I really can't say if it'll work, but it might. Something is damaged or missing, and if a repair can't fix it, then then I don't know what will, short of a format/reinstallation.
If you open the MMC console (C:\Windows\System32... , is there anything there that indicates something going on. The MMC should normally be blank with no entries, unless you've entered something... at least, the console is blank on all my machines, which I'm assuming is the default. I'm not an expert on MMC, so I can only go by what I read.
HERE is a link with information about MMC.
Personally, I would do the repair to see if it will fix it. It'll certainly be quicker than chasing the problem around much longer.
Edited by makai, 18 March 2009 - 02:35 AM.