Internet Explorer is Screwed Up!

Bill Bosler · Post by **Bill Bosler** » 24 Mar 2006 8:54 pm

One of the .dll files involved with I.E. on my son's computer seems to have gotten corrupted and his I.E. won't work. There doesn't seem to be any way to reinstall that software. I downloaded I.E. 6 from Microsoft's web site, but it sees a newer version of I.E. on the computer and won't install itself. The computer has one of those damn recovery CDs that won't allow you to pick and choose parts of the system to reinstall. It wipes the whole friggin' hard drive clean and reinstalls everything, so that's useless. He usually uses Netscape as his browser, but Microsoft gets very grumpy if it can't run I.E. when it's doing its updates. Any suggestions?

Jon Moen · Post by **Jon Moen** » 24 Mar 2006 11:00 pm

If you are sure it is a .dll problem, find a good copy of the .dll and copy it on top of the bad file.

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 25 Mar 2006 3:30 am

Many PC vendors, that have a "restore partition" allow you to make 1 copy of the Operating system and backup programs. I know Dell has this and also Gateway.

Check your son's computer and see if that is an option on that one. If it is you can then fix the Operating system without having to reload everything.

You have two options once you have the CD made. (1) run sfc /scannow and it will scan the files and fix any corrupted or missing files. If that doesn't work you can do a Windows XP "repair". The repair is a little more drastic as it's almost like reinstalling Windows XP over the existing version.

But, if you are set for automatic updates from Microsoft you should get all the "critical" updates without having to visit the Windows XP download site.

Robert Leaman · Post by **Robert Leaman** » 25 Mar 2006 6:18 am

I never met anyone who copied CD discs based on a company's decision to permit one copy. That's almost equal to States trying to collect sales tax on items purchased on the internet after the fact. It's only in their dreams. Copy what you want on a CD-RW, fix the computer, and erase the copy if you are looking over your shoulder. After all, Bill Gates stole the basis of DOS from CPM and went from there.[This message was edited by Robert Leaman on 25 March 2006 at 06:18 AM.]

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 25 Mar 2006 6:59 am

Sorry Robert but you can't do that. The terms of use prohibit it. The restore partition is set up that you can't do that if you wanted to.

When you buy a new PC or buy a copy of, for example Windows XP, the "EULA" (End users license agreeement) that you must agree to before using or installing software prohibits that. Also many new programs such as Windows XP, MS Office, etc are serialized and must be registered/activated and you can only activate, for example Windows XP, on one PC and if it's activated on one PC you can't activate it on another.

You may think you can do anything you want with a PC or PC software but you can't legally and in some cases even illegally.

Jon Moen · Post by **Jon Moen** » 25 Mar 2006 10:50 am

If you are getting a missing or corrupt .dll message, write down the name of the dll and do a search to find that dll's location and date. Try to locate a copy of this file (or a newer version) on your computer or on some one you know (or here, if no luck). Then just copy the new file over the old. This may fix it or you may find it leads to other corrupt files. I have had to do this to 2 or 3 files with success.

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 25 Mar 2006 11:11 am

Then there is the remote possibility that using System Restore from a date before IE got corrupted may restore it to full functionality. Open the System Restore utility and look at the dates of the saved restore files. You may get lucky and find one old enough to fix the problem. If you do perform a system restore you will need to reinstall any programs that were installed or updated after that date, and re-run Windows Updates, anti spyware and anti virus updates, etc.

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Bob "Wiz" Feinberg
Moderator of the SGF Computers Forum
Visit my Wiztunes Steel Guitar website at: http://www.wiztunes.com/
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Bill Bosler · Post by **Bill Bosler** » 25 Mar 2006 1:12 pm

I finally figured it out. I checked the add-ons manager and the amount of crap in there was astounding. I disabled 99% of the add-ons and now it's working again. Thanks for the suggestions and I'm still PO'd that most computer manufacturers get away with not giving you a clean system CD, that by law, you're supposed to get with the machine.

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 25 Mar 2006 2:11 pm

For those who don't know where the Add-ons management is located, in Windows XP, from Internet Explorer click on Tools > Internet Options > Programs > Manage Add-Ons. From that window you can enable and disable any add-on, except for the very latest Microsoft Genuine Advantage Legitimacy Checking Tool.

------------------
Bob "Wiz" Feinberg
Moderator of the SGF Computers Forum
Visit my Wiztunes Steel Guitar website at: http://www.wiztunes.com/
or my computer troubleshooting website: Wizcrafts Computer Services,
or my Webmaster Services webpage.
Learn about current computer virus and security threats here.

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 26 Mar 2006 4:48 am

Bill, on Gateway's they send blank CD-R's and it's up to the customer to run the "run once program" that creates it.

Dell is cheap and doesn't include the Blank CD-R's. Same way with HP, they don't include the blanks.

But even with the CD's, the "restore partition" is still there to do a complete restore when (not if) necessasary.

Just another part of the changing times and the thin profit margins they have on many new PC's today.

But, I don't see any "law" that they must give you a CD (or DVD) with the operating system on it.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 26 Mar 2006 6:03 am

...but it sees a newer version of I.E. on the computer and won't install itself.

Did you try uninstalling (or deleting) the present copy of the IE program? I see no reason to "wipe" or re-install the whole OS if it's just the browser program that's hosed up.

Bill Bosler · Post by **Bill Bosler** » 27 Mar 2006 5:08 pm

There is no apparent way to uninstall I.E. if you use the control panel "Add or Remove". It's not even listed as an installed program. I didn't try any third party software.

According to a local computer retailer, it's illegal to sell a new computer without furnishing an original copy of all the software installed on that computer. That includes not only the system, but the driver discs for the sound card, graphics card, mouse, etc.

The so-called "Restore Partiton" is nothing more than a way to circumvent the manufacturer's obligation to provide the original discs/CDs. The "Do-it-yourself" CDs that I've seen don't give you the choice to restore just the operating system or parts thereof, but restore the hard drive to the way it was when the computer was shipped.

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 27 Mar 2006 7:40 pm

Unlike previous versions, the version of Internet Explorer that ships with Windows XP is part of the operating system and is not available as an optional component. If your installation of Internet Explorer becomes hopelessly corrupted you will have to either try running SFC /SCANNOW - with the Windows XP CD available, or reinstall Windows on top of itself as a repair installation. I have done this successfully myself, but you will need to re-download all Windows Updates patches again after the repair has completed, and some programs may have to be reinstalled as well.

------------------
Bob "Wiz" Feinberg
Moderator of the SGF Computers Forum
Visit my Wiztunes Steel Guitar website at: http://www.wiztunes.com/
or my computer troubleshooting website: Wizcrafts Computer Services,
or my Webmaster Services webpage.
Learn about current computer virus and security threats here.