How do I get rid of this loading error on startup?

I get variations on this question a lot. The specifics of the error
message changes – usually referencing a different file, but the error
is always the same: something about an inability to load or launch a
program after logging in.

The most common cause is malware of some sort, or incompletely
cleaned malware. Incompletely or incorrectly uninstalled software in
general can also this error.

There are several steps you should probably take.

As I said, the single most common cause for this type of error is
malware. In fact, the garbled name of the file (“goMdDuuV” in your
example) is typically a sign of malware. Malware authors often use
randomly generated names in an attempt to avoid detection by
anti-malware programs.

Given that malware is likely to be involved, the very first step
should be to run an up to date anti-virus and anti-spyware can. By up
to date, I mean that both the programs are up to date, and that the
databases of malware definitions they use are up to date.

In many cases, actually cleaning up a malware infection can leave
these kinds of errors behind. The actual file (again, “goMdDuuV.dll” in
your case) might be deleted by the cleaning process and you’re no
longer infected by it, but a start-up reference to the file remains.
Normally, anti-malware software will delete those references as well,
but sometimes for various reasons they do not, or cannot.

The same thing can happen if an uninstall fails, or if you simply
delete a program rather than uninstalling it. Most uninstall programs
make sure to clean up registry entries that involve automatically
starting up the program or some helper application. If you delete the
software without running the uninstall program, those registry entries
still exist, and will cause the errors you’re experiencing when you try
to login.

Regardless of how you’ve arrived at the error, the next step is the
same: download autoruns, a
free utility from Microsoft that will let us explore everything that
your computer might try to automatically run for you.

When you run autoruns, you should get something like this:

Now, I don’t have “goMdDuuV.dll” on my machine, or any error
relating to it, so I’m going to use “jusched.exe” in the examples
below; it’s the Java runtime updater. It’s benign, so I won’t be
disabling it, but I will show you how.

Type CTRL+F in autoruns to get the find dialog:

Type in the name you want to look for. In your case that would be
goMdDuuV.dll – in mine, I’ll type in jusched.exe, and
then press Find Next:

At this point you have several options:

• Uncheck the checkbox in front of the entry. This
  will disable it.

• Double click on the entry, and autoruns will open regedit on the
  associated registry entry for this item.

• Right click on the entry and select Properties and you’ll get the
  properties of the actual target file “jusched.exe”

• Right click on the entry and select “Search Online…” and Autoruns
  will open up a browser window with a Google search on “jusched.exe”

• Right click on the entry and select “Delete” to completely remove
  the entry.

For something as obviously malware related as “goMdDuuV.dll” I’d be
really tempted to simply use that last option to remove the entry.

If you’re not sure, even after researching the entry with some of
the other options above, then simply uncheck the checkbox. That way you
can gauge the impact, and and decide later whether to re-enable it or
delete it completely.

Now, one last problem that comes up:

“What if it comes back?”

Sometimes, after going through all the hassle we just did to locate
and remove a problematic entry like this, the error returns anyway, and
the entry you deleted in autoruns also reappears.

If that happens, it’s most likely that either:

• The malware you thought was removed by your anti-spyware or
  anti-virus software isn’t. A magically reappearing auto-start entry is
  classic malware behavior.

• If the entry is due to other software you think you uninstalled …
  it didn’t uninstall completely. There is some aspect of that software
  that remains, and is attempting to repair itself by re-creating the
  auto-start registry entries that it thinks are important.

In either case, you’ll need to take additional steps to more
completely eradicate whatever the root cause of the problem is. That
might mean more or better virus scans, or contacting the software
vendor, or something else. It will all depend on the specifics.