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XP stalls at startup
starchy
Ottawa ON, Canada
25 Posts
(Offline)
1
November 17, 2008 - 10:32 pm

I am having a problem with startup of XP Home SP3. After the OS gets going, it stalls before finishing with an error message that forces me to click OK to finish the boot up. It says, Windows cannot find C:Windowssystem32AdobeShockwavesymcheckupstub.exe This started happening after I downloaded a requested update for Shockwave that I later uninstalled because my computer started to act weird after the update. can anyone help get rid of this annoyance? Thanks

"Do Something. If it works, do more of it. If it doesn't, do
something else." - FDR

Jim Hillier
2700 Posts
(Offline)
2
November 17, 2008 - 11:44 pm

Hi Starchy - Reports on the net are suggesting this issue is caused by 'Norton PC Checkup', which appears to be attached to the 'Shockwave' update install.
Here is a link to a thread which discusses the problem and probable fixes:

http://www.seasonsecurity.com/cant-get- ... ckup-49920

cheers....JIM

Chad Johnson
867 Posts
(Offline)
3
November 18, 2008 - 6:03 pm

It could be an errant item in your startup files too.

here's a good article for tracking down random startup files: [url:22e2snix]http://ask-leo.com/why_am_i_getting_windows_cannot_find_messages_on_startup.html[/url:22e2snix]

--zig

starchy
Ottawa ON, Canada
25 Posts
(Offline)
4
November 18, 2008 - 9:39 pm

Thanks to Ziggie and ozbloke. I think it did piggyback with the Shockwave update and I have tried all of the removal methods with XP, with no luck. I have even uninstalled Shockwave and will probably not reinstall. So far I have lived without it. I have already done what Leo suggested by installing Autoruns Boot checker and have deleted the entry that refers to this PCCheckup. My AV and anti spyware have also found it and I have quarantined it both ways, but it keeps coming back. I went to the page mentioned and read all of the entries there and will do what was written in the last post. I am not one to play with the registry but will try it.
I read in another forum some time ago, written by one of the moderators, and in his opinion, it was better to surf without protection than to have any Norton product on your computer. I tend to agree with him, as this is the second time I have wrestled with getting Norton off my machine. The last time it came bundled with a new Dell computer and I insisted that they get rid of it which they did after much work by their TS. Thanks to both of you and I will post back when it is finally done, that is if my computer boots up after I have fiddled with the registry.

"Do Something. If it works, do more of it. If it doesn't, do
something else." - FDR

Jim Hillier
2700 Posts
(Offline)
5
November 19, 2008 - 2:40 am

Hey Starchy - You are most welcome and good luck...I hope the registry edit fixes the problem for you. If you're still have problems after trying everything I suggest you post a Hijack This log file here and we will have a look through that for you.

cheers...JIM

Mindblower
Montreal, Canada
666 Posts
(Offline)
6
November 19, 2008 - 10:29 am

Try using the F8 feature (when booting) and use a previous startup that worked, or use the Restore (prior to the changes you made). This should work, Mindblower!

"For the needy, not the greedy"

starchy
Ottawa ON, Canada
25 Posts
(Offline)
7
December 8, 2008 - 10:14 am

Thanks for all the tips. I followed the instructions and modified the line in the registry and made it read C:. The next step was to boot up in safe mode and then delete that entry altogether. Can't do that with my current hardware as I have found out that my USB wireless keyboard does not "start up" until long after the option to go to safe mode has passed. Took me a while to figure this out, and now I am looking through all my old computer junk for a wired keyboard to temporarily install. However, at least the machine finishes the boot up and simply opens an explorer type window with the contents of C: displayed, without the annoying message of "Can't find..." which halted the boot up until OK'd out. So thanks again for the very helpful ideas.
Cheers!

"Do Something. If it works, do more of it. If it doesn't, do
something else." - FDR

Chad Johnson
867 Posts
(Offline)
8
December 8, 2008 - 11:22 pm

To go into safe mode the easy way:

from Start, go to Run.
Type 'msconfig' (sans quotes). Hit enter or press OK.
Go to the BOOT.INI tab.
Check the box for /SAFEBOOT.

Click OK and reboot.

To get back to normal mode, reverse the checkbox in the same place.

Best of luck.

David Hartsock
1117 Posts
(Offline)
9
December 9, 2008 - 4:53 am

[quote="Starchy":dk5maspq]I read in another forum some time ago, written by one of the moderators, and in his opinion, it was better to surf without protection than to have any Norton product on your computer.[/quote:dk5maspq]

That's my opinion also! Norton=
While their current AV program may be better than those of the recent past, I just can't bring myself to install it (or recommend anyone install it). The possible problems and guaranteed removal issues just don't make it an option in my book!

Chad Johnson
867 Posts
(Offline)
10
December 9, 2008 - 8:03 am

Hee...I think that was me, can't remember though.

Even if Norton finally has their act together and developed a solid product....

....why pay for something when you can get it (legally) for free elsewhere? And the free versions tend to work better, in my opinion.

For years I did the Norton thing, thinking I was getting something better since I was paying for it.

Now I run either AVG or Avast (i kind of like Avast's spinning logo), I use Windows built in Firewall (together with my NAT router) for firewall protection, and use Spybot for anti-spyware (as well as NoScript + Firefox).

Sum total of all of these: 0 (after paying the MS tax, of course)

OldElmerFudd
166 Posts
(Offline)
11
April 10, 2009 - 8:22 pm

You've probably resolved all your problems by now, but imho, Shockwave is one of the least necessary plugins for browsers. I don't have it on any of my machines, and don't bother with sites that require it. I wish I could suggest an alternative, but afaict, there's no real option. The Linux gang have been installing Safari on Ubuntu, which allows the use of Windows plugins.
http://www.ubuntu-unleashed.com/2008/03 ... -with.html

hth
Ron

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