Page 2
9. Next, let's make sure you backed up your run key right. Go to wherever you saved the runkeys.reg file. Right click the file (Do not double click!), and click on
Edit. You should see something like this:
If everything looks OK, close the runkeys.reg file and go back to your registry editor. Notice the right side of the registry editor contains several entries. These entries are called
registry values. We'll prepare to edit the values in the run key.
10. Closely examine each of the registry values in the run key.
Take note: The healthy system runs an unusually clean registry....most home systems will have many more values in the run key.
Chances are, a fair number of your problems are starting in this section. We are primarily concerned with the value. This is the name of the file that each key executes when windows starts up.
11. The necessary entries usually have a full path pointing to somewhere in the C:\Program Files directory. Anything pointing to things in a Norton or McAfee? directory is probably antivirus programs. Adaptec CD Creator or similar programs launch here too. Leave these alone. Pay particularly close attention to data entries that point somewhere other than the Program Files directory, or worse yet, don't have a path at all (meaning they just list the name of the file to launch). There are entries that you should ignore almost every time. Some of them are systray.exe, mobsync.exe, and realtray.exe. Next, make a list of all the suspicious looking keys in the run key, recording the full text of the data section of that key.
