I don't have msconfig.exe in Windows 2000

[Muse]

I have a cruel program that keeps running at startup and putting an associated icon in my tray. I disabled it using Startup Control Panel, but the program and icon reappear. I'm told that msconfig will permanently disable it but I don't have it in my Windows 2000. Seems to me I've heard of a substitute, but haven't found it. Thanks for any help.

 

[Nothinman]

msconfig was never shipped with Win2K. I generally just edit the registry manually.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Nothinman
msconfig was never shipped with Win2K. I generally just edit the registry manually.

Well, I don't know if that will solve my problem here. However, I think it is a good idea if I get into editing the registry. I don't "normally" do that. hehe. Hmm. I multiboot with Win98 and I dropped all 4 of the msconfig.* files into my Windows 2000 \System32 folder and tried to run msconfig from the Run dialog and got this message:

------------------------------------------------------------------
System Configuration Utility
------------------------------------------------------------------
System Configuration Utility cannot read the Config.sys file because an error occurred.

The system-reported error is: The system cannot find the path specified.

You will not be able to view or modify this file until you correct the problem and restart System ConfigurationUtility

OK
------------------------------------------------------------------


I do not know what this means. Is it possible to get Win98's msconfig to work in Windows 2000? I read a post that suggested this is possible.

 

[Nothinman]

It should work otherwise, config.sys is a Win9X/DOS thing and isn't present in NT.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Nothinman
It should work otherwise, config.sys is a Win9X/DOS thing and isn't present in NT.

Oh, OK. Hitting OK, I got similar messages for autoexec.bat, win.ini and system.ini and then the System Configuration Utility appeared. I guess I just go "OK" four times and then it works!?! Thanks!

Edit. I guess I have to be a littel careful with it because it was designed for Win98, a different animal!

 

[Nothinman]

Edit. I guess I have to be a littel careful with it because it was designed for Win98, a different animal!

Not really, all it does is display a few registry keys for you and they're the same in both OSes.

 

[TheBoyBlunder]

Hit google for "msconfig for win2k". You should find a substitute.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: TheBoyBlunder
Hit google for "msconfig for win2k". You should find a substitute.

I already did. I guess I didn't check it out thoroughly enough. I read a thread and went for the Win98 version. I'll look into that further. Thanks.

Edit: I've got a feeling, though, that it's not going to give me more power than Mike Lin's Startup Control Panel. I tried to stop the program from loading at startup using SCP but the program reappeared at a later point. I'm sure that SCP also simply changes registry entries and will likewise not prevent the program from reintroducing itself in a similar fashion. I'm trying msconfig, though...

 

[Muse]

Found a link via Google search to: Glowing Green Stuff where it said:



To install msconfig on a windows 2000 machine create the following directory structure and copy the following two files to the appropriate places



download and place msconfig.chm into
c:\WINDOWS\Help

and msconfig.exe into
c:\WINDOWS\PCHEALTH\HELPCTR\Binaries

Note: If you have Windows 2000 installed on a drive other than C: just substitute the appropriate drive letter


Edit: It works OK and has a lot more stuff going on than the Win98 version. You don't run it from the Run dialog, though. Windows 2000 doesn't know where it is. You run msconfig.exe direct or from a shortcut.

 

[lowtech1]

Disable it in Services.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: lowtech
Disable it in Services.

But it doesn't appear in services. It happens because an EXE is called at startup. I disable it in startup and a clone appears at some future time. At least, that's waht's been happening so far when disabling with Startup Control Panel.

 

[GrumpyMan]

FAQ might help.

 

[Amorphus]

*edit*

works, I have it on my win2k box.

nm, not there anymore.

 

[redbeard1]

Find a friend who has XP, and copy the file from that into your windows\winnt directory. It works fine.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: GrumpyMan
FAQ might help.

Andy Hui in this FAQ recommends and links to Mike Lin's Startup Control Panel, which I too linked earlier in this thread and have used for years. However, as I noted, this program is a hydra and I cut off the head and another grows back, at least using SCP, as stated. The program is the Winfast shortcut icon in the taskbar for my Winfast TV2000XP Deluxe card. Thanks for the link to the FAQ anyway, since it does tell me things I didn't know.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: redbeard1
Find a friend who has XP, and copy the file from that into your windows\winnt directory. It works fine.

I believe that the XP version is the same one I downloaded yesterday (Glowing Green Stuff ), since it tells me to create the same directory structure that XP's version uses and then stick the file and it's associated help file in the newly created directories.