Windows Media Player starts automatically

[Benjamin Marsh]

I have no idea how it started, but somehow Windows Media Player started opening automatically as I startup my PC (Win Me).  I tried the following, but without any success:

- Removing the check in the System Configuration Utility (msconfig).  This works, but always starts my PC in safe mode.  No way of changing this back to normal mode without checking Media Player again.
- No mention of Media Player in win.ini or the Windows Registry.
- I even tried deleting the program (add or remove Windows components in the Control Panel).  This didn't work either.  The program turned out to be undeletable: it simply came back.  In the end I tried deleting it manually, in the Windows Explorer.  This did work, but six files (of which none was a .exe file) kept coming back.

In short: I cannot stop Windows Media Player from starting automatically, and the program turns out to be undeletable.  Why?

[merlin]

If WMP is launching at the start-up of your system, this is likely because of a trojan download shredder form merlin.org or spysweeper from webroot..disable system restore before you use these ok...

[Benjamin Marsh]

Thanks, that did the trick!  Meanwhile I had already re-installed Windows, but that didn't work.  Downloading Spy Sweeper and running it solved my problem, so thanks a lot for the tip.