows XP Annoyances Discussion Forum
Posted by jcw
(5100 messages posted)
Some thoughts, that I'll spell out now as I may be unavailable later for a while.
You didn't answer all of my previous questions, so I will here only address what
you just reported. I won't here try to address all of the possibilites that could
stem from answers to all of my previous questions.
Back-up that reg key you mentioned:
hklm\system\CurrentControlSet\Enum\Root\LEGACY_MRACOMM
by exporting it to a convenient location (right-click on that key, then click
on Export, select where to save a copy of it, and click on Save).
Then go to the backed-up copy in the .reg file, right-click on it and click on
Edit. The file should display in Notepad, where you can examine it for irregularities:
either blank (no) entries, or garbled entries as described in step 9 of the original
compilation.
If review of that .reg file persuades you that the reg key is corrupt and the
likely problem, try to delete that key from within the registry editor (regedit).
Make sure you have the permissions to do so as explained in step 9 of the compilation.
(To be clear, I mean deleting the registry key from within regedit, not deleting
its back-up copy in the .reg file, which you should keep until your problem is resolved.)
If you can delete the key, reboot and see what happens. (You can restore the key
if need be by right-clicking on its back-up .reg file and then clicking on Merge.)
If you can't delete the key from within the registry editor (regedit), even after
making sure you have the permissions to do so, I would try booting into safe mode
with command prompt, and then at the command prompt in its window, use the REG
DELETE command to delete the key. (To repeat, I mean deleting the registry key,
not its back-up copy in the .reg file.)
To boot into safe mode with command prompt, restart the computer and begin repeatedly
pressing the F8 key. When the Windows Advanced Options Menu appears, select Safe
Mode with Command Prompt, and press Enter. (A screen-shot of that Menu is at this
webpage - at its top, click on "How To Access Safe Mode":
» http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm )
To see the syntax for the "reg delete" command, type at the command prompt:
REG DELETE /?
If you are unsure about using that command, perhaps you can find someone who
can help you.
Note: be careful here, and double-check your command line before entering
it at the command prompt, and again before pressing Enter. If any doubt, first back-up
the entire HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Enum key (right-click on it, click on Export,
select a convenient location where to save a copy of it, and click on Save).
You also might consider sending a private message to "F15hii" who wrote the post
at:
http://www.annoyances.org/exec/forum/winxp/1133980151
for more information on what that poster used to delete the legacy key there
found to be the problem. The poster's description of a "registry fix" that the poster
downloaded, unzipped, and ran as "regfix1 and regfix2" might be helpful to you.
I'm not familiar with it. You also could do a Google or other search for it.
To send a private message to F15hii, click on that "handle" link at the top of
his/her posted message.
One other thing: you mentioned having an empty network connections window. As
you can see from F15hii's above-referenced post, you may need to do a manual search
for another corrupt registry key causing that problem. Start looking for something
called in part "LEGACY_MRACOMM" or "MRACOMM" (in each case without the quote marks).
Finally, would you please post your findings and results - good or bad - so that
others with a blank or empty device manager might benefit from your experience.
On Thursday, December 22, 2005 at 7:31 am, MatrixCow wrote:
>My network connections are working. I looked at the other topic. I found one key
>in my registry that i can't open. hklm\system\CurrentControlset\Enum\Root\LEGACY_MRACOMM
>
>
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