Hey guys -- new system and new operating system, Windows Millenium, and I was wondering if someone out there running the OS, or otherwise knowledgeable, could answer my questions.
I'm noticing (by checking out task manager) a couple of executables boot up, and I'm unsure of their purpose, but both come from the Windows system folder:

- ctfmon.exe
- mdm.exe

Wondering if anyone knows what they do, and whether or not they're useful files and if not, how to get rid of them? Check to see if your Millenium system is loading them, for instance. I've repeatedly gone into msconfig to prevent them from loading at start-up, but Ctfmon keeps putting itself back into the start-up, and when I check task manager after I've been running for a while, mgm usually has kicked on -- almost virus like persistency (I actually ran a virus scan as a result). What the hell are these files, and are they slowing down my system needlessly? Could they be files installed by Dell (I've never had a Dell system before). Annoying.

Stefan

Dell is notorious for putting all kinds of useless crap onto machines. One of my friends got a new Dell system recently, and the first thing we did is scrap a bunch of the stuff they put on there. Eventually, it got so bad that we just re-formatted his hard drive and reinstalled WinME.

As to how to get rid of them, if you've tried running sysedit and taking them out of the start menu, and they keep coming back...I'm clueless.

Do a google search on the .exe names.

Also, be SURE to disable WinME's system restore in the depths of system, properties. System restore is a bit of a resource hog, as it tracks all file changes to your system for 'rollback' purposes.

They're both a part of Office XP or Office 2000 apparently and they might be causing a lot of slowdown on your system.

http://www.onmagazine.com/on-mag/reviews/article/0,9985,43618-1955,00.html

That was hit number three on a Google Search.

--Dave

I got a new Dell back in March. It came with a USB mouse. About a week into having the machine I had to reinstall Windows ME. The USB mouse driver was not included on any of the disks or CDs that came with the machine. Tech support knew of the setup, but didn't hav the drivers. They told me to call customer support. I spent over 11 hours on the phone with them, either on hold, troubleshooting the issue, or listening to one section tell me to talk to the other section before I finally gave up and just used a serial mouse. I've had a horrid experience with them, and don't recommend them.

What brand of USB mouse? Microsoft? MS and logitech both have ME compatible drivers for that.

Hard to believe a USB mouse is a problem in this day and age.

Those two look familiar, Stefan. I'm surprised to hear they are from office. I remember fighting with them on the new gaming box I built. I was having more than a few problems and ended up rolling back to Win98 from Me (not that the problems were related to these files... VIA chipsets are a bear to get running stable).

I say I'm surpised because I'm 99% positive I never put office on this machine (that's why I built it, so I could clutter up my other box with work stuff). It stands out because, like you, I had thought I had got rid of it, only to find it on the ctrl-alt-del list not long after.

>I say I'm surpised because I'm 99% positive I never put office on this machine (that's why I built it, so I could clutter up my other box with work stuff). It stands out because, like you, I had thought I had got rid of it, only to find it on the ctrl-alt-del list not long after

Thanks for the tips and directions, guys. After my latest digging, I can also answer the question above. Really obnoxious Microsoft stuff - taking up 6-10% of system resources, solely for the purposes of providing 'alternate accessibility input' options - rudimentary voice recognition, etc. Stuff most people will never use, yet it's imposed upon you, at the cost of slowing down your system. Bad enough that if I couldn't resolve it, I would have gone back to Office 97 immediately.

Here's what I tried:
- unchecking them in msconfig start-up:
Response: they automatically come back.

- renaming them as .ex files instead of .exe, so they wouldn't run.
Response: works for a while, then Windows "fixes" them.

- completely removing the accessibility options from Microsoft Office
Response: works, but won't rid you of the "infestation" unless you take other measures as described above.

- the one step I didn't take was the strip all references to them from the registry, because I was concerned about accidentally disabling some other functionality. Fortunately, that doesn't appear to have been necessary in any event.

I can't get over the fact that the program will keep reinstalling them, even if you delete them, rename them, choose to not have that option available, etc. They will also run if you don't have certain options in Internet Explorer turned off - they are also triggered if you don't have debugging disabled in Advanced Properties, I've learned, although perhaps only with other conditions. But you definitely can't get rid of them unless you edit your IE settings as well as take the steps described above. Sheesh.

Kazz: that's a weird problem - there shouldn't be any USB problems with Windows ME, 2000 or Second Edition, and you shouldn't need drivers - it's impossible for them to be missing. Dell computers do, however, require you to only use certain of the USB ports for the mouse and keyboard (the top 2 on most configurations).

Stefan

The mouse is supposed to plug into the keyboard. It's a Logitech one. It worked perfectly until the windows reinstall, then would not work at all. Instead of drivers, Dell sent me a new USB mouse. It doesn't work, either. I've tried on the keyboard, and on the USB ports on the back of the machine, to no avail. At the time, Logitech didn't have a driver for it, but I might check again now.

"mouse is supposed to plug into the keyboard"

Typically these type keyboards require two connections to the computer: 1 ps2 and 1 USB. Perhaps you only have the ps2 plugged in? Although that would not explain why the mouse didn't work when plugged in directly.

How many USB ports does your computer have and where are the ports physically located? I've heard where guys had USB hubs on their keyboard and monitor and only some of the slots would work. I wonder if there's a limit to how many USB devices you can dasiy chain?