M4400 - Sigmatel-IDT systray error

Hi,

I had the same problem with my Dell E6400 ATG running Windows XP SP2.

I tracked down this entry in the registry:

SysTrayApp REG_EXPAND_SZ %ProgramFiles%\IDT\WDM\sttray.exe

It lives under: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

Deleting this registry key resolved the issue with no negative consequences.

Good luck!

I got a new E5500 in March 2009.

Same Sigmatel-IDT Systray error in (Dell installed) XP.

Issue fixed by eliminating the registry key.

Before I found this solution here, I called them and tried online chat-help. Both were completely useless - one was unhelpful, and one seemed purposely obtuse.

Does anyone know exactly what this registry key is and why it supposedly helps to delete it?

I am having a similar problem on a Vista 64 bit XPS M1530.  I have been having a problem where my XPS M1530 hangs on shutdown.  Basically at shutdown it goes through all the steps, shuts down services, but when it gets to the "Shutting Down" screen the progress circle stops and the computer hangs.  The only way to get it to shutdown from there is to do a hard shut down by holding in the power button. After testing numerous programs, I have narrowed it down to the sstray64.exe (which is the system tray app for this sigmatel driver) as the culprit.  I am about 75% sure it  is causing it to hang.

It sounds like it may be a related problem, huh?  :emotion-18:

I guess I am just nervous to start deleting registry keys. :emotion-42:

Hi,

This registry key tells Windows what applications to automatically load during startup.

Removing this key prevents Windows from loading this application.

From what I have witnessed, this application is not required to perform normal functions on my laptop. (XP SP2)

There might be a sound-card related feature that I have sacrificed, but it was not something that is necessary in my day-to-day use. (business PC)

If you are nervous about changing the registry, you can always export the parent registry folder as a .reg file, make the change and then import it to revert to the "original" configuration. (if you have issues)

If everyone listened to everything that Microsoft tells you to or not to do, we might still be using MS Bob. :-) (not that any of us ever did)

Ha! :emotion-1:

Thanks for the tip.  I may give this a whirl.

Wouldn't disbling it from starting in msconfig accomplish the same thing?

Yes,

Disabling it from either place will accomplish the same goal.

I have not used MSConfig for years - it looks like it has more features then the last time I ran it.

When making the change, you might check out what feature or application is no longer available. (let us know if you figure it out)

On my laptop, whatever I lost, I did not miss.  Since I power the laptop down - sometimes twice a day (office and home workstation) it got pretty annoying.  I would have given up sound completely if it cured the problem.

Thanks for the advice.

I wonder if there is any risk of not being able to re-enable it once I disable it in MSConfig?  i guess if that is the case, I could simply reinstall the entire driver.

Options galore!

Option #1:

Use regedit and save the parent registry key: (export it)

Navigate the tree to the location below:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

Use the "export" function from this location - save to a .reg file somewhere on your local PC.

To revert, either import the .reg file you saved using the "export" function or manually add the SysTrayApp (reg_expand_sz) key using the value below: (provided the path is not different)

%ProgramFiles%\IDT\WDM\sttray64.exe

At the very worst (and I mean this without any reservations) you will not harm your PC.

Editing the registry is not dangerous, deleting random keys without any idea of what you are doing is.

Option #2:

If you are still worried and do not want to remove the registry entry, change it instead.

Make it:

%ProgramFiles%\IDT\WDM\sttray65.exe

The sttray65.exe file does not exist on your machine, so the attempt to load this application will fail. (perhaps even silently)

Changing this value back to:

%ProgramFiles%\IDT\WDM\sttray64.exe

This will revert your PC back to exactly where it started at.

Thank you very much for your help! :emotion-1:

I want to thank you for this post.  I have a new Latitude E6500 and started getting this sigmatel error several weeks ago.  I let it go for a while but started to get irritated so I did a search of the error and came across your post.  Just made the change to my computer and it appears to have fixed the problem.

:emotion-1:

I'm very glad to hear that!