Member Avatar for neoquest2000

Have Win XP pro, when I go to the run menu and type in a letter it brings up a url. I have deleted my cookies, history and files for IE and Netscape. Does anyone know how to get rid of it?

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Dani AI

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reported a persistent URL showing in the Run box. correctly suggested TweakUI and pointed to the Start Menu "Clear" option — both are convenient — but when those don't remove a stubborn entry the Run history itself needs to be cleared in the Registry.

Open the Registry Editor (regedit) and navigate to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RunMRU
Export that key first (File -> Export) as a backup. Remove the lettered values (a, b, c, ... ) and the MRUList value, or delete the entire RunMRU key. Close Regedit, then sign out/sign back in (or restart Explorer by ending and restarting explorer.exe) to refresh the Run suggestions. This directly removes entries that tools sometimes miss.

If the URL still appears, check Internet Explorer typed addresses at:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\TypedURLs
and use Regedit’s Edit -> Find to search the registry for the exact URL to locate other programs storing it. Browser profiles (Netscape, etc.), startup items, or a background process can reinsert the string, so also check browser settings/profiles and run an up-to-date anti-malware scan if the entry returns.

Caution: always export the registry key before deleting anything. If uncomfortable editing the registry, use a trusted cleaner or ask someone experienced to help. This approach complements the earlier suggestions and gives a direct way to remove a Run-history entry that survives the UI-level clears.

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Member Avatar for TallCool1

Have Win XP pro, when I go to the run menu and type in a letter it brings up a url. I have deleted my cookies, history and files for IE and Netscape. Does anyone know how to get rid of it?

That information is stored in the Registry, but there is a tool for it, TweakUI. I have not used it under XP, but if it's like all earlier versions of the utility, there's a tab labeled Paranoia which allows you to clear things like the Document History and the Run string-box. It's one of the Windows PowerToys and can be downloaded individually.

Member Avatar for feigned

Right-click the taskbar, and click properties.

Click the Start Menu tab at the top of the window, then the Customize button on whichever option you have.

If you have the default start menu applied, you'll have to click on "Advanced," then "Clear List" on the bottom of the window. With the classic view applied, click "Clear" in the window that appears.

That'll clear out the recently used documents menu too.

Member Avatar for neoquest2000

Kewl thanks. Either I wasnt using TweakUI or it didnt work. But I wil try that and post how it goes.

Member Avatar for neoquest2000

Meant to say using TweakUI correctly

Member Avatar for neoquest2000

Nope that didnt work either. Anyone have any other suggestions?

Member Avatar for neoquest2000

I think I had some cookies in my netscape folder even though I wasnt using netscape to surf the net. Downloaded a 30 day trial for a windows & internet washer which resolved the issue.

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