Rundll32exe

[Aisha]

After restoring win.com on my 98SE & successfully rebooting, thanx to Jeff. I
am now trying to get into add/remove programmes & it cannot find file:
C:\windows\rundll32exe. How can I sort this?

[FromTheRafters]

"Aisha" > wrote in message
...
> After restoring win.com on my 98SE & successfully rebooting, thanx to
> Jeff. I
> am now trying to get into add/remove programmes & it cannot find file:
> C:\windows\rundll32exe. How can I sort this?

Try running System File Checker.
Start - run - sfc
This program should replace corrupted or (I believe) missing
system files from the CAB files.

How did you get to the point that you had to restore win.com?

[st[_2_]]

"Aisha" > сообщил/сообщила в новостях следующее: ...
> After restoring win.com on my 98SE & successfully rebooting, thanx to Jeff. I
> am now trying to get into add/remove programmes & it cannot find file:
> C:\windows\rundll32exe. How can I sort this?


It's probably not rundll32.exe missing itself, but the library it refers to. What _literally_ says message box and what is it's title?

[Don Phillipson[_5_]]

> "Aisha" > wrote in message
> ...
> > After restoring win.com on my 98SE & successfully rebooting, thanx to
> > Jeff. I
> > am now trying to get into add/remove programmes & it cannot find file:
> > C:\windows\rundll32exe. How can I sort this?

"FromTheRafters" > wrote in message
...

> Try running System File Checker.
> Start - run - sfc
> This program should replace corrupted or (I believe) missing
> system files from the CAB files.

SFC is a good idea because of one feature of
RUNDLL32.EXE -- that no patch or update was ever
needed. What limits SFC is that its source database
is created when the OS is installed, and never updated
thereafter. So system files that may have been
updated are reported by SFC as errors, viz. different
from the first installation. This will not apply to RUNDLL32.EXE
since never altered.

SFC.EXE can be customized, viz. set to search only
certain directories (folders) or for specific filles. On
an updated Winn98 system, this may obviate a spurious
error list.

Alternatively, when giving away a PC, we might just
as well FDISK to remove all HD partitions (blank the
drive) and hand it over, for the recipient to instal the
operating system of her choice.
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

[PCR]

Aisha wrote:
| After restoring win.com on my 98SE & successfully rebooting, thanx to
| Jeff. I am now trying to get into add/remove programmes & it cannot
| find file: C:\windows\rundll32exe. How can I sort this?

I agree with Philipson that SFC should not be used to replace all
missing files except under extraordinary circumstances. This is because
you may have not been keeping its database up-to-date after every
acquisition of new files from Windows Update &/or other sources. Maybe
do post the full error message as st suggested.

(A) Extract RUNDLL32.EXE, if "access denied" is mentioned in the error
message or if the file really does not exist. Here is the location &
Properties of that file in Win98SE. Do you actually already have
it...?...

RUNDLL32.EXE
Desc: Run a DLL as an App
Loc: C:\WINDOWS
Size: 24,576 bytes
Mod: Friday, April 23, 1999 10:22:00 PM
Ver: 4.10.1998

That is old enough (Win98SE) never to have been modified by an update.
So, extract it with SFC...

(1) "START button, Run, SFC"
(2) Bolt "Extract one file from installation disk"
(3) Enter "RUNDLL32.EXE" in the "Specify..." box.
(4) Click "Start". It should offer to "Save file in C:\WINDOWS".
If not, make it so.
(5) In "Restore from", if not already pre-filled, browse to
(a) Installation CD (likely the Win98 folder) or
(b) The folder that has your cabs on the hard drive, likely
"C:\WINDOWS\options\cabs\".
(5) Click "OK"

If it discovers the file already exists, it will offer to back it up.
May as well do so. If it discovers the file is "in use", it will request
that you reboot to complete the install.

(B)
http://search.support.microsoft.com/kb/c.asp?fr=0&SD=GN&LN=EN-US
Search: "Control Panel"; Title only; Exact match; finds many,
including...

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;299923&Product=w98
How to Troubleshoot Control Panel Issues in Windows
(299923) - When you attempt to open Control Panel (click Start , point
to Settings , and then click Control Panel ), it does not open as you
expect. One or more of the following may occur: You receive an error
message similar to the following: Program has...

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;192806
How to Run Control Panel Tools by Typing a Command
(192806) - This article describes how to run Control Panel tools in
Windows by typing a command at a command prompt or in the Open box.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;149648&Product=w98
Description of Control Panel (.cpl) Files

--
Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
Should things get worse after this,
PCR

[Jeff Richards]

That sounds like a file version problem or possibly another missing file.
Please provide the exact message, verbatim.
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
"Aisha" > wrote in message
...
> After restoring win.com on my 98SE & successfully rebooting, thanx to
> Jeff. I
> am now trying to get into add/remove programmes & it cannot find file:
> C:\windows\rundll32exe. How can I sort this?

[Aisha]

Exact message: Cannot find file C:\windows\rundll32.exe

"Jeff Richards" wrote:

> That sounds like a file version problem or possibly another missing file.
> Please provide the exact message, verbatim.
> --
> Jeff Richards
> MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
> "Aisha" > wrote in message
> ...
> > After restoring win.com on my 98SE & successfully rebooting, thanx to
> > Jeff. I
> > am now trying to get into add/remove programmes & it cannot find file:
> > C:\windows\rundll32exe. How can I sort this?
>
>
>

[Aisha]

Very easy if you're a novice! See 'restoring win.com'

"FromTheRafters" wrote:

>
> "Aisha" > wrote in message
> ...
> > After restoring win.com on my 98SE & successfully rebooting, thanx to
> > Jeff. I
> > am now trying to get into add/remove programmes & it cannot find file:
> > C:\windows\rundll32exe. How can I sort this?
>
> Try running System File Checker.
> Start - run - sfc
> This program should replace corrupted or (I believe) missing
> system files from the CAB files.
>
> How did you get to the point that you had to restore win.com?
>
>

[Jeff Richards]

That error message is not giving enough information to be helpful, although
you can use the DIR/s command to confirm that rundll32.exe really does exist
on the disk. I would recommend that you ignore that message for the moment
on concentrate on confirming that ordinary operations are working OK, and
getting that mouse working so that further troubleshooting will be
simplified.
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
"Aisha" > wrote in message
...
> Exact message: Cannot find file C:\windows\rundll32.exe
>
> "Jeff Richards" wrote:
>
>> That sounds like a file version problem or possibly another missing file.
>> Please provide the exact message, verbatim.
>> --
>> Jeff Richards
>> MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
>> "Aisha" > wrote in message
>> ...
>> > After restoring win.com on my 98SE & successfully rebooting, thanx to
>> > Jeff. I
>> > am now trying to get into add/remove programmes & it cannot find file:
>> > C:\windows\rundll32exe. How can I sort this?
>>
>>
>>

[FromTheRafters]

Found it. I helped a friend once that did a similar thing
with Windows 3.1 - giving the computer to a friend and
removing unneeded files like autoexec.bat and config.sys.
She wanted to at least give the computer away with a
functioning OS on it. Between the "undelete" program
and some knowledge of the needed boot files, we got it
sorted over the phone. This was the DOS undelete, not
the Windows undelete - I just renamed ?utoexec.bat
and ?onfig.sys back to their original names and places.

Perhaps some of your 'deleted' files are still recoverable?

"Aisha" > wrote in message
...
> Very easy if you're a novice! See 'restoring win.com'
>
> "FromTheRafters" wrote:
>
>>
>> "Aisha" > wrote in message
>> ...
>> > After restoring win.com on my 98SE & successfully rebooting, thanx to
>> > Jeff. I
>> > am now trying to get into add/remove programmes & it cannot find file:
>> > C:\windows\rundll32exe. How can I sort this?
>>
>> Try running System File Checker.
>> Start - run - sfc
>> This program should replace corrupted or (I believe) missing
>> system files from the CAB files.
>>
>> How did you get to the point that you had to restore win.com?
>>
>>

[Aisha]

Have been doing what you advised & found my old accounts program hanging,
rest seemed O.K. Computer happily went on line & antivirus started updating
so I thought, good I can then scan for any nasties. Program wanted to restart
so clicked 'yes'. Computer shut down & died. Tried to reboot, got 2 flashes &
a beep & it shut down again. I thought either the power pack's gone or the
HD's b****d. Put in my trusty start up disk & all came to life again, so I
got to where I could scan the disk which came back no errors or bad sectors.
Restored to a previous working registry but computer still shut down.Think
its now format & reinstall but I've never done anything so technical, and I
would need help in words of one syllable as I'm a very old lady, but would
really like to have a try. Have looked at Microsoft's article 255867 & can
follow to number 9, then 'partitions' yes but 'logical drives' ''Que!!!''
I would really like your comments please.

"Jeff Richards" wrote:

> That error message is not giving enough information to be helpful, although
> you can use the DIR/s command to confirm that rundll32.exe really does exist
> on the disk. I would recommend that you ignore that message for the moment
> on concentrate on confirming that ordinary operations are working OK, and
> getting that mouse working so that further troubleshooting will be
> simplified.
> --
> Jeff Richards
> MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
> "Aisha" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Exact message: Cannot find file C:\windows\rundll32.exe
> >
> > "Jeff Richards" wrote:
> >
> >> That sounds like a file version problem or possibly another missing file.
> >> Please provide the exact message, verbatim.
> >> --
> >> Jeff Richards
> >> MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
> >> "Aisha" > wrote in message
> >> ...
> >> > After restoring win.com on my 98SE & successfully rebooting, thanx to
> >> > Jeff. I
> >> > am now trying to get into add/remove programmes & it cannot find file:
> >> > C:\windows\rundll32exe. How can I sort this?
> >>
> >>
> >>
>
>
>

[Jeff Richards]

There is no need to re-do the partitioning, so you don't have to worry about
extended partitions and logical drives, unless you want to change what the
previous drive arrangement was. You can do FDISK /Status at the DOS prompt
to see the current state of the partitioning. If you are part way through
deleting or creating partitions then you will need to advise what is
reported and I can take you through the steps in that article.

The best instructions for re-installation are here:
http://home.satx.rr.com/badour/html/w98_restore.html

It's certainly possible that you still have an intermittent hardware
problem, especially if the machine is old. In that case fixing things can
be extremely frustrating, as you can never be sure whether a particular
problem needs a hardware or software fix.
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
"Aisha" > wrote in message
...
> Have been doing what you advised & found my old accounts program hanging,
> rest seemed O.K. Computer happily went on line & antivirus started
> updating
> so I thought, good I can then scan for any nasties. Program wanted to
> restart
> so clicked 'yes'. Computer shut down & died. Tried to reboot, got 2
> flashes &
> a beep & it shut down again. I thought either the power pack's gone or the
> HD's b****d. Put in my trusty start up disk & all came to life again, so I
> got to where I could scan the disk which came back no errors or bad
> sectors.
> Restored to a previous working registry but computer still shut down.Think
> its now format & reinstall but I've never done anything so technical, and
> I
> would need help in words of one syllable as I'm a very old lady, but would
> really like to have a try. Have looked at Microsoft's article 255867 & can
> follow to number 9, then 'partitions' yes but 'logical drives' ''Que!!!''
> I would really like your comments please.
>
> "Jeff Richards" wrote:
>
>> That error message is not giving enough information to be helpful,
>> although
>> you can use the DIR/s command to confirm that rundll32.exe really does
>> exist
>> on the disk. I would recommend that you ignore that message for the
>> moment
>> on concentrate on confirming that ordinary operations are working OK, and
>> getting that mouse working so that further troubleshooting will be
>> simplified.
>> --
>> Jeff Richards
>> MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
>> "Aisha" > wrote in message
>> ...
>> > Exact message: Cannot find file C:\windows\rundll32.exe
>> >
>> > "Jeff Richards" wrote:
>> >
>> >> That sounds like a file version problem or possibly another missing
>> >> file.
>> >> Please provide the exact message, verbatim.
>> >> --
>> >> Jeff Richards
>> >> MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
>> >> "Aisha" > wrote in message
>> >> ...
>> >> > After restoring win.com on my 98SE & successfully rebooting, thanx
>> >> > to
>> >> > Jeff. I
>> >> > am now trying to get into add/remove programmes & it cannot find
>> >> > file:
>> >> > C:\windows\rundll32exe. How can I sort this?
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>>
>>
>>

[PCR]

Aisha wrote:
| Have been doing what you advised & found my old accounts program
| hanging, rest seemed O.K. Computer happily went on line & antivirus
| started updating so I thought, good I can then scan for any nasties.
| Program wanted to restart so clicked 'yes'. Computer shut down &
| died. Tried to reboot, got 2 flashes & a beep & it shut down again. I
| thought either the power pack's gone or the HD's b****d. Put in my
| trusty start up disk & all came to life again, so I got to where I
| could scan the disk which came back no errors or bad sectors.
| Restored to a previous working registry but computer still shut
| down.Think its now format & reinstall but I've never done anything so
| technical, and I would need help in words of one syllable as I'm a
| very old lady, but would really like to have a try. Have looked at
| Microsoft's article 255867 & can follow to number 9, then
| 'partitions' yes but 'logical drives' ''Que!!!''
| I would really like your comments please.

I'm sure Richards & others can talk you through a fresh install of
Windows, if necessary. Some pointers...
a) Ensure you know your ProductKey before beginning.
(HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Cur rentVersion
ProductKey "12345-12345-12345-12345-12345")
b) Hunt for necessary drivers before beginning.
(State what are your main peripherals or at least
everything you installed separately after installing
Windows. Did you install it yourself?)
c) Get a copy IE6 (or at least IE5.5) before beginning.
(You won't be able to use Windows Update otherwise.)

Here is something else to try first, if your machine is booting directly
to shutdown. Get a new Wininit.exe...

Can you boot to Safe Mode? (Hold CTRL as you boot to get the Startup
Menu, & select "Safe Mode".) If so...

(1) "START button, Run, SFC"
(2) Bolt "Extract one file from installation disk"
(3) Enter "Wininit.exe" in the "Specify..." box.
(4) Click "Start". It should offer to "Save file in C:\WINDOWS".
If not, make it so.
(5) In "Restore from", if not already pre-filled, browse to
(a) Installation CD (likely the Win98 folder) or
(b) The folder that has your cabs on the hard drive, likely
"C:\WINDOWS\options\cabs\".
(6) Click "OK"

If it discovers the file already exists, it will offer to back it up.
May as well do so. If it discovers the file is "in use", it will request
that you reboot to complete the install.

If you cannot boot to Safe Mode, then you must do it in DOS. Boot to
Command Prompt Only from the Startup Menu or use a Startup Diskette to
get to an A:\prompt. Then...

(a) DIR /s /a C:\Wininit.exe
Will say whether you have it, & where it is. It should be
in "C:\Windows"

C:\>DIR /s /a C:\Wininit.exe
Directory of C:\WINDOWS
WININIT EXE 41,973 04-23-99 10:22p WININIT.EXE
1 file(s) 41,973 bytes

(b)
"EXTRACT /a /L C:\Windows <LOC>\Base4.cab Wininit.exe"

That is all one line between the quotes with 5 spaces, but do not enter
the quotes. It will offer to overwrite, if one is already there.

<LOC> is the location of "Base4.cab". This may be discovered as
follows...

C:\>DIR /s /a C:\base4.cab
Directory of C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS
BASE4 CAB 168,960 04-23-99 10:22p BASE4.CAB
1 file(s) 168,960 bytes

If you have the .cabs on a CD, you will use your CD-ROM drive letter,
instead of "C:\" in that DIR command. And probably it will find it to be
located in... "X:\Win98"... where "X:\" is the CD-ROM letter.

So, in my case, the command is...

"EXTRACT /a /L C:\Windows C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS\Base4.cab
Wininit.exe"

All one line: no quotes: there are 5 spaces in the line, including one
after "Base4.cab". That will search all cabs for Wininit.exe & extract
it into C:\Windows. You may need to use something other than
"C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS" as explained above.

Here is the full article about your condition...
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;141898&Product=w98
Windows 95/98 Boots Directly to "Shut Down" Screen

WARNING: Some say an over-install of Windows, especially involving a
laptop, is a bad idea, as it may not get .vxd's right. But it should be
fine just to extract Wininit.exe.

........Quote of article............
SYMPTOMS
When you start your computer, you may see the following message:

It's now safe to turn off your computer
This behavior can occur in any mode.

CAUSE
This behavior can occur if the Vmm32.vxd or Wininit.exe file is missing
or damaged.

RESOLUTION
To resolve this issue, follow these steps:

1. To Obtain a New Copy of the Wininit.exe File
Extract a new copy of the Wininit.exe file from your original Windows
95/98 disks or CD-ROM to the Windows folder. In Windows 95, the
Wininit.exe file is located in the Win95_11.cab cabinet file on the
Windows 95 CD-ROM or disk 11 of your original Windows 95 disks.

(In Win98SE, it's in WIN98_47.CAB... PCR.)

For more information about using the Extract tool, click Start, point to
Programs, click MS-DOS prompt, type extract, and then press ENTER.

For additional information about using the Extract tool, please see the
following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;129605
129605 How to Extract Original Compressed Windows Files

2. Restart the computer.

NOTE: If you installed Windows 95 from a CD-ROM, you may need to enable
the Mscdex.exe line in the Autoexec.bat file or reinstall the real-mode
CD-ROM drivers included with the CD-ROM drive before you can reinstall
Windows 95. After you enable the real-mode CD-ROM drivers, repeat step 1
to restart the computer.

To Re-Create the Vmm32.vxd File

1. Restart your computer. For Windows 95, when you see the "Starting
Windows 95" message, press the F8 key, and then choose Command Prompt
Only from the Startup menu. For Windows 98, press and hold down the CTRL
key after your computer completes the Power On Self Test (POST), and
then choose Command Prompt Only from the Startup menu.

2. Type the following line to change to the Windows\System folder:
cd \windows\system

3. Type the following line:
ren vmm32.vxd vmm32.old

4. Reinstall Windows 95/98.

(I guess it will want to go to "C:\Windows.000", but you must direct it
to "C:\Windows". PCR.)

NOTE: If you installed Windows 95 from a CD-ROM, you may need to enable
the Mscdex.exe line in the Autoexec.bat file or reinstall the real-mode
CD-ROM drivers included with the CD-ROM drive before you can reinstall
Windows 95. After you enable the real-mode CD-ROM drivers, repeat step 1
to restart the computer.

MORE INFORMATION
A Vmm32.vxd file is included on the Windows 95 disks and CD-ROM.
Extracting this version of the file does not solve the problem, as it is
an incomplete version of the file. You must run Setup to re-create a
system-specific Vmm32.vxd file.

If Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) is enabled in your
computer's Basic Input/Output System (BIOS), the "It's now safe to turn
off your computer" message may not be displayed when you shut down
Windows 95/98.

If this article does not describe your shutdown-related issue, please
see the following Microsoft Web site to view more articles about
shutting down Windows 98:

The information in this article applies to:
Microsoft Windows 95
........End of quote.................

| "Jeff Richards" wrote:
|
|> That error message is not giving enough information to be helpful,
|> although you can use the DIR/s command to confirm that rundll32.exe
|> really does exist on the disk. I would recommend that you ignore
|> that message for the moment on concentrate on confirming that
|> ordinary operations are working OK, and getting that mouse working
|> so that further troubleshooting will be simplified.
|> --
|> Jeff Richards
|> MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
|> "Aisha" > wrote in message
|> ...
|> > Exact message: Cannot find file C:\windows\rundll32.exe
|> >
|> > "Jeff Richards" wrote:
|> >
|> >> That sounds like a file version problem or possibly another
|> >> missing file. Please provide the exact message, verbatim.
|> >> --
|> >> Jeff Richards
|> >> MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
|> >> "Aisha" > wrote in message
|> >> ...
|> >> > After restoring win.com on my 98SE & successfully rebooting,
|> >> > thanx to Jeff. I
|> >> > am now trying to get into add/remove programmes & it cannot
|> >> > find file: C:\windows\rundll32exe. How can I sort this?

--
Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
Should things get worse after this,
PCR

[Buffalo]

Aisha wrote:
> Have been doing what you advised & found my old accounts program
> hanging, rest seemed O.K. Computer happily went on line & antivirus
> started updating so I thought, good I can then scan for any nasties.
> Program wanted to restart so clicked 'yes'. Computer shut down &
> died. Tried to reboot, got 2 flashes & a beep & it shut down again. I
> thought either the power pack's gone or the HD's b****d. Put in my
> trusty start up disk & all came to life again, so I got to where I
> could scan the disk which came back no errors or bad sectors.
> Restored to a previous working registry but computer still shut
> down.Think its now format & reinstall but I've never done anything so
> technical, and I would need help in words of one syllable as I'm a
> very old lady, but would really like to have a try. Have looked at
> Microsoft's article 255867 & can follow to number 9, then
> 'partitions' yes but 'logical drives' ''Que!!!''
> I would really like your comments please.

Do not Fdisk and reinstall Win98 unless it is the last resort.
You will lose all your programs and have to reinstall everything.
Wait for good answers and DO NOT reinstall Win98 until you UNDERSTAND what
you may lose.
Reinstalling Win98 is very simple, but the consequences may not be what you
desire.