squares in msconfig

Sounds like scumware, virus or trojan, etc.

Update your antivirus software and run a full system scan. Also scan
for spyware.

Not very many legit programs add start references in WIN.INI or
SYSTEM.INI load or run.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows
Value Name: load
Value type: REG_SZ
Value Data: Should contain NOTHING, Nada, blank, zip

Value Name: run
Value type: REG_SZ
Value Data: Should contain NOTHING, Nada, blank, zip

Win.ini and System.ini may contain a run/load section. If either do,
this needs to be removed. If not, the load/run entry gets added back to
the registry. As you have already witnessed by trying to use msconfig
to remove the entries from the registry.

What's in your Win.ini and System.ini files?

Have a look here...

System Configuration Utility
<a rel="nofollow" style='text-decoration: none;' href="http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/Default.asp?url=/resources/documentation/Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/prmb_tol_dxth.asp" target="_blank">http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/Windows/XP/all/reskit...-us/Def</a>

You may want to read all of it, but...

To stop the win.ini and system.ini files from getting processed at boot.

1. In the Run dialog box, type msconfig and then click OK.

2. To disable startup programs, select the General tab, click Selective
Startup and then click to clear the Process WIN.INI File and Process
SYSTEM.INI File check boxes.

3. Click Apply.

4. Click OK.

5. Restart the computer as prompted.

[[If you change any startup setting by using the System Configuration
Utility, Windows XP displays the following message when you log on:

You have used the System Configuration Utility to make temporary changes
to some of your system settings. To return to normal operations, choose
the Normal option on the General tab.

The preceding message and the System Configuration Utility continue to
appear each time you log on until you restore the original startup
settings by clicking Normal Startup under Startup Selection on the
General tab. To permanently change a startup setting, you must move or
delete startup shortcuts, change a Group Policy setting, or uninstall
the application that added the startup application.]]

After your machine restarts see if you still have the load/run entries.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In news:C7A3A833-19BF-4D38-B551-E85FD9607286@microsoft.com,
marquis2222 hunted and pecked:
 > In msconfig I have two programs running but their names are in
 > squares, and are in hkey currentuser/software/ms/windowsnt/current
 > version/windows. one lines says load and the other says run. what
 > programs are they and is it safe to delete from registry as they are
 > not in add/remove programs and when i untick from msconfig they
 > reappear on next boot.