Help: Start-up CMD.EXE

Hi, fellow XP users. I'm having a bit of a problem with starting up in WinXP. I have the Professional Edition of XP and so far, I love using it...even in my slow Pen III 128 RAM comp.

My query involves cmd.exe. Whenever I (re)boot my comp, it takes a good while for everything to load up. Besides that, a black window with the title cmd.exe (with a folder address attached to the title: i.e. C:/WinXP/blah/blah) is also present.. and after I leave it on for a while, it starts closing..then re-opening itself in an endless cycle. The only way I can stop it is by attempting to reboot...in which my computer tells me that a couple of drivers failed to initialize because "Windows is Shutting Down". It's still there after I've completely rebooted, though.

If anyone else has this problem and had solved it...or if anyone knows how to take care of this, please help me out. I'd really appreciate it. Thanks a lot! :D

Welcome to the forum. Post often as we love a challenge..

Look here to see if it is a shut down issue instead of a reboot issue. They can fool you sometimes. Let us know if this helps........

Have you run a Virus scan ?
CMD.EXE running on reboot can be caused by a Backdoor Trojan.
When the CMD box appears can you take a screenshot of it,and post it here.
As a temporary fix,type msconfig in the run box and press enter.
On the Startup tab,look for cmd.exe and uncheck it.Click apply and reboot.When XP starts reloading you'll probably get a warning message saying you have chosen a Selective Startup,just ignore it.

Thanks for the reply guys. Tinker-san, the problem isn't involved in any way to the system rebooting itself or hanging on the shut-down. I had already disabled the 'reboot' default that XP does due to some undesirable effects.

I'll try the advice about a back-trojan. That's pretty logical too since I do a lot of things on the net. BTW, if I disable cmd.exe, how will it affect my computer? Is it possible that it might completely obliterate my XP if I attempted it? As a computer novice, I don't really know what cmd does (though I think it stands for 'command').

Thanks a lot for the help! :D

PS: how do I take a screenshot of my screen?

To take a screenshot,
hit the print screen button on your keyboard next to the F12 key and the SCROLL LOCK key. Then open up MS paint, start, all programs, accessories, PAINT
The simple click edit and paste. Bam, there is your screen shot.
Hope that helps,
BB

cmd.exe is an ms-dos command prompt

it should not open by default

something is very wrong with your system

virus?
possible

goto

http://housecall.antivirus.com/housecall/start_corp.asp

do the free online virus scan

its well worth it

get trojan remover

its fully functional free for 30 days

http://www.simplysup.com/tremover/details.html

scan your system for trojans

Do you have a logon script running?
If not be careful. Someone may have planted something in your computer to run at logon. Check your startup folder and the following keys in the registry.

HKLU/software/microsoft/windows/currentversion/run and runservices

HKCU/software/microsoft/windows/currentversion/run

Make sure you don't have anything running that you don't know what it is.

to check your startup folder

click start
run
type .
this will take you to your folder
goto start menu/programs/startup

delete anything you think should not be there

i have nothing in mine
this is the place windows looks when you boot into xp

any shortcut here will auto start

i have office and other programs but i still delete these shortcuts because i dont want things running in the background

all my programs still start when i click on them

also run msconfig
i disable everything in the startup except my antivirus and firewall

you can experament with what you want to start up


please post your results and welcome to techzonez

cheers
egghead


you may have the nimda virus
it scans cmd.exe

interesting read here
http://www.gfi.com/news/press.asp?re...aworm&lcode=en

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Big Booger
To take a screenshot,
hit the print screen button on your keyboard next to the F12 key and the SCROLL LOCK key. Then open up MS paint, start, all programs, accessories, PAINT
The simple click edit and paste. Bam, there is your screen shot.
Hope that helps,
BB

---

Also,if you want to just take a shot of an "open window" and not the whole screen,press Alt+Print Screen and then follow Boogers instructions for pasting it into Paint.And save the image as a .jpg not .bmp,as jpg's are a lot smaller file size. ;)

I took the virus-scan advice and I found PLENTY of trojans and other worms in my PC. I also turned off all my excess start-up stuff, too to see if I can have a slightly speedier boot without hacking the registry (hardly seems possible..and it isn't in my case).

When I rebooted the comp, it took a while to load so I went to school. When I got back, I got an error message saying something about failing to initialize iexplorer. It's not much of a hassle. A couple of clicks and I get rid of it pretty quick.

Anyway, I'll try to fix this problem on my own. It's probably something to do with some of the stuff I turned off using msconfig.

THANKS for all your help, guys. I really appreciate this.:D

glad to see you got it sorted out

are you on a network?

goto
www.lavasoftusa.com

get a program called ad-aware and check your computer for advertising spies

this will mess you up

after that download this program
bootvis.exe
http://www.microsoft.com/hwdev/platf...ot/BootVis.asp

it will speed your boot times dramatically

btw

msconfig should not mess up iexplorer so you have to check on that

more info on boot here

http://www.microsoft.com/hwdev/platf...ot/default.asp

btw

when you run bootvis

select trace menu

optimize system

it will reboot your computer after boot wait
a message will eventually popup saying optimizing boot

this is a great tool

if you post more info on your setup and your programs

i can get a good idea on what to do next

cheers

egghead

Quote:

---

are you on a network?

---

Nope, my NIC is used just so my modem could communcate with my PC without having to sacrifice a USB port. My system runs a bit smoother than it used to be with the virii within it (don't really know if the plural for virus is virii or viruses *shrug*).

I have a few other questions regarding XP, though that's been bothering me a bit.

1) I've been looking at my task manager to see if I have any programs running in the background that I don't know about.
Since I'm not in a network, what is "svchost.exe (SYSTEM)" for?

2) How do I turn off the irritating 'script debugger' that pops up occasionally whenever I use internet explorer? (It started when I installed Office XP with Frontpage).

3) My virus scanner found a virus 'ADVAPI.EXE', but I also find the same thing in my start-up list when I use msconfig. What exactly does it do?

4) What kind of info would you like to know about my system?

1) svchost

2) Tools > internet options > advanced tab. Put a tick next to Disable Script Debugging.Click apply.

3) You probably have the NetDevil backdoor trojan on your system. Net Devil

Thanks a lot for helping out with those problems.

I've really had a hard time handling XP before I even got to here. I'm sure to recommed my friends who's got problems (with XP, of course) to go here too. Never thought I could get some quick-fix answers. So far, I'm happy with how my computer handles right now, all thanks to you guys!:D :D :D

hi SystemError619

you must check out this website to familiarize yoursely with the xp services

some services are vital to operating xp
others are just resource hogs

have a look here and follow these steps
http://www.blkviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm

it will help you achieve the performance you desire and it will help you understand what is runnung in the background and what shouldnt be there



4) What kind of info would you like to know about my system?

amd or pentium?
speed?
motherboard manufacturer?
graphics card?
software installed....


these kinds of things are important to us in helping diagnose computer problems and buggy drivers
download belarc advisor

it will tell you everything about your computer

post here some results but leave out your ip address and mac adress and any personal info that may come up

get it here
http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

cheers

heres an example of what it does
http://eggonthewall.netfirms.com/system.html

man egg its time for a new hard drive 529 megs left on c:\ ouch.

your right!

my other 20gog is in my old 750mgz

i have a bunch of shows that i captured from tv
\
like fear factor, american idol finals and reuniun
day of the dead
dawn of the dead
return of the living dead

halloween movies

a bunch of music video's

the software list is not right as i just re-installed xp overtop of my old xp due to virus concernes that were false

my programs directory is about 6 gigs so i must delete and re-install


i have my eyes set on a 120 gig

my other 40gig should come back from maxtors rma department soon

nice program tho

Processor: 550 megahertz Intel Pentium III

Main Circuit Board: SiS-620 Bus Clock: 100 megahertz

Memory Modules: 120 Megabytes Installed Memory
Slot '0' has 128 MB

Display: SiS 530/620 [Display adapter]

Multimedia: CMI8738/C3DX PCI Audio Device

Software:Adobe Acrobat Reader Version 5.0.5.0*
Adobe ImageReady (tm) 7.0 Version 7.0*
Adobe Photoshop Version 7.0*
Adobe Systems, Inc. Adobe Gamma Loader Version 1, 0, 0, 1*
AdpBrowser Application Version 1, 0, 0, 1*
America Online Version 7.00.000*
America Online, Inc. - AOL Instant Messenger Version 5.0.2938*
America Online, Inc. Sinf Application Version 7.00.000*
Apple Computer, Inc. - QuickTime QuickTime 6.0*
Belarc Advisor and BelLive - Belarc's Content Personalization with Privacy Version 5.1g*
Cerulean Studios Trillian Version 1, 0, 0, 1*
Chara Mucker 1999 *
Cinematronics - 3D Pinball Version 5.1.2600.0*
Configuration and Troubleshooting *
DBConvert Application Version 1, 0, 0, 1*
Decoder Configuration *
DragonSpeak Editor - VisualDS *
Dream Editor *
EJ innovations - WakeUp Alarm Clock Version 3, 0, 0, 1*
Elaborate Bytes - CloneCD Version 3, 0, 2, 1*
Elaborate Bytes - CloneCD Version 4, 0, 0, 0*
Elaborate Bytes - CloneCD Version 4.0.1.9*
FastTrack - Grokster Version 1, 0, 0, 1*
Furcadia *
Furcadia FSH Editor *
Galaxy Games - File Converter Version 1.00.0006*
Galaxy Games Online Version 1.02.0126*
GameSpot Download Manager *
Gtek LTD - GtCoach Version 1.0*
GTek Technologies Ltd. - TrainerCabLauncher Application Version 1, 0, 0, 1*
ICQ ICQRun Version 1, 0, 0, 1*
ICQ Version 2002a Beta*
ICQUninstall Application Version 1, 0, 0, 1*
IDLE (Python GUI) *
LDMConf Application Version 1, 0, 0, 0*
Logitech, Inc. - iTouch Version 1.81*
Macromedia Flash Version 5, 0, 6, 0*
Macromedia, Inc. - Flash 5.0 Version 5,0,30,0*
Media Library Management Wizard *
Microsoft - Windows Media Player skin import utility Version 1, 0, 0, 5*
Microsoft .NET Framework Wizards Version 1.0.3300.0*
Microsoft Clip Organizer Version 10.0.2625*
Microsoft Corporation - Internet Explorer Version 6.00.2600.0000*
Microsoft Corporation - Messenger Version 4.6*
Microsoft Corporation - Windows Movie Maker Version 1.2.2541.0*
Microsoft Corporation - Windows® NetMeeting® Version 3.01*
Microsoft Corporation - Zone.com Version 1.2.626.1*
Microsoft Development Environment Version 7.00.9064.9150*
Microsoft Office Document Imaging Version 1.03.2349.1*
Microsoft Office Save My Settings/Profile Wizard Version 10.0.2609*
Microsoft Office XP Version 10.0.2605*
Microsoft Office XP Version 10.0.2607*
Microsoft Office XP Version 10.0.2609*
Microsoft Office XP Version 10.0.2614*
Microsoft Office XP Version 10.0.2616*
Microsoft Office XP Version 10.0.2623*
Microsoft Office XP Version 10.0.2627*
Microsoft Outlook Version 10.0.2616*
Microsoft Photo Editor Version 10.0*
Microsoft Plus! for Windows XP Version 1.00.00.0616*
Microsoft Windows Media Player Version 6.4.09.1120*
Microsoft(R) MSN (R) Communications System Version 6.10.0016.1624*
Microsoft(R) Windows Media Player Version 8.00.00.4482*
Microsoft(R) Windows Media Player Version 9.00.00.2541*
Microsoft(R) Windows Media Player Version 9.00.00.2551*
Microsoft® Schedule+ for Windows 95(TM) Version 7.5*
Microsoft® Windows Media Services Version 4.1.00.3917*
mIRC Version 6.02*
MUSICMATCH JUKEBOX Version 7.20.0166*
None - VisualBoyAdvance emulator Version 0, 8, 0, 0*
OSTROWSKY Infstaller Version 1, 0, 0, 1*
Panicware, Inc. - Pop-Up Stopper Version 2, 8, 0, 1*
Player Editor *
Portrait Sending Utility *
Python (command line) *
Radium MP3 codec configuration tool Version 1.0.0.0*
RealNetworks, Inc. - RealOne Player (32-bit) Version 6.0.10.505*
RealNetworks, Inc. - RealOne Player (32-bit) Version 7.0.0.559*
RPG Maker 2000 *
SAMPLE GAME *
Symantec Corporation - LiveUpdate Version 1.80.19.0*
Symantec Corporation - Norton AntiVirus Version 7.60.00.926*
Symantec Corporation - Norton Speed Disk Version 6.03.0.36*
Symantec Corporation - Norton Utilities for Windows Version 15.03.0.36*
Symantec Corporation - Norton Utilities Version 15.03.0.36*
Symantec Corporation - Wipe Info Version 15.03.0.36*
The Gator Corporation - GAIN Version 3.2.1.8*
The Gator Corporation - Gator Version 3.2.1.8*
The Wolfs Lair Productions - Global DiVX Player Version 1.08.0005*
UltraCo, Inc. - UltraPlayer Version 2, 1, 1, 2*
WhenU.com, Inc. - Save! Version 1, 6, 2, 8*
WildTangent, Inc. - Wild Tangent wcmdmgrl Version 1, 5, 3, 018*
WinRAR *
WinZip Version 8.1 (4331)*
Wise Solutions, Inc. - Check for Grokster Updates *
Yahoo! Messenger Version 5, 0, 0, 1066*





I hope that's enough information..please alert me if there's anything missing or information that SHOULDN'T be there.


I have a few other Qs.

1) In the Task Manager, what's the purpose of 'Set Priority', and do you recommend I try using it?

2) In the Services options, will changing the settings for my Network affect my computer's internet connectability (I'm using cable)?

3) If I try tweaking using RegEdit, are there any particular weaks that you recommend?

hello SystemError619

it says you have 128 megs of memory?

you need more for the amount of programs you have running

get at least a 256mb stick

i dont know the name of your motherboard as there are dozens with the sis620 chipset
some dont support 256mg sticks
ram is cheap and the more you have the better your computer will be
its only $36 for 256 sdram in van bc right now
used to be $100 +

you also need to uninstall anything that says gator or gain

bad stuff

goto www.lavasoftusa.com

get ad-aware and scan your system now for ad spies
these things will mess with your system


you have alot of programs that sit in the systray

disable as many as you can

realnetworks
clonecd

office
quicktime
are some good examples


how bigs is the harddrive?
if its 6 gig and under you should get a new udma100 hd

very fast disc access



"I have a few other Qs."

1) In the Task Manager, what's the purpose of 'Set Priority', and do you recommend I try using it?

check here
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,3973,4367,00.asp


2) In the Services options, will changing the settings for my Network affect my computer's internet connectability (I'm using cable)?
you are on aol?

if you are you have many stumbling blocks to overcome

aol melts into xp like glue

in local area network properties
i only have tcp checked
i am on adsl and i dont want the other network crap

my boot times are amazing



3) If I try tweaking using RegEdit, are there any particular weaks that you recommend?

be carefull tweaking the reg as you can damage your installation and have to re-install xp

backlup regularily

if you want to clean the registry

get this free program

regcleaner
http://www.vtoy.fi/jv16/shtml/regcleaner.shtml



for more reg tricks download tweakxp

http://www.totalidea.de/frameset-tweakxp.htm

hope that helps

egghead

AOL? Nah. Gotten tired of it..besides, IMHO, I think that AOL's best function is it's IMing program..and you can get that for free. I used to use, AOL, though. I haven't deleted it because..well because I've been kinda lazy about it ^_^.

Yes, I only have 128megs of RAM, but I'm soon to fix that..just need a couple more paydays.

Tha Gator progam came bundled with the DivX Pro that I got.. I've been planning to remove it.

Yes, I turn off the extra systray progs whenever I see them pop up during boots. I've also turned them off in the configurations (run: msconfig).

My hardrive is relatively small today. It's only 15Gigs.

Thanks for the answers concenrning my questions. ^_^