Popup window during start up of Windows XP

Need a little help here. When I start my computer which has Win XP Home, when it starts and everything loads I get a popup of the "common" folder which is located at crogram files\common. I have checked the start up folder for a reference with no avail. Recently I had a virus or something that deleted my sys config file. I was able to get everything back to normal from a system recovery with the exception of this folder popping up when I start my computer. Any ideals where I can go to find the cause of this and make it stop? Thanks

 

2 places to check:

1. Msconfig. Hit windows key + r (or click start --> run), type 'msconfig' (without the quotes) and press enter (or click ok). On the dialog that appears, select the startup tab. Try to find a listing that corresponds to the window that's appearing. If you can't, try unchecking one at a time, restarting your system each time, until you find the culprit.

2. HKLM and HKCU in the registry both contain the \software\miscrosoft\windows\currentversion\run key. All startup entries are there.

If you go the second route, be sure to have a proper registry backup before making any changes.

 

If you don't find the source where Mada_Milty suggests, try taking a look at your running tasks after boot. The poppin' window surely signifies something starting up and running resident, so you should see a process that is unfamiliar. Check the path and/or search for the .exe file and you should be able to track down where it's being started. You probably shouldn't delete the executable without first killing its startup point, though... then your boot will slow down while it tries to start the missing file. If that does happen, just check your event log and it'll tell you what is trying to start.

 

You could also try checking your Event Viewer under System. Most Event ID's have direct links to Microsoft for more info.

 

What I found was with the common folder popping up on my system during log in was go into MSCONFIG, and find the registry point in Startup and found out it was the Language Settings tool for Office 2k3 that was causing it.