WkUFind popup on startup

R

rawlins02

New member
I have a new eMachines running Windows 7. On each startup a popup appears asking if WkUFind.exe should make changes to the computer. I've seen some posts suggesting this request may be related to either newly installed 3rd party software or Microsoft Picture It program. I don't believe Picture It is installed. A few posts suggest it may be related to a virus.

I've found WkUFind in a Program Files folder. Trying to eliminate this pop. TIA.
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Golden Mk. I.4
OS
Windows 10 Pro x64 ; Xubuntu x64
CPU
Intel i7 860 @ 2.80 GHz O/C'ed to 4.0GHz
Motherboard
Gigabyte P55A-UD3R Rev.1. Award BIOS F13
Memory
16GB Corsair Vengance DDR3 @ 661 MHz Dual Channel (9-9-9-24)
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA NVidia GTX 560 1024MB
Sound Card
Realtek Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
Dual Samsung SyncMaster 2494HS
Screen Resolution
1920*1080 and 1920*1080
Hard Drives
1*Samsung 840 EVO 120GB SSD;
1*OCZ Vertex 2 60GB SSD;
2*Samsung F3 SpinPoint 1TB in RAID0;
1*Samsung F1 SpinPoint 1TB;
2*Western Digital 1TB External USB 3.0
1*Western Digital 500GB External USB 3.0
1*Seagate 500GB External USB 2.0
PSU
Thermaltake ToughPower QFan 750W
Case
Thermaltake Element S VK60001W2Z
Cooling
Corsair H60 Water Cooling, 2*230mm and 2*80mm case fans
Keyboard
Logitech G110
Mouse
Logitech MX518
OK. Under Start > Control Panel > Programs, please click uninstall programs (but do not actually uninstall anything). I'm interested to see what Microsoft products are installed there.

Regards,
Golden
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Golden Mk. I.4
OS
Windows 10 Pro x64 ; Xubuntu x64
CPU
Intel i7 860 @ 2.80 GHz O/C'ed to 4.0GHz
Motherboard
Gigabyte P55A-UD3R Rev.1. Award BIOS F13
Memory
16GB Corsair Vengance DDR3 @ 661 MHz Dual Channel (9-9-9-24)
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA NVidia GTX 560 1024MB
Sound Card
Realtek Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
Dual Samsung SyncMaster 2494HS
Screen Resolution
1920*1080 and 1920*1080
Hard Drives
1*Samsung 840 EVO 120GB SSD;
1*OCZ Vertex 2 60GB SSD;
2*Samsung F3 SpinPoint 1TB in RAID0;
1*Samsung F1 SpinPoint 1TB;
2*Western Digital 1TB External USB 3.0
1*Western Digital 500GB External USB 3.0
1*Seagate 500GB External USB 2.0
PSU
Thermaltake ToughPower QFan 750W
Case
Thermaltake Element S VK60001W2Z
Cooling
Corsair H60 Water Cooling, 2*230mm and 2*80mm case fans
Keyboard
Logitech G110
Mouse
Logitech MX518
Microsoft products:

.NET Framework 4 Client
Office 2010
Silverlight
SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition
several Visual C++ programs
Web Publishing Wizard
Word 2002
Works 6.0
Works Suite Add-in for Word
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7
Mmm...I think it might be the Word 2002 or Works.

Couple of things to try:
1. Can you find the location of this file? What is the exact path to it?
2. Is Microsoft PictureIt installed?
- Start > Programs > Microsoft Works (check to see if there is a PictureIt option)
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Golden Mk. I.4
OS
Windows 10 Pro x64 ; Xubuntu x64
CPU
Intel i7 860 @ 2.80 GHz O/C'ed to 4.0GHz
Motherboard
Gigabyte P55A-UD3R Rev.1. Award BIOS F13
Memory
16GB Corsair Vengance DDR3 @ 661 MHz Dual Channel (9-9-9-24)
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA NVidia GTX 560 1024MB
Sound Card
Realtek Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
Dual Samsung SyncMaster 2494HS
Screen Resolution
1920*1080 and 1920*1080
Hard Drives
1*Samsung 840 EVO 120GB SSD;
1*OCZ Vertex 2 60GB SSD;
2*Samsung F3 SpinPoint 1TB in RAID0;
1*Samsung F1 SpinPoint 1TB;
2*Western Digital 1TB External USB 3.0
1*Western Digital 500GB External USB 3.0
1*Seagate 500GB External USB 2.0
PSU
Thermaltake ToughPower QFan 750W
Case
Thermaltake Element S VK60001W2Z
Cooling
Corsair H60 Water Cooling, 2*230mm and 2*80mm case fans
Keyboard
Logitech G110
Mouse
Logitech MX518
If it's not found in msconfig and, therefore, can't be unchecked, check to see what's listed in "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run" and also in "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run"
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Toshiba L355D
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1
CPU
Core2 Duo
Motherboard
Intel
Memory
4 GB
Graphics Card(s)
GM965 on-board
Sound Card
RealTek on-board
Monitor(s) Displays
19"+17"(laptop)
Screen Resolution
1440x900 (x 2)
Hard Drives
500GB Ext. 200GB Internal
PSU
N/A
Case
N/A
Cooling
N/A
Golden said:
Mmm...I think it might be the Word 2002 or Works.

Couple of things to try:
1. Can you find the location of this file? What is the exact path to it?
2. Is Microsoft PictureIt installed?
- Start > Programs > Microsoft Works (check to see if there is a PictureIt option)
Click to expand...

Path is:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\microsoft shared\Works Shared\WkUFind.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\microsoft shared\Works Shared\WkUFind2.exe

I searched for PictureIt under Microsoft Works. Search returned no hits.

Mike
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7
mikedl said:
If it's not found in msconfig and, therefore, can't be unchecked, check to see what's listed in "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run" and also in "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run"
Click to expand...


I see a Hotkey Utility underr msconfig -> Startup, but don't follow where I'm to look to answer your question. I've found a folder:

C:\Program Files (x86)\eMachines\Hotkey Utility

What is the location of HKEY_CURRENT_USER and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE ?

Sorry, linux user here trying to help a relative with this new Windows machine....

Mike
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7
Mike : the HKEY references are in the REGISTRY. Click Start, then type regedit
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Golden Mk. I.4
OS
Windows 10 Pro x64 ; Xubuntu x64
CPU
Intel i7 860 @ 2.80 GHz O/C'ed to 4.0GHz
Motherboard
Gigabyte P55A-UD3R Rev.1. Award BIOS F13
Memory
16GB Corsair Vengance DDR3 @ 661 MHz Dual Channel (9-9-9-24)
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA NVidia GTX 560 1024MB
Sound Card
Realtek Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
Dual Samsung SyncMaster 2494HS
Screen Resolution
1920*1080 and 1920*1080
Hard Drives
1*Samsung 840 EVO 120GB SSD;
1*OCZ Vertex 2 60GB SSD;
2*Samsung F3 SpinPoint 1TB in RAID0;
1*Samsung F1 SpinPoint 1TB;
2*Western Digital 1TB External USB 3.0
1*Western Digital 500GB External USB 3.0
1*Seagate 500GB External USB 2.0
PSU
Thermaltake ToughPower QFan 750W
Case
Thermaltake Element S VK60001W2Z
Cooling
Corsair H60 Water Cooling, 2*230mm and 2*80mm case fans
Keyboard
Logitech G110
Mouse
Logitech MX518
mikedl said:
If it's not found in msconfig and, therefore, can't be unchecked, check to see what's listed in "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run" and also in "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run"
Click to expand...


In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

Code: 
Name          Type          Data
ab(Default)     REG_SZ   (value not set)
swg            REG_SZ   C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\GoogleToolbarNotifier


In the equivalent HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE folder, also entry that's same as first entry in HKEY_CURRENT_USER folder.

Mike
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7
When the WKUFind pop up comes up and asks if you want it to make changes, have you clicked "Yes" or have you always dismissed the prompt by clicking "No" ?

If it's the latter, I can understand you reluctance to click "Yes" but the situation you have describe thus far appears to be a normal result of an MSWorks installation.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Toshiba L355D
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1
CPU
Core2 Duo
Motherboard
Intel
Memory
4 GB
Graphics Card(s)
GM965 on-board
Sound Card
RealTek on-board
Monitor(s) Displays
19"+17"(laptop)
Screen Resolution
1440x900 (x 2)
Hard Drives
500GB Ext. 200GB Internal
PSU
N/A
Case
N/A
Cooling
N/A
mikedl said:
When the WKUFind pop up comes up and asks if you want it to make changes, have you clicked "Yes" or have you always dismissed the prompt by clicking "No" ?

If it's the latter, I can understand you reluctance to click "Yes" but the situation you have describe thus far appears to be a normal result of an MSWorks installation.
Click to expand...

I've always clicked "No". Good to hear that WkUFind.exe is a normal part of the OS. Guess I became reluctant after seeing folks suggest this behavior may not be normal.

So if I click "Yes", will the popup continue to appear?

Mike
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7
It shouldn't. Be sure your AV is active before doing so, just to be safe, and be sure your data is backed up in case you need to do a reinstall. :)

Really, though, I doubt you are going to see anything horrible based on the information you have provided so far. You've ran AV's on it six ways to Sunday so, again, you should be alright.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Toshiba L355D
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1
CPU
Core2 Duo
Motherboard
Intel
Memory
4 GB
Graphics Card(s)
GM965 on-board
Sound Card
RealTek on-board
Monitor(s) Displays
19"+17"(laptop)
Screen Resolution
1440x900 (x 2)
Hard Drives
500GB Ext. 200GB Internal
PSU
N/A
Case
N/A
Cooling
N/A
Clicking OK opens a window with options to sign in to Windows Live Messenger. I see that program is installed. When I closed that Windows Live Messenger window (without signing on, registering, etc) and restarted the machine the WkUFind.exe popup returned. So it appears that the Windows Live Messenger folks wrote a program that really encourages its use. I don't mind having that program in the OS, but enough of the popup. Now how to disable. Hope I've got this right....

Mike
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7
Just removed all Windoze Live programs. Restarted. WkUFind popup returned. Sure would like to get that thing to go away. Well, at least a second window no longer appears after clicking Yes.
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7
Hi, rawlins02. :)

It is apparent you have MS Works installed. Perhaps there are options within the program to disable auto-updates (an option labeled "check for updates online", maybe) thereby turning off this prompt upon startup?

I'm not familiar with Works as I've never used it. I wish I could present further guidance.

If it were me, and I had already tried all of the above (including my latest suggestion), I'd rename the file, move it to a temp folder, then restart the computer and see what happens.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Toshiba L355D
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1
CPU
Core2 Duo
Motherboard
Intel
Memory
4 GB
Graphics Card(s)
GM965 on-board
Sound Card
RealTek on-board
Monitor(s) Displays
19"+17"(laptop)
Screen Resolution
1440x900 (x 2)
Hard Drives
500GB Ext. 200GB Internal
PSU
N/A
Case
N/A
Cooling
N/A
I've gone to the Customize option in Microsoft Works and deselected the option to notify me of program updates to works. Then restarted. WkUFind popup appears once again. That thing is like the odd relative that won't go away. But moving wkufind.exe and wkufind2.exe out of C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\microsoft shared\Works Shared\ does make the popup go away :-)

Now the question becomes, what exactly is its purpose? And what will be the effects of not having it? Based on what I've read from others, it appears that it is part of the automatic updates to Microsoft Works. If this is true, and one wants to be notified of updates, then one must take other measures to see that this information is obtained. Other folks suggest wkufind is part of PictureIt or other software.
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7
The only effect from removing it, I can think of, is ... nothing, really. Especially if you don't have PictureIt installed.

If MS Works is used on the computer in question, re-enable the automatic updates and restart. See if the pop-up returns - it shouldn't. If MS Works is not used, just leave the auto-update feature disabled. Updates can always be done manually for MS Works, I'm sure, but, then again, I'm not an MS Works user and never have been.

Glad you got it sorted, rawlins02. There isn't a whole lot of information about WkuFind other than people wanting to get rid of it.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Toshiba L355D
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1
CPU
Core2 Duo
Motherboard
Intel
Memory
4 GB
Graphics Card(s)
GM965 on-board
Sound Card
RealTek on-board
Monitor(s) Displays
19"+17"(laptop)
Screen Resolution
1440x900 (x 2)
Hard Drives
500GB Ext. 200GB Internal
PSU
N/A
Case
N/A
Cooling
N/A
I think you have it sorted. From what I can find out, its only purpose is to allow PictureIt to update.

The wkufind.exe process is used by Microsoft’s PictureIt! application to check for new updates related to it. The process downloads and installs the updates when they become available.
Click to expand...
See this How to Disable Wkufind.exe | EXE-Error-Fixes.com
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Golden Mk. I.4
OS
Windows 10 Pro x64 ; Xubuntu x64
CPU
Intel i7 860 @ 2.80 GHz O/C'ed to 4.0GHz
Motherboard
Gigabyte P55A-UD3R Rev.1. Award BIOS F13
Memory
16GB Corsair Vengance DDR3 @ 661 MHz Dual Channel (9-9-9-24)
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA NVidia GTX 560 1024MB
Sound Card
Realtek Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
Dual Samsung SyncMaster 2494HS
Screen Resolution
1920*1080 and 1920*1080
Hard Drives
1*Samsung 840 EVO 120GB SSD;
1*OCZ Vertex 2 60GB SSD;
2*Samsung F3 SpinPoint 1TB in RAID0;
1*Samsung F1 SpinPoint 1TB;
2*Western Digital 1TB External USB 3.0
1*Western Digital 500GB External USB 3.0
1*Seagate 500GB External USB 2.0
PSU
Thermaltake ToughPower QFan 750W
Case
Thermaltake Element S VK60001W2Z
Cooling
Corsair H60 Water Cooling, 2*230mm and 2*80mm case fans
Keyboard
Logitech G110
Mouse
Logitech MX518
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