  JohnUSA
@comcast.net
| [XP Pro] Many lines in msconfig / startup
In msconfig/startup tab now appears hundreds of new lines besides the normal 5 programs that used to appear. Here is an example of the new lines that appear: changer \changer.sys Common Startup charmap \charmpa.exe Common Startup chlogon \chglogon.exe Common Startup chkdsk \chkdsk.exe Common Startup chkntfs \chkntfs.exe Common Startup eventlog \eventlog.dll Common Startup ex10 \ex10.sys Common Startup These are exe dll sys drv cpl cat ttf files. All have check marks. There are over a hundred lines like the above. I don't know what changed or what happened. How did these files/lines started to appear? Is there a way to hide these entries? What do I do to have "startup" show normal startup programs only? Your help is greatly appreciated. Thank you |
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  AB Premium join:2006-04-04 Leesburg, VA
edit: May 16th, @12:35AM
| It's likely that you initiated the change.
So, what have you changed recently? Installed SP3? Installed something else?
*Edit-
Do you have this selected, by any chance?

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  JohnUSA
@comcast.net
| Thanks for helping AB. My setup is like your picture exactly, so thats not it. I did install SP3, but the many startup entries had existed before the SP3 upgrade. I wish I could remember what I had done to cause this. It is difficult to undo if you don't know/remember of what you did. I searched a lot for this problem, and surprisingly can't find a thing on it. I can't believe that I am the only XP user to experience this unique and weird situation. I hope I'll find the fix, and I will post it here for future sufferers like me. |
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  R2 R Not Premium,MVM join:2000-09-18 Long Beach, CA clubs:
edit: May 16th, @02:04AM
| Check the Properties of the files that are starting. And Search for files with duplicate names. E.g., chkdsk.exe is a valid MS file if it is running from C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 -- but if you find a file with the same name somewhere else, well that could be something all together different.
Also, do all of those things show up as running processes in Taskman? (Just the .exe files that is) |
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  JohnUSA
@comcast.net | I checked the files for duplicates, and I many are also found in C:\WINDOWS\system32\dllcache folder which I believe is normal. Checking in Taskman, they do not appear there. The mystery grows. |
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  R2 R Not Premium,MVM join:2000-09-18 Long Beach, CA clubs: | Yes, \dllcache is normal. Can you show us the contents of this folder?
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup |
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  JohnUSA
@comcast.net
| There is no Startup folder under All Users. I checked under my username, and it shows correctly only 2 programs that I do want to start automatically when I boot. |
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  HRM God Bless America Premium,MVM join:2002-02-03 Darien, CT clubs:   | reply to JohnUSA You can try to match the services to the startup items. One looks like video, one firewire...
You can just uncheck them and see what doesn't start too. |
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  R2 R Not Premium,MVM join:2000-09-18 Long Beach, CA clubs:
edit: May 16th, @05:22PM
| reply to JohnUSA That is weird! To me, "Common Startup" usually implies the "All Users" Startup folder.
Do you have any other startup programs? One of the most robust is AutoRuns. It might be interesting to see where those are starting from.
»technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysi···902.aspx |
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  AB Premium join:2006-04-04 Leesburg, VA
| reply to JohnUSA You're using WinPatrol. Is that the recent version that detects hidden and delayed startup items, etc.?
If so, try comparing what's in that msconfig startup list with the startup, hidden startup, and delayed startup items listed in the WinPatrol progam. And under 'Options' in WinPatrol, open up 'History' and compare there, as well.
You might also try posting in the WinPatrol forums to see if anybody else has run into this issue.
I'm not saying WinPatrol is responsible, btw, just suggesting that it's possible. |
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  JohnUSA
@comcast.net
from: AB 
| reply to JohnUSA Re: [XP Pro] Many lines in msconfig / startup (FIXED)
I found and fixed the problem. It is a very simple fix, but finding it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. R2 gave me the big clue to fix my problem. Thank you R2. The cause of the problem was that my startup folder was missing here: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs So when R2 asked me about it (read on top) and I found this folder missing, it dawned on me that maybe I should create this folder. Which later I did, but did not see the fix until I rebooted. My msconfig/startup now appears normal. Thank you so much R2, AB and HRM. I love this site because it is very informative, and nice people, like the ones I mentioned, do try to help people. |
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  takeahike
join:2005-01-07 Woodland Hills, CA edit: May 17th, @10:58PM
| deleted. |
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