Help: Start-up CMD.EXE

[SystemError619]

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!

[Tinker]

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........

[Reverend]

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.

[SystemError619]

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!

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

[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

[egghead]

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

[Reverend]

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.

[SystemError619]

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.

[egghead]

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

[SystemError619]

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?

[Reverend]

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

[SystemError619]

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!

[egghead]

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

[phishhead]

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

[egghead]

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