This is a KNOWN issue with Symanctec's software (Windoctor.)
I found the problem in 2000 and Symantec NEVER fixed it. They blamed Microsoft and frankly, caused how many people pain on this.
The issue is SIMPLE. There are thousands of ZERO BYTE .INF files in C:\Windows\Inf Delete the Zero byte files.
Symantec has not fixed their software, so I'd uninstall that.
Bob
I have a Dell L866r, 866 mhz cpu, 128 mb ram, 20 ghz hdd, running Windows ME.
I have ran ad-aware and spybot and removed several hundred files of adware and spyware. I have also uninstalled several suspicious programs, download accelerator, Kazaa, etc. No virus software loaded. I am unable to load NAV in Safe Mode, because cd-rom drive is unavailable. The computer will boot in safe mode, but when I attempt to boot normally, I get the message board "please wait while Windows updates the hardware information database". The computer will stall in this position for hours without any further progress. Also under system resources in system information, there is no data displayed for any of the hardware. Any clues as to the cause would be greatly appreciated.

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