Icons will not die!

[Crash999]

I just bought a new Compaq which comes preloaded with a lot of bloated OEM type stuff.

I'm slowly going through and getting rid of those things I don't need. However, there are 4 icons that keep putting themselves back on my desktop and in my start menu every time I reboot. These are ads from Compaq and a local ISP.

How on Earth can I get rid of those things?

Cheers!

 

[debonairOne]

Howzabout a bit more info...? What are the icons and the executables they represent...? Have you looked in the registry or the win.ini file..? Which version of XP? Are the icons in the startup folder? Help me help you.... debonairOne

"I look in the mirror and what do I see..."

 

[gargouille]

Right-clicking on them and choosing properties will lead you to where (should anyway) they are...
If they're executables, they should show themselves in AddRemovePrograms and might be removed there....
There may be some setting in the Compaq stuff...buried deep where you haven't found it...on turning them off.

 

[Crash999]

A bit more info...

I'm not at home now so I can't see exactly what they are but from memory they are:

'Cool Internet Options'
'Loxinfo' (the local ISP)
'Carepaq' (basically an ad to promote an extra-cost additional warranty)
And one more that I can't remember...

They're all Compaq advertisements, basically. This is annoying because it's an ad that keeps putting itself on my desktop. I should at least have the option to remove those icons but running them doesn't give me any.

There's nothing in add/remove programs to get rid of either.

I suppose it could be a program that's running that places the icons on the desktop but I can't figure out what it is. Right now I've got a serious problem as Windows is freezing all the time (in a separate thread) but even when I've removed all programs from 'startup' using msconfig those icons STILL keep coming back!

 

[debonairOne]

The offending application that checks for the icons and replaces them may be in the registry... check the registry key entitled HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run and look for a line that points to a Compaq folder... once you get the name of the executables, this part will be easy.... just delete the line that calls the program... pls remember to backup your registry prior to undertaking this feat...
If I remember correctly, you also have the machine with the fitful woe syndrome... Still looking for the post with the memory tester for you... debonairOne

"I look in the mirror and what do I see..."