shell32.dll missing

[Spankyx69]

My parents computer won't work. When I start it, I get "application can't start. Shell32.dll not found. Re-installing the application may help." or something close to that. I tried using knoppix to just replace the file but even with xp not running, the file is protected and cannot be moved, renamed, deleted or otherwise modified. I've tried reinstalling xp but it stops when it tries to write over shell32.dll. I've tried HP's system recovery but I have the same problem. Nothing seems t let me get around or replace this file. I can't even boot into safe mode (w/command prompt and w/networking won't work either). Knoppix shows the file as empty. I haven't tried to reformat the hdd yet but that's a last resort. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

p.s. First post. Yeah!

[Raditz]

Post the exact error message. It could be a bad sector on your hard disk.

[Wilhelmus]

Something to try:

Boot into XP recovery console.

Make sure you have set up your BIOS so that the CD-ROM drive is your primary boot device, and then boot from the Windows XP CD. When the text-based part of the setup procedure begins, follow the instructions and choose the repair option by pressing R. If you have a dual or multi-boot system, use the arrow keys to choose the installation you need to access from the Recovery Console. When you are prompted to do so, you must type in the Administrator password (if you didn't create one, you might try pressing the Enter key.)

When you get to command prompt ("C:\"), execute:

attrib -r -h -s c:\windows\system32\shell32.dll

expand X:\i386\shell32.dl_ c:\windows\system32\shell32.dll

Substitute "X:" for the drive letter of your CD and "c:\windows" to your Windows installation path.

Once you have expanded the file type "exit" to exit the recovery console and restart the computer.

[Spankyx69]

The exact error is as follows:

This application has failed to start because SHELL32.DLL was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem.

I'll try the recovery console method and let you know what happens. Thanks for your help.

[Spankyx69]

Tried the recovery console method. It didn't work. It just tells me it can't create the file. By the way the attribute for the file is a (ready for archive) and I can't change it. I believe it may be a bad hdd sector because knoppix shows the file as 0 bytes but the dir command in recovery console shows it at over 8mb. Any more ideas would be appreciated. Otherwise I'll have to save what files I can and then format the drive.

[Wilhelmus]

Backup first... :)

You can run "scandisk" in recovery console.

type: chkdsk /p /r

This scans current drive for bad sectors and TRYS to repair them...

[Spankyx69]

scandisk worked beautifully. It identified some bad sectors which got rid of the bad shell32.dll file. I was then able to re-install windows. My parents and I thank you for all your help. You rock!