C:\windows\systems32\cmd.exe black screen during startup

Hi all, new at this forum. Fair warning, I am a beginner (or hardly at that) when it comes to computers.

I have a Thinkpad t43 that has treated me well. I always update it when I can with the latest softwares and drivers (through ThinkVantage System Update). Since I am not tech savvy, I just followed the instructions and downloaded all the "critical" and "recommended" softwares/drivers that it tells me to and I just leave it be.

Well I recently did that and now during start up (turning on computer), I get a black screen (dos) that says "c:\windows\system32.cmd.exe ". Everything loads ok, however, 2 dos screens with the name c:\windows\system32\cmd.exe pops up for about a few secods and disappears. This happens every time the computer is turned on.

Is this a virus? Malware? Spyware? I have McAfee Security Suite. I checked for viruses with normal AND Safe Mode and found nothing.

Should I worry? I don't mind those things popping up IF they are suppose to.

Thanks,
NovaGrrl aka Katrina

 

Hi NovaGrrl,

It may well be "normal" ,but if it were me, I would investigate it.
There is no reason to show CMD windows on startup.
Either the command is improperly coded or it maybe something that you don't want to start.
Legitimate commands ,that don't require user input should be (and usually are) coded to hide
this window, either with the "hide" function or "off-screen" function.
Both result in the same thing - no show of the CMD window.

If you want to pursue this, start with a simple one
Start Menu > All Programs > Startup and look what's in there.
You could also use the programs mentioned in this link (Windows Defender or AutoRuns)
How to Manage Startup Programs in Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Startup.htm

A simple utility is StartupCPL http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml

You can also do it via msconfig ,but I'm afraid it may get too complicated
for your liking

Pete E.

 

Hello;
I've been a member awhile, but am rarely on, and new at posting or asking questions. I hope I am not hijacking this thread, but I have the same phenomenon as NovaGrrl and am so interested to see that someone else has this issue, and hoping to learn how to resolve it.

Have wiped the HD and reinstalled XP and all Service Packs and security updates several times, not lately though. I just live with it. The black cmd screen still flashes at every startup, rarely long enough to read it. Sometimes it says C:\windows\systems32\cmd.exe. Other times it says windows can't find system 32, but everything loads fine. Other times, it's just a run screen with a blinking cmd line which flashes for less than a second.

It seems fishy. Have wondered if this is malware but nothing I have can detect it, if it is.

I did as Digger suggested above, and looked in startup menu under "all programs." In "startup" I found "run_startmenu ". Wondering if that is the culprit, but won't dare touch anything, as I don't know enough; only enough to get into trouble.

Has this issue been resolved for NovaGrrl? If so, what was done?

If you'd like me to start my own thread on this topic, I would be glad to do so. (and sorry for the hijack, NovaGrrl and admins, if I did that. Have read the posting rules and FAQs; it's unclear about what to do if you have the same issue as someone else).

Thank you.

 

Thank you, Evan, for helping me learn the ropes of posting. Will do as you suggest, and if still having the problem, will open a new thread. Thanks so much.

 

Hi musiclover57,

Personally I see no harm in posting a very much related question,especially since
NovaGrrl hasn't responded so far.(But that's up to the moderators)

The way to deal with this, is like I suggested , to use StarupCPL or AutoRuns (as
also Evan Omo suggested.
Under the Login tab of AutoRuns you should see the entry for that and the full path. (under Image Path column)
Take a note of that.
What you should see is the command window ( c:\windows\system32\cmd.exe )
and what it executes , like name.bat or name.vbs.
Go to the location of that file ,r-click and open with Notepad.

You will see exactly what is being executed by "cmd ".(and the .bat file)
If you don't know what it means ,post it here.
In fact ,it would be interesting for others, to see what the mysterious command is.

Pete E.

 

Hello DiggerP (Pete E);
I would like to start another thread to continue this conversation; should I start that in this same section or another?

Last night, I went on in safe mode, loaded Autoruns as administrator, went to logon tab, and in 'startup', unchecked the run_startmenu there. the only other thing there now is microsoft office. For the first time in 1 1/2 years, there was NO black screen today when I started up! Woo hoo! Thank you!

But, just for curiosity and after reading your post this morning, I went back to try to find the path (even typed it without \autoruns disabled\ in it) and couldn't; it appears to not be there... But... this leads to a few other questions, hence wanting to start another thread. Because whoever or whatever put that there, it's disabled by Autoruns, but I'm not sure if it's gone or simply hiding elsewhere. And, should I remove it completely with Autoruns? I'd like to wait and see how my computer works for several days, because there have been some glitches this morning in how things shut down. Oh - and I can't re-enable run_startmenu to follow its path. I find that interesting.

Thanks so much for your help.