"open with" dialog at windows startup

[terrytech]

Greetings.
I am having an odd problem with Windows 7 Home Premium. When Windows starts, an "open with" dialog pops up asking me what program I want to open "computer" with. I have not been able to resolve this issue. Computer works properly once Windows has loaded. I ran msconfig and there are no unusual startup services, last virus scan came back clean (ESET Nod32). I did just remove a trial of Novabackup. I also disconnected a network drive I do not use anymore. But I was having the issue before I made these changes.
Thank you for your time.

 

[FliGi7]

Can you post a screenshot of the following registry locations:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce

 

[terrytech]

As requested:

 

[FliGi7]

What's the rest of the line for the ASUS web storage?

 

[terrytech]

C:\Program Files (x86)\ASUS\ASUS WebStorage\SERVICE\AsusWSService.exe

That utility was running long before the problem started.

 

[Orbital Shark]

Hi, welcome to the forums

Sounds like your .exe associations may be messed up.

You might want to look Here

Also, is there anything in your 'Startup' folder? Have a look in c:\users\[you]\appdata\roaming\microsoft\windows\start menu\programs\startup or click Start -> All Programs -> Startup

   Note

You will need hidden files/folders/drives enabled

OS

 

[terrytech]

The only thing in startup is desktop.ini
Repairing the .exe file associations did not solve the problem. I did find a thread on the Microsoft forum describing a similar issue. A Microsoft certified technician stated that the problem could be solved by starting in safe mode then rebooting. Needless to say that did not work either. Thanks again for the help. More suggestions are welcome. If I figure it out, I will post the fix.

 

[FliGi7]

Can we get a screenshot of this error?

 

[terrytech]

Screenshot of the error:

 

[Dzomlija]

1. Open Regedit
2. Navigate to "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon"
3. What is the "shell" value? It should be "explorer.exe" (without the quotes) as shown below:

​

DO NOT CHANGE ANY REGISTRY VALUES AT ALL OTHER THAN THOSE WE MENTION HERE. Making inappropriate changes to the "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" settings in the registry could result in an unbootable system that won't even allow you into safe mode....

 

[Orbital Shark]

In addition, have a look in MSCONFIG (just type into Start box) and see if there's a rogue entry under the 'Startup' tab.


OS

 

[Bill2]

1) Startup items are controlled from a variety of registry keys, folders and scripts so the culprit could be hidden in any of these in your case. See this page for an exhaustive list.

Understand and Control Startup Apps with the System Configuration Utility

Check each of those locations on your computer to narrow down where that message could be coming from.

2) If you havent already, scan with free Malwarebytes. Also, download and run CCleaner, both regular and registry.

 

[terrytech]

The shell value is "explorer.exe"
As I stated before a virus scan back clean. I've have had a lot of success with NOD32 but I'll try Malwarebytes. I have already ran ccleaner. I also used MSCONFIG to check startup programs, nothing seems out of place. I could run a system restore but I'm more interested in finding and fixing the problem. Bill2: Thanks for the link I'll check it out.

 

[Dzomlija]

The shell value is "explorer.exe"
As I stated before a virus scan back clean. I've have had a lot of success with NOD32 but I'll try Malwarebytes. I have already ran ccleaner. I also used MSCONFIG to check startup programs, nothing seems out of place. I could run a system restore but I'm more interested in finding and fixing the problem. Bill2: Thanks for the link I'll check it out.

Another program you might want to look at is Autoruns for Windows v10.05 by Microsoft SysInternals. It processes much more than MSConfig dares, and should thusly be used with caution, as making inappropriate changes is almost as bad as editing the registry wrong!

​