Hardware & Devices panel not loading

Hello,

My problem started with Microsoft Word hanging while loading. I followed the troubleshooting guide for that and was able to load word if I stated it in safe mode (winword.exe /a). I could not find any issues that caused this so I decided to approach the problem from another angle.

I went to the device & hardware panel and found that I could not load it. However, if I rebooted the machine I could load it once, but could not do so a second time. I have tried all of the troubleshooting guides I could find and still had no luck. I believe the problem is related to the printer because one of the fixes I tried was to run a checker that tested for printer spooler errors. This test could never be completed but nor has it timed out.

System:

OS Name Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Version 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Build 7601
Other OS Description Not Available
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name VOYAGER
System Manufacturer Hewlett-Packard
System Model p6654y
System Type x64-based PC
Processor AMD Athlon(tm) II X4 630 Processor, 2800 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date American Megatrends Inc. 6.04, 9/7/2010
SMBIOS Version 2.6

Try running sfc /scannow from an elevated command prompt to check for corrupted protected files.

It may take running it multiple times to correct the errors that it finds.

I have tried that. I will try to run it a few times, and check back.

-Ron

Also try a System Restore to a point in time that's prior to the problem starting.

I have done a system restore and the problem persists. Also I ran SFC /scannow several times and it found no issues. I am convinced that it is a program that is running in the background and am currently using the process of elimination to figure it out. Also, the problem is with the print spooler or least something in the print system.

-Ron

Does Device Manager now load properly?

Nope not yet. Still am working through start-up programs to see if one of those is the problem. I have confirmed that the problem is gone in safe mode. Should have checked that early on.

-Ron

check to see if third party services and startup programs are causing this now that we know it's gone in safe mode. go to MSCONFIG and services tab, click hide all microsoft services, click disable all, then click apply. Next click startup tab, and disable all. Apply and reboot.

If problem is still gone then its third party problem.

I found the problem. It was a 3rd party program that allowed me to print to a PDF file rather than the printer. It was put on my machine by the manufacturer and was on a free trail basis. My best guess is that trial period ran out and the program did not start up properly. I had to uninstall the thing in safe mode to get the bugger off! All is working normally now.

Could you reply back with the name of that pdf "print to file" program?

It may very well help others...

Kind of surprising that it was responsible for blocking the loading of Device Manager. Or maybe not too surprising as Windows would treat it as a psuedo-device. Did you check that you could now load Device Manager?