task manager not starting error "The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000006"

I AM TOTALLY LOST RIGHT NOW and my very small brain is about to Explode. I need to take a bit of a rest and 2 or 3 aspirins and I will be back....

Here is why you have those kinds of folders are and what they mean:

When some programs (including Microsoft programs) installs things, it may create a temporary folder consisting of 20-30 random letters and numbers or random numbers and letters in the root drive of the volume with the most free space.

This explains why sometimes the folders are on your C drive or on some might be on another drive - which one has the most free space?

For example you may see a folder similar to or called:

D:\9470bb12e8a4f3447657236478e41c5

There may be other folders and files under that main temporary folder such as amd64 and i386.

These should normally be removed when the installation is complete, but sometimes they are not - especially if the installation fails.  They are harmless but annoying.  You may think something is wrong when there is not or be afraid the files are really needed.  To avoid confusion you can delete the temporary folders.

If your installation failed or the installation does not delete the randomly named folder when it completes running and you run the installation again, the installation again will make another randomly named folder.  Sometimes you will see several folder like this and they can all be deleted.

You may be able to identify the installation (for curiosity) by looking at some of the folder contents and decide if that installation was okay, just delete the files/folders.  If the installation did not work properly for some reason, running the installation again will just create a new randomly named temporary folder so the old temporary folder is really of no use.

Sometimes the folders are stubborn to delete.  Even if you are an Administrator on the system you may get a "sharing violation", "access denied", "being used" or similar type message when trying to remove the temporary folders.  Installations sometimes use different permissions than a regular user with Administrator group might have.

There are many methods to try to remove the folders and some involve third party programs to install or changing certain Windows settings that may compromise your system security if you don't change them back when you are done.

Booting your system in Safe Mode (pressing the F8 key repeatedly right before XP tries to load) is a good first method to try and remove the folders since it doesn't involve making any changes to your system configuration or downloading any third party programs.

If you are running XP Home, the next section regarding turning off "Simple File Sharing" does not apply to you since in XP Home, Simple File Sharing is always on.  If you are running XP Home, skip the next few paragraphs and resume where it says:

"If none of the above work try a popular third part tool called Unlocker".

If you don't feel like messing around with your Security settings, just skip to the next section that begins with:

"If none of the above work try a popular third part tool called Unlocker".

If Safe Mode does not work you can change the security of the folder when booting in Normal Mode to give your user Full Control over the folders by browsing to it in Explorer, click Tools, Folder Options, View and in the Advanced settings window, uncheck (at the very bottom of the list) Use simple file sharing (Recommended), and click OK.  This turns off the recommended simple file sharing on your computer so you will want to turn it back on when you are finished doing whatever you are doing.

Right click the folder(s) of interest, Properties and click the now visible Security tab.  Alter the Properties however you need to (for example, Select your user name and check the box to allow Full Control), click OK to apply the changes.

With the Use simple file sharing enabled (Recommended) box checked the folder Properties tabs are:

General, Sharing, Customize

With the Use simple file sharing disabled (Recommended) box UNchecked, the folder Properties tabs are:

General, Security, Customize

Now try to manipulate/delete the folder.

It is a good idea to go back into Explorer and put the check back in the box for Use simple file sharing (Recommended) when you have finished doing whatever you are doing.

If none of the above work, try a popular third party tool called Unlocker.  Unlocker will work for any version of XP.

Unlocker can be downloaded from here:

http://www.emptyloop.com/unlocker/

Do not be tempted to download any other software that promises some miracle on your system.  Just download the correct Unlocker for your system (either 32 bit or 64 bit).

Pay attention when installing Unlocker since it wants to add a bunch of options, addons, shortcuts, and other extras you don't need, for example:

UNcheck the box to install the Bablyon Toolbar and click Next

UNcheck the box to Check for Unlocker updates

UNcheck the box to install the Unlocker Assistant

DO check the box to install the Explorer Shell extension (you are going to need that)

Click Install, you do not need to reboot.

The reason you need to add the Explorer Shell Extension is so when you right click on the offending folder, you will have an Unlocker option to choose.    Explorer Shell Extensions help make up the right click menu when you look at a file or folder.

Ricgh click one of the offending folders and choose Unlocker, then choose the Action (that would be delete) and click OK and you should see a Success message and the folder should be gone.

I would just install Unlocker long enough to clean up those leftovers and then, I then generally use Add/Remove Programs to uninstall Unlocker and all parts of it.  You can always install it again some other day if you need to.

Unlocker can be uninstalled when you are finished using it.

Reboot when you are finished to be sure the annoying folders are really gone.

I'm pretty sure it's a false positive. I couldn't find anything about it with Avira but I do have an mrt.exe in a folder in C: that has many random letters and numbers like that. As long as it does not have a startup entry it's fine.

If you like you can post an autoruns log of your Dell2 and I will be happy to analyze it for you.

-Alex

mrt.exe is Microsoft's Malicious Removal Tool. It may be a false positive and perhaps mrt.exe downloaded by windows automatic updates. I'll check online if Avira Antivirus ever makes false positives for this.

Remember when I told you about the autorun.inf file on usb thumb drives and you didnt understand what I mean?

A virus can insert malicious content on a usb thumb drive and allow it to spread to any computer you insert it to using that autorun.inf file.

If you enable showing hidden files and system protected files, you will be able to see the autorun.inf file on your usb drive. Check to see if there is one now. If there is please open it and copy and paste the contents to this forum.

To not allow virus spreading via usb drives on hp; follow these steps:

Click start

Click "run"

type in "services.msc"

Disable "Shell Hardware Detection" and click "stop" if it is running just as you did on dell2.

-Alex