Strange Startup Behavior on NT4

[Wanabe]

Hi Folks.

I've noticed lately that my Startup Apps don't seem to startup anymore when I reboot my server. Actually, what happens is I reboot and the system seems to respond OK. I give it the Ctl-Alt-Del and log in. But my desktop doesn't appear. All I can see is my mouse pointer. What I have to do is give it a Ctl-Alt-Del and choose Logout and then when I log back in I finally get my complete desktop. But my startup programs then have to be
started manually.

I've looked in the registry and at my Win.INI file and all seems to be OK. I don't see any wierd entries.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Wanabe

[EzyStvy]

Does this happen at EVERY bootup?

[Wanabe]

Yes. It does seem to be happening at every bootup.

I don't mean to muddy the waters but I also have another problem of which I'm not sure is related. Lately I haven't been able to install software. The installation gets about half way through and then stops responding.

I keep getting an error message in the Application Event Viewer that seems to indicate that my MsInstaller is having problems. When I check out Windows Installer in Services and try to start it manually I receive a message that states

"Could not start the Windows Installer service on \\servername
Error 1072 The specified service has been marked for deletion."

I get a different error message in the System Event Log from DCOM that states the same thing. Only it seems to be pointing to an alphanumeric string with can be found in the registry which refers to the software that I was trying to install.