corrupt windows control buttons

I am using Windows ME on an HP Pavillion. Every so often ( about every month) the windows control buttons (min, max, restore and sometimes parts of the scroll bar and other icons and check boxes) become corrupt. They may be displayed as blank or multicolored. (They still work though.) The corruption generally starts slowly, not showing up until I have been using the computer for awhile, and appears intermittent. But once the corruption starts showing up, it becomes more and more frequent.
This has been an onging problem with the computer. HP support likes me to reformat which cures the problem for a while, but it still comes back. (Likewise System Restore).
Is there something I can do to cure it, or at least fix it when it does happen?
Thanks

 

Try this when it happens: restart and press and hold the ctrl key until you see the "startup menu" with the Safe Mode option. Take that and see if the icons are still "corrupt" in Safe Mode and if they remain so when you reboot. If not, then the problem was with a corrupt ShellIconCache. This is a "hidden" file in Windows which can be deleted, but is also recreated when you boot in Safe Mode. There is a tweak to expand its size if this is happening a lot.

It could also be a problem with the Video drivers. A workaround to test would be to lower Hardware acceleration in System Properties > Performance > Graphics. Often "most" is an acceptable setting, but you may want to reinstall or update the drivers if you find this does correct it.


.... and welcome to TSG ...

 

Thanks for the response. First I tried lowering the hardware acceleration in System Properties. That did not work as corruption came back after a while.
Then I booted in safe mode. The controls were not corrupt. (But they never are after any reboot. The corruption comes at varying times after that, with no discernable pattern). Then I rebooted, and after a while the corruption came back.
Do you think I need to expand the size of ShellIconCache and if so, how do I do that?
Thanks again.

 

I can't help you izb,but I had WinME and that happened ALL THE TIME.WinMe was nothing but trouble, I had to format and go back to Win98.
I've heard others say that Me was lousy as well.Good luck!

 

Here is how we can tweak the registry to give you a larger shelliconcache. Download the attached file to your desktop or some other convenient location. Right click on it and rename it to iconca.reg

Note it's the extension we want to change from .txt to .reg. Sometimes to do this it is necesary to resave the file in notepad using the save as type "all files" for the .reg extension to take.

Once it is saved as a reg file you will see the icon change. Double click that and confirm the merge to the registry.

It may also help to see just what you are currently running that may be a source of conflicts or corruption. You can show this by getting the StartupList application from the site below, unzip and run it, then copy/paste the results to a reply

http://www.lurkhere.com/~nicefiles/

 

Well, this is the startup list. It sure seems like alot of stuff to me. (By the way, I have 256K of ram.)
Also did the suggested change to the registry. Icons are still corrupted, but I havent rebooted yet.



StartupList report, 1/12/2003, 12:04:02 PM
StartupList version: 1.50
Started from : C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\TD_0001.DIR\STARTUPLIST.EXE
Detected: Windows ME (Win9x 4.90.3000)
Detected: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP1 (6.00.2800.1106)
* Using default options
==================================================

Running processes:

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\KERNEL32.DLL
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MSGSRV32.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SPOOL32.EXE
c:\jetsuite\jshelper.exe
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MPREXE.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MSTASK.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SSDPSRV.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\NETROPA\ONE-TOUCH MULTIMEDIA KEYBOARD\MMKEYBD.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\COMMON FILES\EPSON\EBAPI\SAGENT2.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\STIMON.EXE
C:\JETSUITE\JETSTAT.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\mmtask.tsk
C:\PROGRAM FILES\NETROPA\ONE-TOUCH MULTIMEDIA KEYBOARD\KEYBDMGR.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\NETROPA\ONSCREEN DISPLAY\OSD.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\NETROPA\ONE-TOUCH MULTIMEDIA KEYBOARD\MMUSBKB2.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE
C:\JETSUITE\JSFMAN.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\TASKMON.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SYSTRAY.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\HPSYSDRV.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\RESTORE\STMGR.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\MOTIVE\MOTMON.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\WMIEXE.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\USBMMKBD.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\ADAPTEC\DIRECTCD\DIRECTCD.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\MCAFEE.COM\AGENT\MCAGENT.EXE
C:\QUICKENW\QAGENT.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\WT\UPDATER\WCMDMGR.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\HIDSERV.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\WILDTANGENT\APPS\GAMECHANNEL.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\ADAPTEC\EASY CD CREATOR 4\CREATECD\CREATECD.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\DDHELP.EXE
C:\QUICKENW\QWDLLS.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MRTMNGR.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\BACKWEB\BACKWEB\PROGRAM\BACKWEB.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\MCAFEE.COM\VSO\MCVSSHLD.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\MCAFEE.COM\VSO\MCVSRTE.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\WUAUCLT.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\OUTLOOK EXPRESS\MSIMN.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\PSTORES.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\TD_0001.DIR\STARTUPLIST.EXE

--------------------------------------------------

Listing of startup folders:

Shell folders Startup:
[C:\WINDOWS\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp]
Quicken Startup.lnk = C:\QUICKENW\QWDLLS.EXE
Adobe Gamma Loader.lnk = C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Calibration\Adobe Gamma Loader.exe
Microsoft Office.lnk = C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\OSA9.EXE
EPSON Status Monitor 3 Environment Check 2.lnk = C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\E_SRCV02.EXE

--------------------------------------------------

Autorun entries from Registry:
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

ScanRegistry = C:\WINDOWS\scanregw.exe /autorun
TaskMonitor = C:\WINDOWS\taskmon.exe
PCHealth = C:\WINDOWS\PCHealth\Support\PCHSchd.exe -s
SystemTray = SysTray.Exe
LoadPowerProfile = Rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,LoadCurrentPwrScheme
DJRegFix = regedit /s c:\hp\djregfix.reg
hpsysdrv = c:\windows\system\hpsysdrv.exe
Delay = C:\WINDOWS\delayrun.exe
MotiveMonitor = C:\Program Files\Motive\motmon.exe
WorksFUD = C:\Program Files\Microsoft Works\wkfud.exe
Microsoft Works Update Detection = C:\Program Files\Microsoft Works\WkDetect.exe
USBMMKBD = usbmmkbd.exe
Hidserv = Hidserv.exe run
Adaptec DirectCD = C:\Program Files\ADAPTEC\DIRECTCD\DIRECTCD.EXE
wcmdmgr = C:\WINDOWS\wt\updater\wcmdmgrl.exe -launch
VirusScan Online = "C:\PROGRA~1\MCAFEE.COM\VSO\mcvsshld.exe"
MCAgentExe = C:\Program Files\McAfee.com\Agent\mcagent.exe
MCUpdateExe = C:\PROGRA~1\MCAFEE.COM\AGENT\MCUPDATE.EXE
QAGENT = C:\QUICKENW\QAGENT.EXE
ZingSpooler = C:\Program Files\Common Files\Zing\ZingSpooler.exe
WT GameChannel = C:\Program Files\WildTangent\Apps\GameChannel.exe
NvCplDaemon = RUNDLL32.EXE NvQTwk,NvCplDaemon initialize
nwiz = nwiz.exe /install
CreateCD = C:\PROGRA~1\ADAPTEC\EASYCD~1\CREATECD\CREATECD.EXE -r

--------------------------------------------------

Autorun entries from Registry:
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices

LoadPowerProfile = Rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,LoadCurrentPwrScheme
SchedulingAgent = mstask.exe
SSDPSRV = C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\ssdpsrv.exe
*StateMgr = C:\WINDOWS\System\Restore\StateMgr.exe
Keyboard Manager = c:\Program Files\Netropa\One-touch Multimedia Keyboard\MMKeybd.exe
SAgent2ExePath = C:\Program Files\Common Files\EPSON\EBAPI\SAgent2.exe
StillImageMonitor = C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\STIMON.EXE

--------------------------------------------------

Enumerating Active Setup stub paths:
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components
(* = disabled by HKCU twin)

[{89820200-ECBD-11cf-8B85-00AA005B4395}] *
StubPath = regsvr32.exe /s /n /i:U shell32.dll

[>PerUser_MSN_Clean] *
StubPath = C:\WINDOWS\msnmgsr1.exe

[PerUser_LinkBar_URLs] *
StubPath = C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\sulfnbk.exe /L

[{44BBA840-CC51-11CF-AAFA-00AA00B6015C}] *
StubPath = rundll32.exe advpack.dll,UserInstStubWrapper {44BBA840-CC51-11CF-AAFA-00AA00B6015C}

[{7790769C-0471-11d2-AF11-00C04FA35D02}] *
StubPath = rundll32.exe advpack.dll,UserInstStubWrapper {7790769C-0471-11d2-AF11-00C04FA35D02}

[{9EF0045A-CDD9-438e-95E6-02B9AFEC8E11}] *
StubPath = C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\updcrl.exe -e -u C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\verisignpub1.crl

[{89820200-ECBD-11cf-8B85-00AA005B4383}] *
StubPath = C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\ie4uinit.exe

--------------------------------------------------

Load/Run keys from C:\WINDOWS\WIN.INI:

load=
run=

--------------------------------------------------

Shell & screensaver key from C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM.INI:

Shell=Explorer.exe
SCRNSAVE.EXE=
drivers=mmsystem.dll power.drv mfpdaemon

--------------------------------------------------

Checking for EXPLORER.EXE instances:

C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.exe: PRESENT!

C:\Explorer.exe: not present
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer\Explorer.exe: not present
C:\WINDOWS\System\Explorer.exe: not present
C:\WINDOWS\System32\Explorer.exe: not present
C:\WINDOWS\Command\Explorer.exe: not present

--------------------------------------------------

C:\WINDOWS\WININIT.BAK listing:
(Created 9/1/2003, 16:40:12)

[Rename]
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MSI.DLL=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\TBM80A5.TMP

--------------------------------------------------

C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT listing:

SET windir=C:\WINDOWS
SET winbootdir=C:\WINDOWS
SET COMSPEC=C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND.COM
SET PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND
SET PROMPT=$p$g
SET TEMP=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP
SET TMP=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP

--------------------------------------------------

C:\WINDOWS\WINSTART.BAT listing:

@C:\WINDOWS\tmpcpyis.bat

--------------------------------------------------

C:\WINDOWS\DOSSTART.BAT listing:

@echo off
REM
REM
mscdex.exe /d:IDECD000 /L:M

--------------------------------------------------

Checking for superhidden extensions:

.lnk: HIDDEN! (arrow overlay: yes)
.pif: HIDDEN! (arrow overlay: yes)
.exe: not hidden
.com: not hidden
.bat: not hidden
.hta: not hidden
.scr: not hidden
.shs: HIDDEN!
.shb: HIDDEN!
.vbs: not hidden
.vbe: not hidden
.wsh: not hidden
.scf: HIDDEN! (arrow overlay: NO!)
.url: HIDDEN! (arrow overlay: yes)
.js: not hidden
.jse: not hidden

--------------------------------------------------

Enumerating Browser Helper Objects:

(no name) - C:\PROGRAM FILES\ADOBE\ACROBAT 5.0\READER\ACTIVEX\ACROIEHELPER.OCX - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3}
(no name) - c:\windows\downloaded program files\googletoolbar_en_1.1.66-deleon.dll - {AA58ED58-01DD-4d91-8333-CF10577473F7}

--------------------------------------------------

Enumerating Task Scheduler jobs:

Tune-up Application Start.job
PCHealth Scheduler for Data Collection.job
McAfee.com Update Check 00122003111806.job

--------------------------------------------------

Enumerating Download Program Files:

[Shockwave Flash Object]
InProcServer32 = C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MACROMED\FLASH\FLASH.OCX
CODEBASE = http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab

[McAfee.com Operating System Class]
InProcServer32 = C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MCINSCTL.DLL
CODEBASE = http://bin.mcafee.com/molbin/shared/mcinsctl/en-us/4,0,0,55/mcinsctl.cab

[{6CB5E471-C305-11D3-99A8-000086395495}]
CODEBASE = http://toolbar.google.com/data/en/deleon/1.1.54-deleon/GoogleNav.cab

[iPIX ActiveX Control]
InProcServer32 = C:\WINDOWS\DOWNLO~1\IPIXX.OCX
CODEBASE = http://www.ipix.com/viewers/ipixx.cab

[WTHoster Class]
InProcServer32 = C:\WINDOWS\WT\WEBDRIVER\WTHOSTCTL.DLL
CODEBASE = http://www.wildtangent.com/install/wdriver/ddc/roadrunner/atomicpop/wtinst.cab

[QCOMCont Class]
InProcServer32 = C:\WINDOWS\DOWNLOADED PROGRAM FILES\QCOMCTL1.DLL
CODEBASE = http://www.quicken.com/qw2001/qcominst.cab

[ZingBatchAXDwnl Class]
InProcServer32 = C:\WINDOWS\DOWNLOADED PROGRAM FILES\BATCHDWNL.DLL
CODEBASE = http://www.imagestation.com/common/classes/batchdwnl.cab?version=4,3,2,20802

[Pixami Image Editor Control]
InProcServer32 = C:\WINDOWS\DOWNLO~1\BPIMAG~1.OCX
CODEBASE = http://www.imagestation.com/common/classes/BPImageEditor.cab

[Update Class]
InProcServer32 = C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\IUCTL.DLL
CODEBASE = http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/CAB/x86/ansi/iuctl.CAB?37601.2744907407

[DemoShield DemoX Class]
InProcServer32 = C:\WINDOWS\DOWNLOADED PROGRAM FILES\DEMOX700.DLL
CODEBASE = http://www.dietpower.com/demo//demox.cab

--------------------------------------------------
End of report, 9,923 bytes
Report generated in 0.330 seconds

Command line options:
/verbose - to add additional info on each section
/complete - to include empty sections and unsuspicious data
/force9x - to include Win9x-only startups even if running on WinNT
/forcent - to include WinNT-only startups even if running on Win9x
/forceall - to include all Win9x and WinNT startups, regardless of platform
/history - to list version history only

 

I don't see anything there that would be an obvious cause. You do have some "wild tangent" entries, generally considered "spyware" and I would install and run Spybot to remove those.

http://tomcoyote.com/SPYBOT/

When you update Spybot, select all except the Language and PGP tools, which generally don't apply.

Spybot also detects "Backweb" which I see in Running Processes, but not in Startups. This is usually vendor installed. I'm not sure where it's coming from, it might actually be a BIOS option.

I would click Spybot's Excludes tab before running it and have it exclude detection for Backweb under the spybots tab.

There are a number of startups which I think you should disable or remove. Neither of the Adaptec ones need to run at startup and both are known to cause conflicts, particularly older versions.

You can run msconfig and remove the checks for those and
others such as ZingSpooler, (long defunct?!) under the Startup tab.

I'm including a page which covers what most of those startups are and gives advice on whether they are really needed.

http://www.lafn.org/webconnect/mentor/startup/PENINDEX.HTM

Any you have unchecked in msconfig, which you wish to remove permanently from msconfig (this does not uninstall them), can be removed by running regedit

and navigating to

Hkey_Local_Machine\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RUN-

the RUN- folder is where UNchecked entries can be; you can right click on them in the Right hand pane to delete them from the registry.

......

If the icons were corrupted when you installed the registry tweak, they will remain so until you reboot; then maybe they will hold up. Somehow the corruption is occuring in memory, not on the hard drive.

 

Thanks for all your help. So far the controls are not corrupt, but it really is too soon to tell. Meanwhile, looks like I have some disk housekeeping to do. I always wondered what all that stuff was at startup and am looking foward to finding out. Again, thanks for all your help.

 

You're most welcome, good luck and keep us posted.