MadMark
asked on
Odd blank dialog box immediately after hitting Ctrl+Alt+Del to login
Before one even has a chance to enter user name and password, an blank dialog box pops up. You can get rid of it by pressing OK, but it is annoying, takes a second, and is completely unnecessary.
I'm using Windows 2000 Pro, SP 2. I've been catching up on a bunch of maintenance/upgrades that I've been putting off and been living with the problem for about a week. So I'm afraid any number of things could have caused it, and I'm not sure what could have caused it. One thing I might mention, I did restore a backup of the registry, but I'm not sure if that was before the box started showing up. I know that it was stupid but I would appreciate any advice you could give me.
Sorry,
Mark
I'm using Windows 2000 Pro, SP 2. I've been catching up on a bunch of maintenance/upgrades that I've been putting off and been living with the problem for about a week. So I'm afraid any number of things could have caused it, and I'm not sure what could have caused it. One thing I might mention, I did restore a backup of the registry, but I'm not sure if that was before the box started showing up. I know that it was stupid but I would appreciate any advice you could give me.
Sorry,
Mark
also, as an alternative :
I would run the Start-windows update to make sure that you have the newest updates.
In addition Cleanup the startup stuff. For NT or win2k,
Download the Startup COP a free pcmag utility from
http://www.zdnet.com/downloads/stories/info/0,,77594,.html
Run it and it will show you everything that is listed in all the possible startup
places, and allow you to disable things one at a time until the problem is eliminated.
A lot of probelms are caused by excess old baggage - programs that have not been properly un-installed. Startup Cop will eliminate leftovers and un-wanted programs that you no longer want.
Older Antivirus programs and Norton Utilities have been known to cause problems
try disabling them also !
Update and run 2 good, updated antivirus program- Norton, McAffee etc.
Then run SFC /scannow from a DOS Window.
I hope this helps !
I would run the Start-windows update to make sure that you have the newest updates.
In addition Cleanup the startup stuff. For NT or win2k,
Download the Startup COP a free pcmag utility from
http://www.zdnet.com/downloads/stories/info/0,,77594,.html
Run it and it will show you everything that is listed in all the possible startup
places, and allow you to disable things one at a time until the problem is eliminated.
A lot of probelms are caused by excess old baggage - programs that have not been properly un-installed. Startup Cop will eliminate leftovers and un-wanted programs that you no longer want.
Older Antivirus programs and Norton Utilities have been known to cause problems
try disabling them also !
Update and run 2 good, updated antivirus program- Norton, McAffee etc.
Then run SFC /scannow from a DOS Window.
I hope this helps !
Also run a Virus Checker and firewall program.
http://www.grisift.com - Free antivirus software
http://www.zonelabs.com - Free Firewall software
Both are excellent packages and free!
http://www.grisift.com - Free antivirus software
http://www.zonelabs.com - Free Firewall software
Both are excellent packages and free!
there may be spyware on your system also.
possibly from file sharing programs.
try and check with Ad-Aware:
http://download.com.com/3000-2094-10121984.html?tag=list
possibly from file sharing programs.
try and check with Ad-Aware:
http://download.com.com/3000-2094-10121984.html?tag=list
ASKER
I've tried most of the advice and NOTHING HAS HELPED.
So far I've:
1. manually looked at some common problems in the registry.
2. tried StartupCop, and went back to Startup Conrol Panel, either way it's the same info. Nothing out of the ordinary.
3. constantly run NAV, but did a full system scan just to be sure.
4. installed and run AdWare, which gave me some a suprising number of things to get rid of, but didn't solve this particular problem.
5. looked through the event log.
None of this solved my problem. I appreciate the advice so far, and would be very grateful to anyone with new ideas, thanks.
So far I've:
1. manually looked at some common problems in the registry.
2. tried StartupCop, and went back to Startup Conrol Panel, either way it's the same info. Nothing out of the ordinary.
3. constantly run NAV, but did a full system scan just to be sure.
4. installed and run AdWare, which gave me some a suprising number of things to get rid of, but didn't solve this particular problem.
5. looked through the event log.
None of this solved my problem. I appreciate the advice so far, and would be very grateful to anyone with new ideas, thanks.
and the mentioned sfc /scannow did you try that also?
try to run msconfig and browse through to check for strange programs.
you may want to disable what you don't need to check if the problem is solved.
try to run msconfig and browse through to check for strange programs.
you may want to disable what you don't need to check if the problem is solved.
sorry, msconfig doesn't exist in 2000 unfortunately, please disregard...
He tried the Windows 2000 Version of MSCONFIG which is Startup Cop. A favorite here at EE. If you haven't used it yet, I suggest you try it!
MadMark,
Try probing your ports here to see if there is a Trojanb IRC Bot or something that is resident and hidden..
https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2
MadMark,
Try probing your ports here to see if there is a Trojanb IRC Bot or something that is resident and hidden..
https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2
http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml
but a good alternative to msconfig:
startup control panel
and they say you can use msconfig from xp or 98.
download here:
http://www.thetechguide.com/downloads.html
but a good alternative to msconfig:
startup control panel
and they say you can use msconfig from xp or 98.
download here:
http://www.thetechguide.com/downloads.html
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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That I think will not go away until after you click OK...
quote:
Before one even has a chance to enter user name and password, an blank dialog box pops up. You can get rid of it by pressing OK, but it is annoying, takes a second, and is completely unnecessary.
so it sounds like this can be the problem...
Before one even has a chance to enter user name and password, an blank dialog box pops up. You can get rid of it by pressing OK, but it is annoying, takes a second, and is completely unnecessary.
so it sounds like this can be the problem...
OH! I didn't even see that! There is a good possibility that IS it! Nice catch!
hey, to be honest, I only checked the problem description when you mentioned the OK button :-)
ASKER
Thanks for the Knowledgebase article CyberWizard, it seems like we're in the right area. I appreciate the problem specific advice.
Now here's the problem: the Knowledgebase article explains "How to Enable a Warning Message During Windows Logon Welcome", unfortunately I want to remove it. Since both the dialog box and the registry keys were blank, I just deleted them, problem solved, right? And... nothing! The problem is the same as before. It really seems like this is the right area, but I don't see any other keys that say anything about the legal notice.
I'm not sure what to do now, but I'm so close I can taste it! Sadly, I know next to nothing about editing the registry. Ideas on what to try next would be great, whether or not they follow this line of thinking. Any thoughts on how this might have happened? Maybe that will stir someone’s memory.
BTW, I just wanted to mention two things, if you had read my most recent comment (item #2), you'd notice that I already use Startup Control Panel and tried Startup Cop. Also, I’m using Win2K, not XP. I'm not trying to be a pain or anything; I just want to keep everyone up-to-date on what I've tried and what I haven't.
Thanks again, and good luck to all!
Now here's the problem: the Knowledgebase article explains "How to Enable a Warning Message During Windows Logon Welcome", unfortunately I want to remove it. Since both the dialog box and the registry keys were blank, I just deleted them, problem solved, right? And... nothing! The problem is the same as before. It really seems like this is the right area, but I don't see any other keys that say anything about the legal notice.
I'm not sure what to do now, but I'm so close I can taste it! Sadly, I know next to nothing about editing the registry. Ideas on what to try next would be great, whether or not they follow this line of thinking. Any thoughts on how this might have happened? Maybe that will stir someone’s memory.
BTW, I just wanted to mention two things, if you had read my most recent comment (item #2), you'd notice that I already use Startup Control Panel and tried Startup Cop. Also, I’m using Win2K, not XP. I'm not trying to be a pain or anything; I just want to keep everyone up-to-date on what I've tried and what I haven't.
Thanks again, and good luck to all!
There are 2 things that can cause the warning message to pop up.
A Local Security policy and the Winlogon.
If a local security policy is defined, it takes precedence over the WinLogon.
If you go to Local Security Policies and look under Local Policies\Security Options. The keys are called.
"Message text for users attempting to log on"
"Message title for users attempting to log on"
You can clear out the entry there or you can go to the following registry keys.
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWA RE\Microso ft\Windows \CurrentVe rsion\poli cies\syste m]
"legalnoticecaption"
"legalnoticetext"
A Local Security policy and the Winlogon.
If a local security policy is defined, it takes precedence over the WinLogon.
If you go to Local Security Policies and look under Local Policies\Security Options. The keys are called.
"Message text for users attempting to log on"
"Message title for users attempting to log on"
You can clear out the entry there or you can go to the following registry keys.
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWA
"legalnoticecaption"
"legalnoticetext"
also check key runonce if this shows things that should not be started.
if you see it happens before you login.
check the event viewer, it may list problems occured whilst starting the services.
there may be a faulty service somewhere.
Regards,
CyberWizard