GIMP won't start in Windows

I have been using GIMP on and off for several years, but regularly for most of this year, 8-12 hours a day, 6 days a week, with no problems. Without installing any new software, or making an changes that I am aware of, GIMP will not restart.

When I try to start GIMP, the startup screen comes up, then when all available RAM disappears to 0, I get an error message:GLib-ERROR** :gmem.c.136 fiailed to allocate [some number] bytes aborting. . .

Clicking Okay, I get a second error message: Runtime Error! Program: C:\Program File|GIMP-2.0 . . . . This application has requested the Runtime to terminate it in an unusual way. Please contact the application's support team . . .

I have uninstalled and reinstalled GIMP (2.6.8 and 2.6.9); rebooted, rebooted, rebooted; cleaned my registry, ran ChkDsk, tried in safemode, disabled all security programs, disabled all but the essential start programs; created a new fonts file with only one font and created a new fonts path in fonts.conf--nothing I can think of works, GIMP will not restart.

Walton

07.07.10

At the suggestion of several of the Bugzillla/GIMP team, I installed Process Monitor. I monitored the start up, which failed.  In the process log, I saw GIMP try to open a Photoshop brush set that I had opened and used before the problem started.  The path to that set, entered into Preferences>Folders>Brushes was long gone (many uninstalls/re-installs, disk clean, registry clean, etc. later).  I changed the name of the folder and GIMP started!