Question

windows cannot find msconfig

Asked by: armydog

hi
when i type start,run then msconfig i'm given a pop-up that says windows canot find msconfig.
my os is windows xp.
would appreciate any help
armydog

This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.

Subscribe now for full access to Experts Exchange and get

Instant Access to this Solution

  • Plus...
  • 30 Day FREE access, no risk, no obligation
  • Collaborate with the world's top tech experts
  • Unlimited access to our exclusive solution database
  • Never be left without tech help again

Subscribe Now

Asked On
2007-11-18 at 04:02:27ID22968474
Tags

find

,

msconfig

,

cannot

,

windows

Topic

Windows XP Operating System

Participating Experts
3
Points
125
Comments
13

Trusted by hundreds of thousands everyday for fast, accurate and reliable tech support.

  • "The time we save is the biggest benefit of Experts Exchange to Warner Bros. What could take multiple guys 2 hours or more each to find is accessed in around 15 minutes on Experts Exchange." Mike Kapnisakis, Warner Bros.
  • "Our team likes having a resource that is more secure than just using Google and most experts using this service really know their stuff. It's nice to look here first versus using Google." Dayna Sellner, Lockheed Martin
  • "Anytime that I've been stumped with a problem, 9 out of 10 times Experts Exchange has either the accepted solution or an open discussion of the potential solution to the problem." Kenny Red, eBay Inc.

See what Experts Exchange can do for you.

Got a question?

We've got the answer.

Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Need individual assistance?

Our experts are ready to help.

If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Want to learn from the best?

Read articles from industry experts.

Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.

Screenshot of an Article

Working on a long term project?

Store your work and research.

Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Access the answers to your technology questions today.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

What Makes Experts Exchange Unique?

Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.

Trusted by the world's most respected brands.

image of each brand's logo

Faithfully serving IT professionals since 1996.

Experts Exchange Logo

Try it out and discover for yourself.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

Related Solutions

  1. ..................MSCONFIG.....…
    Hi all 1). I was given an old laptop with win 95 on, no OS CD or driver's just the LT with 95 pre-installed. When it starts up I can see many programes on the task bar so I went to start/run and typed MSCONFIG, and an error poped up saying a conponent of this command...
  2. msconfig will not open
    I can not open msconfig. I can not open system file checker. I booted up on the XP disk and did a repair. Then I started getting several messages and the computer got real quirky. I was not having any problems that I noticed. I wanted to look at msconfig and do something. Be...
  3. msconfig
    Sir/Madam I am running windows 2000 server I want to remove the taskbar icons like through the start,run,msconfig;Which command is used for win 2000. please help me
  4. msconfig will not open
    Ok, msconfig will run for a second, but never opens a window. taskmgr and sfc work though. I have XP Home. I have tried: - norton antivirus. Shows up to date, runs ok, and will detect a test file I got from grc.com - panda activescan - spy sweeper - spybot 1.3 - boot...
  5. msconfig problem
    I'm trying to get a msconfig diagnostic startup so I can run some spyware programs to clean my system. I set msconfig to diagnostic startup and reboot. I ensure that Load Startup Items is not checked. When I reboot, msconfig Startup items is checked and startup items run. B...

Free Tech Articles

  1. WARNING: 5 Reasons why you should NEVER fix a computer for free.
    It is in our nature to love the puzzle. We are obsessed. The lot of us. We love puzzles. We love the challenge. We thrive on finding the answer. We hate disarray. It bothers us deep in our soul. W...
  2. SCCM OSD Basic troubleshooting
    SCCM 2007 OSD is a fantastic way to deploy operating systems, however, like most things SCCM issues can sometimes be difficult to resolve due to the sheer volume of logs to sift through and the dispe...
  3. Migrate Small Business Server 2003 to Exchange 2010 and Windows 2008 R2
    This guide is intended to provide step by step instructions on how to migrate from Small Business Server 2003 to Windows 2008 R2 with Exchange 2010. For this migration to work you will need the fo...
  4. Create a Win7 Gadget
    This article shows you how to create a simple "Gadget" -- a sort of mini-application supported by Windows 7 and Vista. Gadgets can be dropped anywhere on the desktop to provide instant information, ...
  5. Outlook continually prompting for username and password
    There have been a lot of questions recently regarding Outlook prompting for a username and password whilst using Exchange 2007. There are a few reasons why this would happen and I will try to cover t...
  6. Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windows Backup
    There seems to be quite a lot of confusion around the ability to backup Exchange 2010 using the built in Windows Backup feature. This stems from the omission of this feature prior to Exchange 2007 s...

Cloud Class Webinars

  1. Avoiding Bugs in Microsoft Access
    Alison Balter takes and in-depth look at avoiding bugs in Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the immediate window to debug your applications, invoking the debugger, using breakpoints to troubleshoot, stepping through code, setting the next statement to execute, ...
  2. Top 10 Best New Features in Visio 2010
    Scott Helmers gives live demonstrations of the top 10 new features in Visio 2010. This webinar will teach you how to create compelling diagrams by adding shapes to the page with a single click, linking the shapes in a diagram to data in Excel (or SQL Server, or SharePoint), ...
  3. IT Consultant Business Secrets Revealed
    Michael Munger, Experts Exchange tech pro and IT consultant, pulls back the curtain on his very successful businesses and answers question on every IT consultant and business owner should know about. He shares secrets on what he did to solve the 5 most common problems in IT, ...
  4. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
    Quest CTO, Mike Billon, gives an overview of the steps involved in building a dunamic disaster recovery plan. Through case studies and an examination of software/hardware tooles for monitoring and testing, you'll gain a better understandin of where you are, where you want ...
  5. Organize Your Visio Diagrams with Containers and Lists
    Scott Helmers uses cross functional flowcharts, wireframe diagrams, data graphic legends and seating charts to teach you: how to ustilize all three new structured diagram components in Visio 2010, the best practices for organizeing shapes in previous version of Visio, how to organize ...
  6. How to Us Objects, Properties, Events and Methods in Microsoft Access
    Alison Dalter gives an in-depbth look at objects, properties, events and methods in Microsoft Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the object browser, referring to objects, working with properties and methods, working with object variables, understanding the ...

Join the Community

Give a Little. Get a Lot.

Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.

Join the Community

Answers

 

by: rulirahmadiPosted on 2007-11-18 at 04:24:47ID: 20307387

msconfig.exe is in C:\WINDOWS\pchealth\helpctr\binaries directory. Check if the file is still in there.
Scan your Windows for virus.
Run SFC: Start > Run > SFC /scannow

 

by: willcompPosted on 2007-11-18 at 06:44:40ID: 20307622

msconfig is located in the \%systemroot%\system32\ folder -- usually C:\Windows\System32\.

See if you can run regedit and open Control Panel. If not, I suspect a malware problem. Download and run this removal tool.
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=134965

 

by: armydogPosted on 2007-11-18 at 07:40:15ID: 20307791

rulirahmadi
ran sfc it verified that i had essential system files after i inserted the xp cd.
but still can't get to msconfig through start,run
all the files are located in.....C:\WINDOWS\pchealth\helpctr\binaries
and i can activate the config. utility from there , but still not from start ,run
armydog

 

by: armydogPosted on 2007-11-18 at 07:44:36ID: 20307805

willcomp
i could get to control panel and regedit
but still downloaded the malaware program you suggested
it located and quarantined two viruses then rebooted
but as i explained to rulirahmadi, can still not get to msconfig through start,run.
armydog

 

by: orangutangPosted on 2007-11-18 at 10:23:04ID: 20308449

 

by: rulirahmadiPosted on 2007-11-18 at 20:40:56ID: 20310301

Repair your Windows installation. Boot your computer with XP CD installation, then choose repair.

 

by: willcompPosted on 2007-11-18 at 21:41:28ID: 20310453

Do a search for msconfig and see if the file is actually present in C:\Windows\System32. May just simply be a missing or corrupt file.

 

by: armydogPosted on 2007-11-20 at 15:51:48ID: 20324490

rulirahmadi
ran compfix....submitted the txt.file to hijack this...said there wasn't any potentially dangerous programs installed.
armydog

 

by: armydogPosted on 2007-11-20 at 15:57:22ID: 20324515

willcomp
downloaded and ran superantispyware(good program)it actually found a few trojans and quarantined them. after reboot still can't start,run msconfig.......but the file is located in my pchealth folder...i currently have a shortcut to msconfig on my desktop...doesn't solve the problem but enables me to get to the startup menu.
armydog

 

by: armydogPosted on 2007-11-20 at 15:58:55ID: 20324525

orangutang
thanks for the tip on superantispyware.
armydog

 

by: rulirahmadiPosted on 2007-12-09 at 19:25:45ID: 20439354

How about try the system restore point?

 

by: armydogPosted on 2008-04-09 at 17:50:55ID: 21320597

sorry so late in responding
armydog

 

by: orangutangPosted on 2008-04-09 at 17:54:27ID: 21320620

Thank you! SUPERAntiSpyware worked? What virus did it say you had?

20120131-EE-VQP-002

3 Ways to Join

30-Day Free Trial

The Experts

98% positive feedback on 31,087 answers since March 2000. angeliii is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with MS SQL Server & Develoment.

He has also proven his knowledge of Visual Basic Programming, PHP Scripting and Oracle Databases.

The Experts

97% positive feedback on 10,752 answers since July 2000. lrmoore has more than 18 years experience in the networking industry.

The six-time Mircosoft MVPs specialties include firewalls, virtual private networking, and network management.

Testimonials

"...and excellent source for support... Kind of like having your very own IT dept." Electriciansnet

Testimonials

"I was apprehensive at signing up at first. However... it has already made my life as an IT administrator much easier." JaCrews

Testimonials

"WOW! You guys have great, active, and knowledgeable people on here." moore50

Business Clients

Business Clients

In the Press

"If you’ve got a question... Experts Exchange can supply an answer.”

In the Press

"...an invaluable aid for both IT professionals and those who require tech support."

In the Press

"where IT professionals provide quick answers on just about any topic"

Business Account Plans

Loading Advertisement...