A successful PC or system startup requires a series of Microsoft services(in some cases there is also the need for some non-Microsoft-related services) to be on the Windows Startup list.
Without these essential Startup services, your system will not function properly or in serious cases, it will crash before Startup.
In this article, you will learn about Windows Command Processor. And some of its related errors that some Windows users have faced. To make a short introduction, the Windows Command Processor is a necessary Windows service related to CMD that starts automatically on Startup.
Any mishandling such as stopping the process or removing it from the Startup list can lead to system freezing or in some serious cases the system will crash.
Now some viruses or malware are programmed to infiltrate your system, take the name of the Command Processor(cmd.exe), avoid detection from Windows Defender and other Antivirus or Antispyware.
These viruses or malware programs upon execution will pop up error messages stating “Windows Command Processor has stopped Working”.
What Is Windows Command Processor?
Windows Command Processor or cmd.exe is a command interpreter and executioner for an operating system like Microsoft Windows(Windows NT & Windows CE), OS2, eComStation, ArcaOS, and ReactOS. “cmd.exe” is the name of the executable file for the Command Processor.
The commonly referred to name CMD or Command Prompt and most Windows users mainly relate to these two titles.
The cmd.exe is the counterpart to DOS in Windows 9X systems and is similar to Unix Shells in Unix-like systems. Although in different systems the implementations in cmd.exe are different, the basic set of commands and behavior pattern remains consistent.
Causes Behind The Error
As we have learned some of the basic information about the Windows Command Processor(cmd.exe) in the previous section, we can say that it is a legitimate Windows file then why does the system show pop-ups or error messages?
The presence of malware is the main reason behind the error messages that keep flashing on your screen. Once a malware program infiltrates your computer or system it will take the same name as your Windows Command Processor i.e “cmd.exe” and once executed pop-up messages will show on your screen asking permission to open the Command Processor.
Moreover, you cannot simply close these messages if you click on cancel, it will pop up from time to time and this consistent flashing of pop-up is the most annoying part of this “Command Processor” Malware.
Some other features that this malware has shown are
- Antivirus/Antimalware Resistant
Antivirus programs like Norton, Avira, and AVG can’t stop the malware from executing its function of showing continuous pop-ups.
- Automatic Registry Entry
The malware can make its own entry into the computer registry and add its name on the Startup list so that it can automatically start every time you start your system.
- Attracts more Cyberthreats
This Malware doesn’t affect your computer i.e it is in a dormant state if the network connection is turned off. But when the Internet connection is established the malware starts attracting Cyberthreats through the internet leading to further system vulnerabilities such as system freezing, slowing down the computer speed, etc.
Solutions To Fix The Windows Command Processor On Startup Error
- Remove The Malware/Virus Files Manually
- Disable All Non-Microsoft Services
- Run A System Scan
Solution 1- Remove The Malware/Virus Files Manually.
To delete the Virus files manually first, you need to know their storage location. The “AppData” folder contains most of these replicating malware files and is named in random letters.
Also, you need to identify these files carefully lest you delete other files that have nothing to do with the viruses or malware.
Step 1- Open the Task Manager(Right-click on the taskbar and select the Task manager option).
Step 2- Now in the Processes tab, search for suspicious processes with random letters(Example of such file names are “sadfiscixg” or “gsdodpgsd” or “gfdigd” or “fsayopkpmiicu” or “ladhtv”). By searching for these random file names make it easy to spot suspicious files.
Step 3- Open the Run dialog box(press Windows + R), type “regedit” and hit the Enter button.
Step 4- Navigate to “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run”.
Here you can find suspicious files that have made an unofficial entry into your system Registry.
Step 5- Now that you are aware of these suspicious virus/malware files, you need to restart your computer in Safe Mode.
To start your Windows 10 computer in Safe Mode follow this step-by-step guide.
- By pressing the Shift key, click on Power-> Restart.
- When the screen starts and shows the Windows recovery console and a list of options to choose from, navigate to Troubleshoot-> Advanced Options-> Startup Settings-> Restart.
- After the computer restarts and a list of options show up on the screen, select the 4 or F4 key to start your computer in Safe Mode.
Step 6- Now delete all the suspicious files and other data related to them(related folders, logs, .txt documents, etc.) that might be viruses or malware from these following directories:
- C:\Users\’xxx’\AppData\Roaming
- C:\Users\’xxx’\AppData\Local
- C:\Users\’xxx’\AppData\Local\Temp
Note- For most Users, the AppData folder is in Hidden status.
Step 7- After the process is completed, restart your computer.
Solution 2- Disable All Non-Microsoft Services
A successful system startup requires a bunch of Microsoft programs/services as well as other third-party services that are on the Startup programs list. Now, this solution requires you to disable all non-Microsoft programs from the System Configuration window and test the other third-party services individually and figure out which of these services is causing the error.
Step 1- Open the Run dialog box. Type “msconfig” and hit the Enter button.
Step 2- In the Services tab, click on the check box “Hide all Microsoft services”. Upon doing the screen will show you a list of all third-party non-Microsoft programs that are on your Startup sequence.
Step 3- Now click on the “Disable all” button. By doing this all the previous non-Microsoft programs/services that are on the list of Startup programs will stop working.
Step 4- Click on “Apply” then on “Ok”.
Step 5- Now close the System Configuration window and restart your computer when a message pops up asking you to restart your computer to apply the changes.
Step 6- After the successful restart of your system and there is a sign of pop-ups stating “Your Windows Command Processor has stopped working” then you can definitely say that third-party service(s) are responsible for this error.
Step 7- Now test each of these third-party programs one by one and identify the one which is responsible for the error.
- Repeat the above Step 1 and Step 2.
- Select a non-Microsoft service and re-enable it.
- Restart your computer. If you still don’t receive the error message then start the same process again until you find that one third-party service is causing trouble.
Step 8- Now that you have found the third-party service that is responsible for the error then you need to figure out if it is a malware file or a normal file. If it is malware then you can follow Solution 1 and erase the malware manually.
Step 9- If it is a normal file then try to update the said service online and observe if you are still receiving the error message or not.
Solution 3- Run A System Scan
Step 1- Open the CMD in Administrator mode.
Step 2- Type in the following command “chkdsk c: /f /r /x”. Since the Disk Drive you are checking is the boot drive then the system will ask for restart confirmation. Type “y” and hit the Enter button.
Step 3- During the boot process, the system will run the following command. It will take some time for the process to complete. After a successful restart of your PC open the CMD in administrator mode again.
Step 4- Type the command “Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth”. The scan will take several minutes to complete. If the scan results show error messages then some of your Windows 10 files are corrupt.
Step 5- Type in the command “sfc /scannow” and hit Enter. This command may be able to fix some of the corrupted files.
Step 6- After the scan is completed and you still receive error messages then you have to Refresh or Reset your Windows 10 system to solve the problem.
Step 7- Now that you have scanned and fixed all corrupted system files then it is time to Run a full scan on your PC to find out about all your malware programs.
Step 8- Once the Malware scan is completed restart your PC and the error regarding the “cmd.exe” is solved. Hopefully!
