System32 Folder Opens When Logging into Windows NT

ID: Q170086

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0
Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0
Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

When you log in to Windows NT 4.0, a Windows NT Explorer window may open displaying the contents of the System32 folder.

CAUSE

This behavior can occur if a null, incomplete, or damaged entry exists in the registry.

RESOLUTION

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

Use Registry Editor to view the following two Windows NT registry keys:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

Verify that all the values in these keys do not contain any incorrect, incomplete, or null entries (such as "").

MORE INFORMATION

An incorrect entry in the following registry value has been confirmed to cause the behavior described above:

Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
Value: ActiveMovie File Extensions
Value Type: REG_SZ
Value Data: ActMovie.exe /Check

If the value data for this entry is null or appears in Registry Editor as quotation marks, you may experience the problem described above. To correct the problem, change the value data to match the entry above or delete the ActiveMovie File Extensions value.

The Reminder value with "" next to it in the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Run registry key is also known to cause this behavior. Deleting the Remainder value resolves the behavior.

If you are uncertain whether an entry is incorrect or incomplete, you may want to delete all entries other than the default Windows NT entry. The following entry to run the System Tray is the only required Windows NT default entry:

Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
Value: SystemTray
Value Type: REG_SZ
Value Data: SysTray.exe

For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q177510 System32 Folder Opens When Windows Starts

Additional query words: service pack sp3 blank login start startup automatic automatically logon

Keywords : kbenv kbui ntregistry NTSrvWkst ntui
Version : WINDOWS:2000; winnt:4.0
Platform : WINDOWS winnt
Issue type : kbprb