I recently visited a website and pop-ups came up on my computer. I installed a pop-up blocker then ran Ad-Aware. The next time I started my computer it opened up Common file or window and has continued to do so. I checked the start-up folder and it is empty. I also try to do a selective startup using msconfig but this did not help either. I found a thread on the web that said this was related to missing (") around a registry file associated with Symantec. I opened up the files but have no idea how to proceed. Help! Will this fix it or has anyone else got a better solution?:?:

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A concise troubleshooting guide for that builds on 's suggestion and shows safe, verifiable steps to stop an Explorer window opening at logon.

Start by locating the exact startup entry that launches Explorer. The most reliable tool is Autoruns (run as Administrator) — it lists everything that runs at logon and highlights entries whose image path is a folder or whose command line looks malformed. Download and run it from Autoruns and inspect the Logon tab. Disable suspicious entries first (uncheck) rather than deleting.

If a manual registry check is preferred, export the Run keys before editing:

reg export "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run" C:\RunBackup_HKCU.reg
reg export "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run" C:\RunBackup_HKLM.reg

In the Run values, a data string that contains just a folder path or an unquoted path with spaces can cause Explorer to open. Correct entries by pointing to the actual executable and quoting paths with spaces, for example:

"SomeApp"="\"C:\\Program Files\\SomeVendor\\app.exe\" -minimized"

If the startup item belongs to an antivirus/security client, use that vendor’s removal/repair tool or reinstall the product rather than simply deleting its entry. After changes, reboot to confirm the behavior is gone.

Additional checks: look at Scheduled Tasks for any startup tasks, scan with an up-to-date anti-malware tool (for example, Malwarebytes), and test in Safe Mode or a fresh user profile to isolate whether the problem is system-wide. Always back up registry keys or create a restore point before making edits. Following these steps will identify and fix malformed startup entries that open Explorer at logon.

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The Symantec user interface (the little yellow thing at the bottom right hand corner) its called the Common Client Application(ccapp). It has to be checked in msconfig under the startup tab. Are you getting an error message that it is missing? What is the exact error word by word?

At startup an explorer window opens with the title common at the top. Looks like when you open My Documents only there is nothing in it. I looked at a help site and another person had the same thing and it was related to a problem with symantec. Is that my problem or why does it do this now? It is extremely annoying!

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