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Boot problem

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17 replies

by jennifer.gardner

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Hi, everyone!

I have an old Win98 machine that's showing this error during the boot process:
Cannot find a device file that me be needed to run Windows or a Windows application. The Windows registry or SYSTEM.INI file refers to this device file, but the device file no longer exists. If you deleted this file on purpose, try installing the associated application using its uninstall or setup program. If you still want to use the application associated with this device file, try reinstalling that application to replace the missing file. CNSMINKP.VXD

The problem is, there's no mention of this file in system.ini. And I have no idea what program the user uninstalled. On-line searches for this file name bring up Chinese (?) websites. Does anyone know of a utility I can use to correct this problem?

Thanks!

17 replies

by jennifer.gardner

Nope, there is no mention of it in the system.ini. Not when viewing it through sysedit, not when looking through msconfig.

by jennifer.gardner

Yep, I wasn't able to find any mention of this file anywhere under sysedit. I even ran the "Find" command, just in case I was somehow missing it. :-)

by lizzy

Hi,
You can search the registry for the file mentioned, but i would use the results to find out what it could possibly be associated with.

Check the System Applet for devices that are disabled(red X) or have problems (yellow bang).

Check all cards and connections in the PC to make sure everything is seated properly.

Norton System Works can run the Utilities from the CD and will find stuff that wants to load that isn't installed any longer. I always choose to fix the problem(s) myself, though, so i can see what was actually found and done.

Worst (best) case scenario would be that the user would need to have windows re-installed after backing up all data.
Hope this helps!

by sgt_shultz

well, you can see if msconfig has entry for it and uncheck it. or, look in registry Run, RunOnce locations:
Start/Run/regedit
Hkey local machine/software/microsoft/windows/current version/run
backup registry first!

by wcp

This kind of problem usually happens when uninstallation of application or driver did not go well.

You need Registry editing (Regedit) to resolve the problem.

Note: Editing the registry is risky. Before making any changes, back up the registry so you can restore it if something goes wrong.

Please do the following.

Start | Run and type ?regedit? without the quotes and press Enter key. Registry Editor Window will appear.
Highlight My Computer.
Navigate to Edit | Find
Type ?CNSMINKP.VXD? without the quotes in the Find What box. Make sure the boxes of Keys, Values, and Data are all check marked.
Press Find and Find Next (or F3 key) button thereafter, and delete every single entry.

When finished, close all open Windows and reboot.

by wcp

I did check the file from google.com and got list of links related to all Chinese websites.

Microsoft Knowledge Base does not list the file.

You can safely remove the file.

by w2ktechman

go to start -- run --type REGEDIT
In regedit go to EDIT and FIND
search for the file there, do not remove entries for it though unless you really know what you are doing. But you can find out what device or program is calling it.
Then you can disable the device or uninstall the program.

by dmiles

CAUSE
These files are components of McAfee Safe and Sound, an associated program. The registry refers to these files, however, if the files no longer exist or if the program is damaged, you receive the error message described in the preceding section.
RESOLUTION
To resolve this issue, contact McAfee for support for issues that arise with the McAfee Safe and Sound program.
WORKAROUND
WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

To work around this issue, follow these steps:
Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
Locate the following key in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD\Vshinit

Back up the Vshinit key, and then delete the entire key.
Quit Registry Editor, and then restart your computer.

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