Member Avatar for delphine

Hi,

I have two startup problems with my computer which happened recently after i did some cleaning out of my computer. I doubt they are related though, since they didn't happen at exactly the same time.

Firstly, whenever I start Windows, I get a "Windows cannot find file \VCI_Task.exe" error. I'm pretty sure VCI_Task.exe is a Sony-related file (I have a Vaio), but as far as I know I haven't touched it, and it's not in my startup folder. My computer runs quite normally after I click OK to make the error message go away, but it's annoying to have it pop up every time I reboot.

Secondly, also whenever I startup, Microsoft Office 2003 Professional attempts to install something. I've no idea what it is, but I keep getting a "Preparing to install" message, followed by an Office installation screen that proceeds normally until it reaches an "SKU111.cab not found" error, where it then asks me to insert a CD. My Office 2003 CD is not with me at the moment so I can't even try that, but I'm at a loss as to why this installation starts up in the first place. Office seems to be functioning perfectly normally and according to the Microsoft Update website I don't need any updates for it.

I'm running Windows XP SP2. Any help would be appreciated!

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Member #127113

Dani AI

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Good troubleshooting so far — found the VAIO entry and (later) stopped the popup by disabling the VAIO initialization service, and ’s hints about startup entries pointed you in the right direction. The reason deleting a Run key alone didn’t fix the message is that services are a separate autostart mechanism: Windows keeps installed services in the Service Control Manager database (registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services), so a stale service registration will still be invoked at boot even if the Run key is gone. (learn.microsoft.com)

For a tidy cleanup and to find any other leftover references, use Autoruns (Sysinternals). Autoruns shows Run keys, Services, Scheduled Tasks, Startup folders, shell extensions and more in one view so you can spot orphaned entries that point to a missing VCI_Task.exe and disable or remove them safely. It’s far easier and safer than chasing every registry location by hand. (learn.microsoft.com)

If you want to remove the service entry entirely (instead of just disabling it), either reinstall the VAIO utility and uninstall it properly, or delete the service registration with the Service Controller tool (sc delete <ServiceName>). Get the exact service name from the service’s Properties dialog (the “Service name” field) before running the command. Back up the registry and create a System Restore point first; do not delete services you don’t recognize as this can break Windows. (learn.microsoft.com)

About the Office “preparing to install / SKU111.cab” symptom: that’s classic Windows Installer self‑repair (advertised/repair-on-demand) asking for source media when a required component is missing. The usual diagnostics are: enable verbose Windows Installer logging and check the Application event log (MsiInstaller entries) to find the Product/Component that triggers the repair, then either supply the source, remove the offending add‑on, or remove/replace the advertised shortcut that triggers repair. Enabling verbose MSI logging will give you an MSI log to point to the exact culprit. (revenera.com)

If needed, run Autoruns to confirm no other startup item references VCI_Task.exe and use the MSI logs to identify which package (if any) keeps calling Office’s installer.

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Member Avatar for Member #127113

To stop vci_task.exe warning please go to registry editor and find that key by find option..if it shows that in a startup or run category then delete only that key.
For information about sku111.cab (MS-Office 2003) please click this link to know what it is

Member Avatar for delphine

When I search for VCI_Task.exe in regedit, I find the following:

Name C:\Program Files\Sony\VAIO Cooperated Initialisation\VCI_Task.exe
Type REG_SZ
Data VAIO Task Scheduler

That's the only match when I use the find option to search for VCI_Task.exe. I'm not really sure what to do after that because I'm not experienced with tweaking the registry. What should I do?

As for the MS Office error, I've said that I don't have the MS Office installation CD with me. Is there anything I can do without it? I'm just curious why I get the error in the first place, because my Office seems to still be working perfectly and I don't remember having tampered with it lately.

Thank you for your help!

Member Avatar for Member #127113

delete that only key and for MS-Office you need disc for that..it may be caused due to corrupted file and office try to recover.
Without disc nothing you can do any solution.

Member Avatar for delphine

Apologies for the late reply, I somehow didn't get an email notification of your reply and didn't actually check this thread until now!

I managed to take care of the Office problem - traced it to another program I had, uninstalled that program, and now the problem is gone. :)

Unfortunately even after deleting the VCI_Task key in the registry I still get the "Windows cannot find \VCI_Task.exe" error when I startup Windows. Is there anything else that can be done?

Thanks!

Member Avatar for Member #127113

also check it through msconfig utility..go to run and type msconfig and press enter...here in msconfig check the 'startup' tab and watch out for vci_task path..if its there then uncheck it then restart your system.

Member Avatar for delphine

I couldn't access msconfig utility, when I type msconfig into the run box it returns a Windows cannot find msconfig error. But happily, I managed to stop the popup by following some instructions I found elsewhere! Will post them here for others having a similar problem:

1. Go to run and type services.msc
2. Scroll down to VAIO Cooperated Initialisation
3. Right click > Properties
4. Change Startup Type to Disabled
5. Click OK and close all the windows

Upon next restart, the popup was gone!

Member Avatar for Member #127113

msconfig is missing ?? i think windows 2000 is running..right ?

ok..thats great you have done with Microsoft management console (.msc)

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