Member Avatar for Charles Tobey

Trying to help out an Ex-Wife who attempted to download Adobe Air. Problem is that when she boots up her computer she gets the dialog box entitled C:\Program Files\Common. It it there resides these four files"_helper.sig SIG File 35KB. It freezes all functions. How do I get rid of them??

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This looks like a leftover startup/association problem rather than a broken Adobe installer. has described a folder-like dialog pointing at a Program Files path and small helper files; is right to try Safe Mode and to check partitions — both are useful. The next steps focus on removing whatever is still being launched at boot and on repairing folder/file associations that can make a path open as a blocking dialog.

  • Boot options: try "Last Known Good Configuration" (F8 at boot) first. If you can reach Safe Mode, use msconfig (Start -> Run -> msconfig) to disable all non-Microsoft services and all Startup items, then reboot normally.
  • Look for a leftover startup reference: check the Startup folders (All Users and the current user), Scheduled Tasks, and these registry keys for any entry that references "C:\Program Files\Common" (or similar) and disable/remove it after exporting the key as a backup:
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
  • Check folder-association entries (if opening a folder launches a program): inspect HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\open\command and HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\open\command to ensure they point to Explorer (not to a helper exe). Back up the registry before changing anything.
  • Use a startup-inspector like Autoruns (or msconfig if you prefer) to find hidden Run/RunOnce entries. Run a current offline/malware scan (for example, Malwarebytes or your AV rescue media) if suspicious entries appear.
  • If none of the above works, restore to a pre-install System Restore point or plan a repair install. When posting follow-ups, include the OS version and a HijackThis/Autoruns log so responders (as suggested) can point to the exact offending key or process.

Cautions: always export registry keys before edits and avoid deleting partitions or files you do not recognize.

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Member Avatar for Chaky

Try booting in safe mode and uninstalling adobe air.

Member Avatar for Charles Tobey

Thanks for the reply but I've already done away with Air and all other Adobe stuff. Also deleted the Common File with the .dll and .sig files. Under normal start Windows will freeze and I won't read any peripheals. Under Safe Mode, no prephreals either. What a pain.

Member Avatar for Chaky

No peripherals as no drives in the explorer?

Probably messed-up registry regarding volumes (partitions).. Try disk management and see if the partitions are present there. To reach disk management, click on my computer and select "manage". In the left pane select "Disk management".
If you don't understand partitions, then it is the best to check only if they are all online and not mess anything up. I must warn you that here you can delete whole content from the drives.

Check if the status reads "online" in the right pane... left of graphical illustration of the partition, like:

Disk0
Basic
100 GB
Online <-- this

Every partition should be online. Otherwise it is unreachable to the system.

Also, you should post hijackthis log. You can get it here, given that you can boot to safe mode.

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