ImportError: DLL load failed: A device attached ...

[Thomas Heller]

> I am having difficulty running one or two of the Win32 examples.
> The last three lines of the diagnostic message in one case are:
>
> File "C:\Python21\win32\Demos\win32clipboardDemo.py", line 5, in
> ?
> from win32clipboard import *
> ImportError: DLL load failed: A device attached to the system is not
> functioning.
>
> Rather than trouble the subscribers to this list I have looked for
> hints on the FAQ and elsewhere. Although I have yet to find an
> answer I have noticed that quite a few people have experienced
> what I am.
>
> Would it be possible for someone to sketch one or two of the best
> ways of approaching a Python problem like this one? Is there some
> way of making the 'import' indicate what DLLs might be missing or
> other cause of the failure?
>
> Thanks for any suggestions!
>
I assume you are running win98. Hint: NT or win 2000 usually
names the DLL's failing to load.

On win98 I would suggest the following procedure:
Determine the dll failing to load (in this case it seems to
be win32clipboard.pyd).

The dependencywalker tool from http://www.dependencywalker.com/,
when run on win32clipboard.pyd should be able to show the problem.

Hope this helps (and works)

Thomas