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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
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    5

    Need some "Nerd" help please

    Upon start-up, when I first see the Windows Desktop, I get two error messages that I have to click ok on. It is getting annoying. How can I clean this up to get rid of them?

    By the way, I am running XP.

    The error messages say they cannot locate:
    C:\DOCUME~1\koellert\LOCALS~1\TEMP\dwm.exe
    C:\DOCUME~1\SWSDAD~1\LOCALS~1\TEMP\dwm.exe

    I think they came from having a desktop weather program that used to launch on start-up... I removed it, but some things must have remained.

    Any guidance?

    Thanks!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
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    Re: Need some "Nerd" help please

    Seems like you still have some startup references. I would start regedit and search for dwm and delete everything that's related to it. Doing changes to the registry yourself can be quite dangerous but in this case I think it's quite safe. If you feel a bit stressed up about it post the keys that you find to be reviewed here before deleting them.
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  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
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    Re: Need some "Nerd" help please

    I went to the Regedit and searched for dwm.exe. The following popped up...

    Name Type Data
    (Default) REG_SZ (value not set)
    000 REG_SZ Config.sys
    002 REG_SZ temp
    003 REG_SZ Startup

    There was another that had pretty much the whole line I listed in my previous post. I deleted that one and restarted... but the errors remained. Should I wipe out the other four?

    Thanks again!

  4. #4
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    Re: Need some "Nerd" help please

    Post the whole key path and the key content.
    Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place.
    Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly as possible, you are, by
    definition, not smart enough to debug it.
    - Brian W. Kernighan

    To enhance your chance's of getting an answer be sure to read
    http://www.codeguru.com/forum/announ...nouncementid=6
    and http://www.codeguru.com/forum/showthread.php?t=366302 before posting

    Refresh your memory on formatting tags here
    http://www.codeguru.com/forum/misc.php?do=bbcode

    Get your free MS compiler here
    https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
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    5

    Re: Need some "Nerd" help please

    Not sure what you mean by key path and key content. I am an "extreme" novice.

  6. #6
    Join Date
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    Re: Need some "Nerd" help please

    When you click an entry in regedit the bottom of it show something like My Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\....
    Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place.
    Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly as possible, you are, by
    definition, not smart enough to debug it.
    - Brian W. Kernighan

    To enhance your chance's of getting an answer be sure to read
    http://www.codeguru.com/forum/announ...nouncementid=6
    and http://www.codeguru.com/forum/showthread.php?t=366302 before posting

    Refresh your memory on formatting tags here
    http://www.codeguru.com/forum/misc.php?do=bbcode

    Get your free MS compiler here
    https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Posts
    5

    Re: Need some "Nerd" help please

    My Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\SearchAssistant\ACMru\5603

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Germany
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    2,675

    Re: Need some "Nerd" help please

    Unfortunately, there's quite a host of possibilities to auto-start programs under Windows, and they're not all related to the registry. Looks like you have at least not found all the references to the program in question.

    Fortunately, OTOH, the Sysinternals Suite contains a tool named Autoruns that probably covers all the auto-start possibilities (you'll be amazed how many there are), or at least the vast majority of them. The tool doesn't only allow you to search all the auto-start possibilities at once for your program, you can also delete the respective auto-start(s) right away.

    You don't need to download and unpack the entire Suite to use Autoruns; the tool is available separately at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/s...rnals/bb963902 where you'll also find documentation on it. Autoruns.exe works without installation by simply double-clicking it. You can even run Autoruns directly from the web page without explicitly downloading it at all before; the link to that is right below the download link. (I don't post a direct link to the executable here since that probably would violate some forum policy, or perhaps one of the Sysinternals site... )

    It should be noted that the Sysinternals Suite definitely is not meant for beginners, rather for (really) advanced users, developers and admins. But the Autoruns tool is one of the simpler ones out of the suite and probably can be really helpful here.

    Quote Originally Posted by Koellert View Post
    My Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\SearchAssistant\ACMru\5603
    This one looks mostly harmless. It probably won't have any adverse effect at all, perhaps not even any noticeabe effect. And, as some MRU list entry that it seems to be, most likely will disappear silently on its own after some time anyway.

    HTH
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  9. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
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    5

    Re: Need some "Nerd" help please

    Success! Thank you!

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