Command prompt is displayed briefly, then disappears

B

BruceM

OK, fine, Error Check sabotaged my system, even though the reason I went to
it in the first place was because I was having problems. IE was already
crashing, as was OE. I renamed EntApi.dll to EntApi.dll.old, and the
problem went away for the most part. Ironically, the problem seems to have
started when I was researching start-up error codes (beeps) that were
afflicting another machine.
 
B

BruceM

Whatever the person's designation, that is the resource we have. I have no
say as to whether the computer goes to a shop. More likely would be a
format and clean install, if all else fails.

I will have a go at selecting a restore point, or setting it manually. One
problem is that I don't know for sure when the command prompt problem
started.

Thank you for the links. I have run MalWareBytes and AdAware, so I won't
explore that avenue first, but I definitely would like to try another online
scan.
 
B

BruceM

The subject line is misleading, I'm afraid, but I can't change it now. The
command prompt appears briefly when I try to run ipconfig, no matter how I
try to run it, including the path you suggested.

The command prompt and regedit window do not appear at all. Rather, the
windows task bar goes away as if I had used Task Manager to stop the
explorer.exe process. It comes back after a few seconds, but nothing opens.

All of the problems occur no matter if I use Run or attempt to open the
program directly from the System32 folder. Some programs such as calc.exe
in the System32 folder open normally.
 
B

BruceM

I was mistaken about the name. It was ErrorSmart. I have seen a number of
reviews, some good and some bad, but for any product there are plenty of
people who will bash it. As I said, a link that showed me how to fix
another problem also included some registry cleaner recommendations.
ErrorSmart was one of those. In this link I am reading negative things
about registry cleaners. It is difficult to know who to believe. For all I
know the recommendations I have received in this thread will kill my
computer once and for all. I don't think so, but my point is that it can be
very difficult to tell, even for somebody who is as cautious about downloads
as I tend to be. Yes, I have discovered a problem with the command prompt
and ipconfig, as described, but I do not know how long the problem has been
going on, so of course you do not know either, whatever odds you are
prepared to wager. There simply is not enough evidence to indict, yet alone
convict the registry cleaner.
 
E

Engineer Dave

If it makes you feel any better, in the last three or four days I have
discovered the EXACT same problem and I didn't install either of the two
programs you mention or run 'registry cleaner'. In trying to solve this
problem, I have also discovered that although system restore seems to run
properly, it finishes by saying it can't restore to the point I chose and to
try another. It does this whether I choose a point from yesterday or a year
ago.

I'm anxiously watching this thread for a solution as I as flummoxed as you.

Engineer Dave
 
P

PA Bear [MS MVP]

I don't think any amount of scanning, be it online or an installed
anti-spyware app, is going to resolve this problem, Bruce. See #3 in my
previous reply and post to one of the forums for expert assistance. (We do
not work with such logs, etc., in the public newsgroups.)

Or format & do a clean install.
 
P

PA Bear [MS MVP]

Dave, it'd be best for your to begin your own new thread to avoid confusion.
Thanks.
 
P

PA Bear [MS MVP]

I assumed you'd run the MSRT (#1) and the WL Safety Center Protection scan
(#2) already, Bruce. If you haven't, you might give them a whirl but...
 
J

Jim

Engineer Dave : A good "system restore " is ERUNT ; Google for it ; it
makes a daily restore point .






On Fri, 6 Mar 2009 08:49:02 -0800, Engineer Dave <Engineer
 
E

Engineer Dave

I don't see where there would be any confusion if I'm talking about the same
problem. By mentioning that I DIDN'T do what he did and still have the same
problem, maybe that helps eliminate possible causes. And if he or I find a
solution, then the other would want to know.
 
G

G. Morgan

BruceM said:
When I go to Start >> Run and type ipconfig or ipconfig.exe and press Enter
or click OK, I see a command prompt window for a few seconds at most
(usually just a fraction of a second). Same thing when I try to run
ipconfig.exe directly from System32.

For both cmd.exe and ipconfig.exe I have tried this syntax in the Run
window:
%SystemRoot%\System32\cmd.exe

I have searched for quite a while, but am now out of options.
Click to expand...

Try running cmd /k

or

cmd /k ipconfig /all
 
B

BruceM

I took a look. I should have tried it first. It was already in my
bookmarks. However, I wonder if it is Line 57 instead of Line 55, which is:
55. Restore Recent Documents, My Documents
Increase Internet Explorer Downloads to 10 - Undo

Line 57 is about restoring the run command.

I ended up doing System Restore, which restored the command prompt and the
rest of what was not working right with the Run line commands. I wish I had
tried your fix first, but the system restore changed a few other things, so
I may be back. Thanks for reminding me about the site.
 
B

BruceM

Thanks for weighing in. Those have been suggested and tried. System
Restore seems to have done the trick, although there are some other things
to clean up.
 
B

BruceM

A system restore seems to have fixed the Run command, although there are a
few other anomalies now, such as in inavailability of online Help for Office
programs, and no search functionality in Windows Explorer (My Computer).
 

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