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General discussion

Blank entry in startup tab of MSconfig

Feb 10, 2004 6:43AM PST

I looked at the startup tab in msconfig. There is a checkbox checked with a blank line following it. What would that be about? This entry is in the middle of the pack. All other checkboxes have a line following to tell me what is starting up.
XP home 2.4 GHz 512 MB RAM
Roy S

Discussion is locked

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Re:Blank entry in startup tab of MSconfig
Feb 10, 2004 6:59AM PST

Roy,

The instructions at this link should help:
Tips > MSCONFIG

Blank entry in MSCONFIG

Author's note: The following was extracted from a SpywareInfo forum post that is attributed to Paul Collins, who created and maintains Pacman's Portal. Portions of the post have been omitted.

If you have a blank entry in MSCONFIG it is likely to be as a result of one of two things:

1. A program install/uninstall has not completed properly and therefore not updated the registry "Run" keys. Looking at these registry keys may in some cases reveal an entry with a Name but no Data, others may have neither:
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServicesOnce
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce

Check these keys and see if there's an entry under Name and it may give a clue. As no program isn't being loaded in the Data column then the registry entry can safely be deleted. Author's second note: Back up the registry before making any changes. Also, in XP

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I believe you'll find
Feb 10, 2004 8:46PM PST
Starter is a free startup manager that allows you to view and manage all the programs that are starting automatically whenever Windows boots. It lists all the hidden registry entries, as well as the common Startup Folder items. You can choose to safely disable selected entries, edit them or delete them altogether (if you know what you're doing). Expert users can even add their own entries.
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I have a blank entry also and ran this program
Feb 11, 2004 12:13PM PST

It showed the blank in RunOnceEx, but am not sure if it's safe to delete it or if it ain't broke don't fix it?
I looked at Grif's instruction and the blank didn't show up anywhere. All entries had data in them.

Messing around with anything in my case always leads to disaster because I'm a duh.

OS-ME IE6SP1

MzLee

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Lee, Your 'Find' Can Be Removed...
Feb 12, 2004 4:53AM PST

As long as the program has been uninstalled, and that entry is a straggler, then it can be removed. DON'T delete the "Default" listing in that key. The location of "RunOnceEx" is much the same as the others that I listed.

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnceEx

In addition, because that registry key is not the "norm" for program placement, it explains why it wasn't cleaned up after doing a standard uninstall of the program.

Still, if you don't want to remove it, it shouldn't cause any problems if you let it remain. It's your choice.

Hope this helps.

Grif

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Thanks Grif...Will think on it, BUT how do you remove it should I decide to.....:(.....NT
Feb 12, 2004 11:54AM PST

.

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Lee, Remove The Registry Entry....
Feb 13, 2004 3:47AM PST

...like this:

First, make a backup of the registry like this:

Click on Start-Run. When the box opens type in "Regedit" (without the quotes). Click Ok. When the Registry Editor window opens, Click on Registry in the upper left corner of the window, choose "Export Registry File". When the next window opens, be sure of the location where you are saving it to (I always save it to the desktop), and give the file a name like Backup. Click "Save". You now have a backup registry that can be double clicked and will replace the new one you?re going to make, IF you make any deletions you don't like.


Next, while still in "regedit", drill down to the following path:

HKLocal Machine\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnceEx

Click once on the "RunOnceEx" folder on the left side to display all the internal regisry entries on the right side. Look for an entry that has no name, or a name with a blank value, and when found, RIGHT click on the "Name" are, choose "Delete". (As I mentioned before, DON'T delete the "Default" entry.)

Hope this helps.

Grif

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Remove The Registry Entry
Jul 20, 2008 2:26AM PDT

sanks for help