Blank Dialog Box with OK Button

[Guest]

When Windows is starting up I get a mostly blank dialog box with an OK button
at the bottom after the Windows splash screen disappears, on top of the
Windows is starting up screen.

The dialog box that contains a small piece of unrecognizable text in the top
left corner that changes each time I start computer. Most of the icons on
the desktop have changed to the generic I don't know what you are icon and no
applications will run including Internet Explorer except the virus program .
I get an error message that Windows needs to know what application created
that file. (This includes cmd.exe)

The dialog box cannot be closed with the ( X ) in the corner and will only
continue to start windows after sitting for about 10 minutes or clicking the
OK button.

I don't believe it's a virus as the virus program does load and did do a
complete scan without finding a virus.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

When Windows is starting up I get a mostly blank dialog box with an OK button
at the bottom after the Windows splash screen disappears, on top of the
Windows is starting up screen.

The dialog box that contains a small piece of unrecognizable text in the top
left corner that changes each time I start computer. Most of the icons on
the desktop have changed to the generic I don't know what you are icon and no
applications will run including Internet Explorer except the virus program ..
I get an error message that Windows needs to know what application created
that file. (This includes cmd.exe)

The dialog box cannot be closed with the ( X ) in the corner and will only
continue to start windows after sitting for about 10 minutes or clicking the
OK button.

I don't believe it's a virus as the virus program does load and did do a
complete scan without finding a virus.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

There are lots of malicious or poorly-behaved things that anti-virus
programs can't find.

Go to Start, Run, type msconfig and press enter. Go to the Startup tab.
Look through each entry to find what it is that is that's loading. If
you're unsure, remove the checkmarks from everything and restart, and turn
things on one at a time to identify what it is that's loading. Note that
some trojans will not necessarily respect this process and may start anyway.

Also, get ccleaner: www.ccleaner.com and let it delete all temporary files
and temporary internet files. This will help as the temporary directories
are where a lot of malware launches from.

Programs like HiJack This (
http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html) are also invaluable for
cleaning up malware. When you run Hijack this and tell it to remove
entries, be sure to rescan after the removal. You'll find that some things
reload or similar things take their place. However, HiJack This does
require a greater degree of knowledge to use effectively.

Also, the online virus and spyware scan at TrendMicro -
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/ can do a pretty good job of finding
spyware you miss.

HTH
-pk

 

[Guest]

Patrick,

Thank you very much for their response, however; most applications will not
run including those built into Windows like the MSconfig, CMD, help and
support or even write clicking on my computer and going to properties in an
attempt to use system restore, I've never seen anything like this in windows
before.

 

[Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE]

Patrick,

Thank you very much for their response, however; most applications
will not run including those built into Windows like the MSconfig,
CMD, help and support or even write clicking on my computer and going
to properties in an attempt to use system restore, I've never seen
anything like this in windows before.

If you can't run the programs Patrick suggested I don't know what else you
can do but save your data files, format the drive and do a clean install of
WinXP and your software.

--
Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE
Please respond in Newsgroup only. Do not send email
http://www.fjsmjs.com
Protect your PC
http://www.microsoft.com./athome/security/protect/default.aspx
http://defendingyourmachine.blogspot.com/

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Patrick,

Thank you very much for their response, however; most applications will not
run including those built into Windows like the MSconfig, CMD, help and
support or even write clicking on my computer and going to properties in an
attempt to use system restore, I've never seen anything like this in windows
before.

Can you get into Safe Mode?

-pk

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Patrick,

Thank you very much for their response, however; most applications will not
run including those built into Windows like the MSconfig, CMD, help and
support or even write clicking on my computer and going to properties in an
attempt to use system restore, I've never seen anything like this in windows
before.

You might also try a repair install using your Windows CD. However, you
should consider whether it might not be faster to back up, format and
reinstall. One of the easiest ways to do that is to add a new hard disk
as the master, converting the old one to secondary or slave. Run the
install on the new dis, create the accounts, install the software, and
simply copy the old data back into the new locations. I personally use
FileSync for this purpose as it doesn't just fail if there's a problem...

www.fileware.co.uk

HTH
-pk

 

[Guest]

I have already tried going into safe mode but the blank dialog box still
shows up and I am an able to do anything once in safe mode. I have already
attempted to use system repair from the original CD to no avail. Has anyone
ever seen anything like this before in Windows XP.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

I have already tried going into safe mode but the blank dialog box still
shows up and I am an able to do anything once in safe mode. I have already
attempted to use system repair from the original CD to no avail. Has anyone
ever seen anything like this before in Windows XP.

Then you may need to strongly consider backing up, wiping the drive and
reinstalling. I would personally suggest putting in a new drive as the
primary (drives are cheap now and *do* wear out, so you will be adding
reliability to the machine) and installing to that, then using the old drive
as a secondary and source for data restoration.

One thing you might want to try is using the default registry, though this
will cost you a bit of time and not necessarily get you very far... you'll
need to modify the procedure here slightly:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=307545

basically you will boot to the recovery console, rename the existing
registry, copy in the default, and reboot. None of your installed apps
will work at this point because their registry entries will be absent. You
will then have to identify a working set of registry files and copy them in.

This may or may not be successful and will quite possibly take the same
amount of time as a reinstall. Plus, it will leave behind any infected or
damaged files.

HTH
-pk

 

[Guest]

I have already backed up my data, formatted and restore the operating systems
and applications. I would you simply like to know if anyone has ever seen
anything similar to my blank dialog box with the OK button and select call or
programs include with the operating system that do not function.

 

[Guest]

Again Patrick and Frank thanks for your post.

 

[Joao Monteiro]

That also happened to me.
I´ve had to reinstall but that message showed again few days after.
Probably its related to software i use. I installed some cleanin
software like
ace utilities, winaso registry optimizer, xp smoker pro, etc
I dont think this is the cause but im still trying to figure out what
causing
the blank message during start up.

Joa