Strange start up problem...

Wertz

Not a machine breaker; just kind of annoying. Every time I boot up my XP sp2 machine, the System32 folder opens on the desktop. I've looked through my start-up programs in msconfig and can't see what it is that's causing the folder to run (can folders run?).
The only thing taht I can think of is that it's related to a system error message I get just as I shut down, something along the lines of
"X The application failed to initialize because the system is shutting down".
Now I don't know what application the error message is on about and the PC is running perfect apart from this small niggle, but the two problems are most likely related.

Anyone any ideas what might be up?

mp3guy

Its called windows, it always does random crap like that. I get a blank Yes/No dialog box and startup, i've check msconfig and all that stuff, nothing. Its just windows, unless you're gaming change to linux.

formatman

do you know how to get to the RUN lines in the registry ?

most likely a reference here pointing to a system file that no longer exists

post a screen shot of the run line section and I'lll advise what to remove

Capt'n Midnight

autoruns on the sysinternals web site is another way of looking at stuff that starts up - golden rule is not to touch something unless you know what it does !

Edit - BTW: installing eTrust AV on an NT4 machine does the same thing - could be a reg entry with missing quotes around the path\longfile name

Wertz

formatman wrote:

do you know how to get to the RUN lines in the registry ?

most likely a reference here pointing to a system file that no longer exists

post a screen shot of the run line section and I'lll advise what to remove

heh...I can get as far as regedit>HKEY_CURRENT_USER....any tips from there?


[edit] I've d/led the autoruns utility Capt'n suggested...only thing that looks out of place is dumprep.exe (a windows fualt reporting tool). This might tie in with the error message at shutdown...do I need to ahve this app run at start up?

Wertz

OK after following the registry directions in the start-up window of MSconfig, I founf two entries under the RUN line....one is MSNmessenger and the other is something called /L: which is related to my soundblaster card.
I've unchecked it's box in the start-up window of MSconfig and rebooted and it seems to have stopped the Sys32 folder from opening.

I think the problem may be caused by the fact that I use an external soundcard that overrides any other installed sound card.

Now for my other question...
How do I stop this /L: from running all the time? Unchecking it in start-up options causes the comp to run in diagnostic mode with the Configuration utility asking me do I want to undo the changes...how do I make the change permanent under normal boot?

Big thx for the help so far...

astrofool

Its a program thats caused the problem. Their install routine wasn't written correctly, and didn't put the reg entry into brackets, which causes the folder to open up on startup. I guess you could search the registry for the entry, or try and work back to which program caused the problem, uninstall it, and then try and track the reg changes it makes. Nvidia and ATI's older drivers used to have this bug, but its fixed now.

Wertz

astrofool wrote:

Its a program thats caused the problem. Their install routine wasn't written correctly, and didn't put the reg entry into brackets, which causes the folder to open up on startup. I guess you could search the registry for the entry, or try and work back to which program caused the problem, uninstall it, and then try and track the reg changes it makes. Nvidia and ATI's older drivers used to have this bug, but its fixed now.

Yeah I thought disabling the /L:ENG in Start up had fixed the problem, but after booting up this evening, it's back
Upon examining my start-up list again, I now discover that the /L:ENG box is unticked BUT there is now another /L:ENG in the start up menu WITH it's boxed ticked.
Has to be this that's causing the problem. How the **** did it add another instance of itself to the start up list?
...and how can I premanently disable it without screwing around in the registry (which I'm not very comforatble with)?

jayneemac

Give this little applet a go, i use it & it's the business & preferable to using msconfig. (it's only a 59kb file)

http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml

Startup Control Panel is a nifty control panel applet that allows you to easily configure which programs run when your computer starts. It's simple to use and, like all my programs, is very small and won't burden your system. A valuable tool for system administrators!

astrofool

could u post a pic of your startup from msconfig? /L:ENG sounds like just setting the language to English. As I said, the problem is most likely a bad installer putting something stupid in the registry.

Wertz

astrofool wrote:

could u post a pic of your startup from msconfig? /L:ENG sounds like just setting the language to English. As I said, the problem is most likely a bad installer putting something stupid in the registry.

Okay I've attached a screen grab...the top 3 start items are missing since you can't resize the window...but I'm pretty sure it's not any of them.


..and thx Jayneemack...I'll try that app in a little bit.