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System32 Folder Opens When Logging on to Windows XP, Windows 2000, or Windows NT 4.0

Article ID:170086
Last Review:March 26, 2007
Revision:4.3
This article was previously published under Q170086

SYMPTOMS

When you log on to Microsoft Windows, a Microsoft Windows Explorer window may open that displays the contents of the System32 folder.

This behavior also occurs if there is a String value that contains only a single quote character (") as the Value data in the following Registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

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CAUSE

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

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RESOLUTION

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
322756 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/) How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

Use Registry Editor to view the following two Windows 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 "").

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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.

You can resolve this behavior by deleting the Remainder value that has "" next to it is in the following registry key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Run

If you are uncertain whether an entry is incorrect or incomplete, you may want to delete all entries other than the default Windows entry. The following entry to run the System Tray is the only required Windows 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 following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
177510 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/177510/) System32 folder opens when Windows NT starts

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APPLIES TO
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Edition
Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition
Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Standard Edition
Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 Developer Edition

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Keywords: 
kbenv kbprb kbui KB170086

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