missing dll files

[daveybluenose]

on restarting windows i got an error saying error in explorer exe. you must re install windows then i get a message saying missing file error c:\windows\system\shlwapi.dll how can i recover windows without loosing all data saved on hard drive operating on windows millenium edition

[eidenk]

Reinstall windows on top of itself. If you are a totally clueless the easiest way is using the Windows Me CD-Rom. Otherwise boot from the startup floppy, switch to C:\ and then type C:\windows\options\install\setup.exe (your setup files should be there) and press the enter key. You will loose some windows settings rhat will return to default and Windows Setup will reinstall some components you might have removed as well as it will I think overwrite any security or critical update you might have installed. You shouldn'tt loose third party sofware settings nor any personal files.

You can as well get the shlwapi.dll file from another computer that doesn't need to be Win ME as this file is part of Internet Explorer and can be found on all systems. In 2000/XP it will be probably located in the winnt\system32 directory. Copy that file on a floppy and boot with your startup disk. Once you have booted remove the startup floppy and replace it by the floppy on which you have copied shlwapi.dll and type :

copy shlwapi.dll C:\windows\system

or

copy A:\shlwapi.dll C:\windows\system\shlwapi.dll

Press enter enter and reboot after the file is copied. If it works this way, it's better than reinstalling.

But can you boot into safe mode ?

If yes it is even easier to replace the file : Start your computer and repeatedly type the F8 key. At some point you'll get a screen asking you how you want to start Windows. Choose Safe Mode. If you can enter Windows this way, click on the Start Button and then choose Run. Type msconfig.exe. Choose extract file, follow the instructions and choose to restore the file from either C:\windows\options\install or the Windows ME CD (win9x folder I think) to windows\system.

Reboot.

Hope this helps.

[daveybluenose]

no tried f8 and satrting in safe mode still got the same gets so far tehn same message appears but above is usefull will try copying file before trying to reinstall , only concern is have a lot of saved personal work on hard drive and will be a complete nightmare if i loose all this saved work

[Stone-D]

I hope you have a boot disk or some other way of accessing DOS.

From the DOS command prompt, do the following.

CD F:\OS\SetupME (WinME source location. If this is the CD, so be it. Folder must contain source cab files)

CD C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND

EXTRACT.EXE /a F:BASE4.CAB SHLWAPI.*

MOVE SHLWAPI.DLL C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM

Done.

[daveybluenose]

have tried using d: as my cd rom drive get the error nessage invalid directory tried changingthe letter and got bad command

also copied a shlwapi,dll file onto a floppy as suggested a : recognises thisfile but when try to copy as per instructions above get message nofiles copied path not found

[tarquel]

Hi

Can't quite work out whether you've managed to boot to a dos prompt or not properly lol so Ok, give this a blast...

Visit the following site for a Windows ME boot disk - try the OEM one first which should do the trick - and download that and create a Win ME Floppy Boot Disk:

http://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm

You can download the .dll in question from here (which you need to unzip to get the file) and then see if it will fit on the disk you created above.

http://www.dll-files.com/dllindex/dll-files.shtml?shlwapi

Once done, put in the target machine and (making sure that the floppy drive is selected as the first bootable device in your bios settings) boot the disk.

[You can skip any enable CD support type-option as we dont need that right now but choose default options if you dont know whats going on - I can't remember the exact options having not used a boot disk like this for quite a while lol]

After the boot processed has finished, if it doesn't finish on >A:, you need to type:

A: [Enter] <--- the button [Enter] , NOT type that in hehe

You should also be able to type:

C: [Enter]

Type DIR [Enter] to confirm that this is your Windows partition i.e. you'll see a list of directories and a few files too, etc that you should recognise (Program Files, Windows, etc.).

Right, providing you have got the right drive and the right partition that is the Windows partition is C and you have the shlwapi.dll file on this floppy boot disk, follow this:

A: [Enter]
COPY shlwapi.dll C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM [Enter]    (Dont worry about caps/no caps - its not case sensitive)

If it says:

1 File Copied

without a error then you should be good to go and if it asks you to replace the file, then say yes [Y] as the file is probably corrupted - thus the error.

If you get a error message with invalid location or something similar, check that the Windows folder is called WINDOWS and not something else - yes, I've seen them be named differently on purpose a long time ago (to supposedly avoid viruses infecting windows hehe or because of other reasons - preference etc) - and change the above CODE statement appropriately to reflect where windows is installed too.

Once done, try a restart and see what happens.

Let us know how that goes either way.

Regards,

N.

[RJARRRPCGP]

on restarting windows i got an error saying error in explorer exe. you must re install windows  then i get a message saying missing file error  c:\windows\system\shlwapi.dll  how can i recover windows without loosing all data saved on hard drive  operating on windows millenium edition

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Were you installing a newer version for Internet Explorer?

If the Internet Explorer installation process fails, you're probably are going to get the above symptoms.