Why does my System32 folder open when I log in?

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HELP !!!I was trying to fix this system 32 thing- I followed some instructions on putting my comp in safe mode and now It will not start. I am seeing something weird about it being out of range???

I found another solution to preventing the System32 window from popping up at startup. I saw all the advice to check the registry for bad entries and noticed that in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\CurrentVersion\Run my "(Default)" entry had a value of "C:\WINDOWS\System32\". I set this value to "(value not set)" (without the quotation marks) as I noticed was the case with all other (Default) entries:

right-click on "(Default)", select "Modify" and replace the text in the "Value Data" text box with "(value not set)"

I have not had the problem with the System32 folder popping up since. Hopefully this will help those who couldn't get other solutions to work for them.

This did not solve the prob. Any other solutions?

I tried regedit, msconfig, and removed all startup values. EVERYTHING. The darn thing still opens the system32 folder on startup. I ran several anti-virus programs including windows defender and they find nothing. WHAT IS CAUSING THIS?

I got me a bug the other day if you're not getting popups for spyware removal you may not have the same problem but look for a little nugget called atmclk in your system32 folder. if it's there goggle atmclk to find a number of recommendations on removing this and the trojan that's infected your box. ps it also hijacks your
browser homepage.

Thnaks Keith, a very good tip about the "atmclk.exe" file!!

After trying a number of things to remove this troublesome issue I finally found a solution that worked for me. I used the Autoruns utility (http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/Autoruns.html) to scan the system, under the logon tab there was a registry setting (HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\Run under it there was an Entry 'kernel32.dll' with an image path of 'c:\windows\system32\'. I unticked this and rebooted the system and the problem had disappeared. If this solves the problem then go back into Autoruns Utility and delete it.

Hope it helps it took me ages to find a solution that works. If this works for you, please post a response!

Your system32 folder article combined with the Autoruns program helped me solve that pesky problem that appeared on a Toshiba laptop after removing some nasties with Spybot S&D. No viruses found and Kelly's solution didn't work because the Registry entry referenced by the vb script didn't exist. Using Autoruns, I discovered a Registry entry that prompted Explorer to open the system32 folder. The Registry entry reported by Autoruns showed a kernel32.dll folder with the descriiption:
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\explorer\Run-kernel32.dll with an image path of c:\Windows\system32\
De-selecting this entry stopped the system32 folder from appearing at boot.

Many thanks for the tip.
Peter Follert

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I've been working on that system32 folder problem for 2 days! Your http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/Autoruns.html "trick" worked for me, too. My procedure was exactly like Dstroyr, "Using Autoruns, I discovered a Registry entry that prompted Explorer to open the system32 folder. The Registry entry reported by Autoruns showed a kernel32.dll folder with the descriiption:
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\explorer\Run-kernel32.dll with an image path of c:\Windows\system32\
De-selecting this entry stopped the system32 folder from appearing at boot."
Thank you again!

Thanks Dstroyr, you nailed that one for me. I started with the MS article which of course didn't solve the problem (they rarely do) but came across your post after poking around a bit more. The whole problem started when I picked up the zlob.download bug. Got it cleaned up but it left the System32 folder problem.
Thanks Again!

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