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

[Bill Bell]

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!