Re: blindman.exe file
What you apparently did was install Spybot, then used it to disable some startup
items, then uninstalled Spybot without first re-enabling the startup items.
...from "What is blindman.exe for?"
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/faq/25.html
<quote>
Some of you may have noticed a new file blindman.exe inside the Spybot-S&D folder,
and have asked yourself what it is for. In short words: it does nothing.
I guess an explanation is needed why a file that does exactly nothing comes with
Spybot-S&D. Spybot-S&D offers a tool to control the System startup in its Tools
section. This includes the ability to disable or enable startup entries from the
Autostart group (found in your Start menu under Programs). This group contains links
to the actual files. Windows stores those links as files with the extension .lnk.
When Windows encounters a *.lnk file in that folder upon startup, it will start the
linked application. Now the easiest way to disable those entries is to change the
extension. The System startup tool of Spybot-S&D does simply change the extension
..lnk to .disabled. This easily prevents the linked application from being started.
But as Windows does not know this extension, this could slow the startup down. So
Spybot-S&D does link that extension to blindman.exe. Windows now tries to run the
..disabled file with blindman.exe - and as blindman.exe does exactly nothing, there
is no slow-down in booting.
</quote>
If you have disabled startup items with SpyBot, it changed their *.lnk extension to
a *.disabled extension. When Windows starts and it can't handle the *.disabled
startup items because blindman is no longer installed.
You can reinstall SpyBot, then re-enable the startup items you disabled.
Alternately, you could edit all the files from the startup axis that have the
..disabled extension, to a .lnk extension . You can do this by searching the hard
drive for *.disabled, and renaming them to change the file extension.
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP Shell/User, A+
"vince" <vince@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:1EABA576-425D-4281-9803-B90635EB392A@microsoft.com...
> downloaded a spybot system to get rid of spyware. after running i removed the
> spybot and now everytime i start up a box comes up[ saying Program cannot be
> found windows cnnot find blindman.exe. file. This program is needed for
> opening files of type "disabled startup file"
> can anyone help an old guy...Thank you vince
>