# RunDLL error on startup - how to fix? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 8, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rundll-error-on-startup-how-to-fix/545967 "2010-07-08T15:41:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rundll-error-on-startup-how-to-fix/545967/1 "2010-07-08T15:41:03Z")
A few days ago my netbook got infected with one of those fake security alert trojans. I was able to clear it out using rkill and Malwarebytes, and everything seems to be working fine now except for one little thing. Every time the computer boots I get a RUNDLL error window that says “error loading c:\WINDOWS\msgt40.dll - the specified module could not be found”. I click the OK button, it goes away, and the computer runs perfectly fine after that. An online search fails to provide any info on “msgt40.dll” - the file seems to be completely unknown to the rest of the universe. The computer is an Asus Eee 904HA running Windows XP Home Edition, Version 2002 with Service Pack 3. I’m not sure if I should try doing a restore, and I’d really like to avoid doing a reinstall if there’s an easier way to fix this. Any and all suggestions appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rundll-error-on-startup-how-to-fix/545967/2 "2010-07-08T15:51:20Z")
Go to Start - Run and type msconfig. When that opens, go to the Startup tab. See if there’s anything in there about msgt40.dll and if there is, uncheck it. Reboot. See if the error still comes up. You might also want to run [CCleaner](http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner) to clean up a bit more. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rundll-error-on-startup-how-to-fix/545967/3 "2010-07-08T16:42:28Z")
There was a msgt40 line in the Startup section. I unchecked it, and when I restarted I got a System Configuration Utility window that said: > [@](#): > > You have used the System Configuration Utility to make changes to the way Windows starts. > > The System Configuration Utility is currently in Diagnostic or Selective Startup mode, causing this message to be displayed and the utility to run every time Windows starts. > > Choose the Normal Startup mode on the General tab to start Windows normally and undo the changes you made using the System Utility. There was also a box to check if I didn’t want it to show this message or launch the System Configuration Utility when Windows starts. I left the box unchecked and hit OK.The same box I had gotten when I ran msconfig came up; I just clicked OK, and got told that I needed to restart the computer to put the changes into effect. Should I have checked the box? I may run install and run CCleaner on the netbook later anyway. I have it on my laptop and I seem to remember that it helped with a few similar issues in the past. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rundll-error-on-startup-how-to-fix/545967/4 "2010-07-08T18:15:41Z")
Check the box. That message is informational only. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rundll-error-on-startup-how-to-fix/545967/5 "2010-07-08T21:47:55Z")
I’m interested to find what program that DLL belongs to. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rundll-error-on-startup-how-to-fix/545967/6 "2010-07-08T22:06:32Z")
So would I, **Markxxx** , since my Google searches for “msgt40.dll” produced only one irrelevant link and a Google suggestion that I might really want “msjet40.dll”. **Fear itself** , I thought that it might be, but didn’t want to take the chance of screwing up something else. Don’t know if it’s relevant but a little while ago, for no apparent reason, I got a pop-up window reporting that “Generic Host Process for Win32 Services has encountered a problem and needs to close” along with the usual request about whether or not I want to report this to Microsoft (I declined). The only program I was running at the time was FireFox, which continued to run normally.