SHELL32.dll not found & DLL msgina.dll failed to load

[blkspecv101]

Hey guys,

When I try to start up I get "Application has failed to start because

SHELL32.dll was not found ..." and then after hitting the OK button, I get "The Logon User Interface DLL msgina.dll failed to load..."

Following advice elsewhere, I tried hitting the F8 key during the

restart but the "Last Known Good Configuration etc" only returns me to

the SHELL.dll dialogue box again.

I need help, i can't take my computer to the store to get fixed cause I'm currently deployed to the middle east. The only disk i have is just a windows xp disk. anyone got any ideas. thanks

-adam

[cluberti]

Well, if you boot from that Windows XP disc and choose to do a repair install and boot to the recovery console, is there a file called shell32.dll in C:\Windows\system32? Without it, windows will not be able to display any dialog boxes (including the windows logon screen or winlogon box). If the file is there, you could always attempt to do an actual repair installation using the CD, to restore files and then re-patch it once it's fixed.

Did you try to modify the windows shell in any way with a 3rd party utility, perhaps?

[IcemanND]

try booting from to the recovery console and run a chkdsk repair.