View Full Version : Odd error
Troy S Goodfellow
11-26-2003, 11:48 AM
As I booted up my Internet Explorer this afternoon, I got a peculiar error message:
"This module was compiled with a trial version of Delphi. The trial period has expired."
I also get this error when I try to open "My Computer". No Trojan Horses, viruses or spyware found.
Any clues?
Troy
What are you running on startup? I bet a third party program you've installed is giving you this error.
SpoofyChop
11-26-2003, 12:22 PM
I'm not sure what to think about this. What's better: spyware that disables itself or not being able to use IE?
:wink:
Troy S Goodfellow
11-26-2003, 12:31 PM
I've shut down almost all the programs on startup and still get the error.
Troy
Murph
11-26-2003, 01:25 PM
Have you googled Delphi?
This is quite strange.
I've shut down almost all the programs on startup and still get the error.
Troy
All of them? What proceses do you have running? Its one of them (written in Delphi, a programming language) which has hooked something.
Murph
11-26-2003, 02:03 PM
Oh, sure. That Delphi! :) (I knew it sounded familiar!)
Troy S Goodfellow
11-26-2003, 02:03 PM
It works in safe mode, more or less. But even when I reduce startup to just the AC cable, *POOF*, a lot of standard Windows programs fail. No control panel, no My Computer, no explorers of any type.
In Safe Mode I searched for "delphi" and found the only obvious Delphi program I had was Spybot. So I removed it. Still no go.
I am now defragging.
Troy
Defragging won't help you.
What do you have running? If you've really cleaned out the startup (not just the startup folder -- the stuff in the registry, and various legacy ini files), check your process list when you have the delphi box up and when its not. Are there any processes that just popup that box?
Erik Andersson
11-26-2003, 02:12 PM
It works in safe mode, more or less. But even when I reduce startup to just the AC cable, *POOF*, a lot of standard Windows programs fail. No control panel, no My Computer, no explorers of any type.
In Safe Mode I searched for "delphi" and found the only obvious Delphi program I had was Spybot. So I removed it. Still no go.
I am now defragging.
Troy
If defragging solves this problem then I will be VERY surprised. The error talks about a module compiled with Delphi, and I suppose that modules might run in the same process space as the program. By this I mean that it is possible that the module won't be listed as a process at all, you will have to uninstall or remove it from the parent program somehow.
Look for a toolbar for IE causing something like this. It doesn't have to be a toolbar, but some sort of add-on to IE or explorer and most of those come in the form of a toolbar. It's probably not from a big company, but some sort of shareware deal.
Troy S Goodfellow
11-26-2003, 04:32 PM
I generally defrag as part of any upkeep and was under no illusions that it would do anything to help. Scandisk, too. Just basic upkeep that I do when problems show up.
I guess I will have to go through the registry piece by piece. The Delphi thing could have been anything, though it would be very odd for me to have intentionally downloaded something programmed with the trial version. It's even more odd that it only disabled a bunch of Windows programs, but not all of them. The trial period on Delphi is only 30 days, so would it be advisable to just remove any drivers a month old?
If it were a browser toolbar (I don't have any, I think) I don't know why that would have stopped me from accessing My Computer or the Control Panel.
Oh well. I guess everyone here is as stumped as Tech Support was...No easy fixes. Fortunately, the computer is partitioned so I can save my documents if the system drive needs a format. Thanks for the help anyway.
Troy
Erik Andersson
11-26-2003, 04:52 PM
If you have drivers compiled with a trial version of Delphi then I would be EXTREMELY surprised... Of course, the drivers might have included other software if you installed it like a program, but I still doubt that any company would release anything compiled with a trial version of anything.
That the control panel as well as my computer doesn't work isn't that strange, because I think they both depend on explorer (at least my computer).
ElRavager
11-26-2003, 05:04 PM
take a look at your process list under task manager when this message pops up. Look for weird shit that shouldn't be there, or that crap shareware that you forgot to uninstall.
:D :D :D
Troy S Goodfellow
11-26-2003, 06:25 PM
Found the problem.
It was a driver named cpr.dll, a "browser helper object" that has been known to embed itself in Explorer and crash other Windows apps.
Once removed from the the registry, everything works fine.
Troy
Erik Andersson
11-27-2003, 12:21 PM
Found the problem.
It was a driver named cpr.dll, a "browser helper object" that has been known to embed itself in Explorer and crash other Windows apps.
Once removed from the the registry, everything works fine.
Troy
What you are describing sounds like a plugin, not a driver. That's probably why you didn't see it in the process list (or did you?).
Yeah what Erik says. The big question is what you installed to get that dll on your system.
Troy S Goodfellow
11-28-2003, 10:49 AM
Right, probably a plugin. It wasn't in the processes list, though there was a curious svhost that was eating a lot of CPU power. No clue on where it came from though. It is supposed to belong to some advertising company to stream ads to my computer, but I've no idea how it ended up on my machine.
Troy
Drop IE.
Get MozillaFirebird.
And all the spyware stops getting downloaded in the background!
And all the spyware stops getting downloaded in the background!
Or log on as a plain user, not an administrator.
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