The "popups" appear to be just WinME error messages that indicate that files that were "wanted" by the program failed to load.

MOST such messages result when the Registry calls for the file, although it's not necessarily an indication that the Registry needs fixing, if another cause can be found.

With the Lotus Suite message, assuming Guest (10 Nov 04 - 05:03 AM) found good info, you may need to reinstall the Lotus software to get rid of that message. Some programs do place icons in Start, Startup, and other odd places, and moving an icon can "break" the program. This is not "Windows Compliant" behaviour, but a surprising number of Windows applications are NOT certifiable and still run quite well.

Assuming you have the installation disk(s) for the program, it's usually best to uninstall the "old" before reinstalling the new. There are exceptions to this though, as when your installation disks are an "upgrade version." An upgrade may fail to install if the prior (or earlier installation of the current) version is not present. If there is a concern about it, usually running an install without prior uninstall of the same program/version will not hurt anything. Just watch for any "objections" from the install process. (Some install programs will refuse to run if the "current version" is already present.)

If you choose to remove any program from any recent Windows versions (including WinME) you should ALWAYS look FIRST in Control Panel to see if the program is registered there. If the program is listed in Control Panel Add/Remove Programs you should ALWAYS select the program there and let Control Panel try to uninstall it. The ONLY EXCEPTIONS here are when specific instructions for removal of malware tell you SPECIFICALLY to use another method. The reason for doing this is that Control Panel tries to keep track of shared utilities like print drivers, etc., and is much less likely to remove something that another program uses. Note that especially in WinMe, even Control Panel isn't perfect.

If the original installation of the program didn't use a compliant "Windows Installer," a program may not be listed in Control Panel. In this case, you should look to see if you can find an "Uninstall" script/program in one of the folders associated with the program. While most such programs will be called "Uninstall.exe" a few vendors use "cutesy" names that may not be immediately recognizable. (One well known maker, in particular, calls all their uninstall scripts "Not Recommended.exe.") Sometimes you can right click on the file, select Properties, and find what it's for, but since these files are often "built" during the original installation the "Properties" may be mostly blank.

For the other popups given, it's not possible to tell specific causes from information given, and often not possible without direct examination of a machine. Fairly common causes of such error messages include:

1. Insufficient memory for the number of programs opened.
2. Target files have been moved.
3. Target files have been deleted.
4. Target files have been corrupted and don't run when called.
5. Registry entry corrupted (misspells the filename?).

1. Since you've indicated that some of the popups appear during boot, it's unlikely that the number of windows running has used up all the memory; but a defect in a memory chip could have drastically reduced the available RAM. Since Virtual Memory (VM), the memory scraps that the OS writes to the Hard Drive, is a significant part of "Windows Memory" a too-full or badly fragmented drive can sometimes "suddenly reduce" available running room, especially on a "low capacity" machine. For most recent Windows versions, it's recommended that the "free space" on the C:\ drive or partition should never be less than 10% of the total drive capacity. 20% is better. With some recent Windows versions, it's necessary that the 10% not be split up (fragmented) on the drive.

2. 3. & 4. can be lumped together in "there's something wrong with the files." User changes can sometimes do this, if you move things around in an attempt to "clean up" your system without knowing which files (and/or icons) need to be kept in specific places; but most files that shouldn't be moved should be in program folders and isolated from "working and data files." In some programs, the "result" files are mixed in with program files by default, and "moving one too many" when making a backup or otherwise reorganizing can "lose" a file.

Although it should be fairly rare - and especially rare to have it suddenly affect more than one file, system/program files do get moved around and/or rewritten on the hardrive sometimes, in the process of running the programs. If a file was written to a defective cluster on the hard drive, or was written from a defective RAM chip, a file can become "mangled" or corrupted.

5. Many viruses and other malware attach or otherwise embed themselves in specific types of files, if they are allowed to "execute" on a machine. "Executable" files are a favorite target, and include .exe, .dll, and other "system" files. If you have a good AV program running when the "infected file" arrives, the AV can clean or delete before it gets "installed." If you have EVER CONNECTED TO THE WEB without a running and current AV you probably have had infections.

When you install an AV on an already infected machine, it can delete or clean the file that contained the original malware, but it cannot general "undo" anything that the infection "installed." Many malware agents write changes to the Registry to "call themselves" each time the machine is turned on. If the original file is removed, the Registry still asks for it, and you get the kind of messages you're seeing. Many malware agents create files with names very similar to "real" system files, so very careful attention is often required to separate the two. A virus can "infect" a system file by adding itself to the file. Most AV programs will attempt to "clean" the file first, but if unable to do so, will DELETE any file they can't fix.

Quite a number of system files may appear in several places in Windows, so the fact that you find the filename doesn't necessarily mean that you found the specific copy that the Registry asked for.

In the absence of a specific identification of the malware that may have been removed, manual editing of the Registry is about the only way to get rid of the "call" to a deleted malware file or infected system file. If a needed file was infected, but had to be deleted by the AV to get rid of the infection, or if the file was "damaged" by the AV cleaning, it may be necessary to extract and install a "clean" copy from WinME installation disks.

All of the above is very general, and I'm afraid doesn't give much in the way of specific things to do. Since you know what's been done to/with your computer, perhaps you can find some "likely candidates" in this, that will help refine the help.

John