Question

Missing DLL shell.dll

Asked by: FVDW

Dear Expert,

We recently ran Ad-Aware, which to our dismay removed the file shell.dll as well as it's registry entries. Replacing the file alone does not solve the problem as the regisry settings are absent. To make matters worse, shell.dll does not seem to contain any registration information in itself.

How does one go about registering this dll again?

Many thanks,

FVDW

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Asked On
2004-06-29 at 03:14:08ID21041570
Tags

file

,

missing

,

registration

Topic

Windows XP Operating System

Participating Experts
4
Points
500
Comments
19

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Answers

 

by: gemartiPosted on 2004-06-29 at 03:15:17ID: 11424310

 

by: gemartiPosted on 2004-06-29 at 03:19:31ID: 11424330

regsvr32 shell.dll

 

by: FVDWPosted on 2004-06-29 at 03:40:57ID: 11424480

Dear germarti,

Thank you. Unfortunately we have already tried your suggestion. I get the following error:

RegSvr32
"shell.dll" is not an executable file and no registration helper is registered for this file type.

Any suggestions?

Kind regards,

FVDW

 

by: SheharyaarSaahilPosted on 2004-06-29 at 03:42:50ID: 11424493

Hello FVDW =)

have u yet tried the SFC scan,,,,
Goto START>RUN and type  sfc /scannow
u will need ur WinXP CD in order to fix the corrupted windows system files, if found by scan.

 

by: SheharyaarSaahilPosted on 2004-06-29 at 03:44:41ID: 11424504

can u plzz give me some explaiantion that what are the problem u are facing right now :-?

 

by: gemartiPosted on 2004-06-29 at 04:03:00ID: 11424637

>Any suggestions?
REGSVR32 c:\windows\system32\shell.dll

 

by: gemartiPosted on 2004-06-29 at 04:03:53ID: 11424642

This is where shell.dll should be on your system.

If you upgraded from Windows 2000 it will be in c:\winnt\system32

 

by: gemartiPosted on 2004-06-29 at 04:06:21ID: 11424665

If it still doesn't work then your only other option may be to do a repair installation...

How Do I Do a "Repair Installation"?
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/xp_repair_install.htm

Repair
How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade (Reinstallation) of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;315341

Visual aid to the above procedure
http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm
Click on How To Run a Repair Install

You May Lose Data or Program Settings After Reinstalling, Repairing, or Upgrading Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;312369

Data Loss May Occur After Reinstalling, Repairing, or Upgrading Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;312368

 

by: gemartiPosted on 2004-06-29 at 04:11:11ID: 11424694

But one last suggestion before trying a repair install:

START | RUN | CMD

Enter:
REGSVR32.exe c:\windows\system32\shell.dll


 

by: FVDWPosted on 2004-06-29 at 07:52:48ID: 11426632

Dear germarti and Saahil,

Thank you for the assistance.

Just to recapture...

One of our PC's had some spyware/adware on it. Unfortunately, after running Spy-sweeper, shell.dll was removed from the system directory, as well as from the registry. This caused other older applications from malfunctioning, as it needs shell.dll to function correctly.

I ran "REGSVR32 c:\windows\system32\shell.dll" and the error returned was " "shell.dll" is not an executable file and no registration helper is registered for this file type."

It would seem that REGSVR32 cannot register this DLL as it does not contain any registration information whatsoever.

As such, I will try Saahil's suggestion of running " sfc /scannow". If this does not fix the problem, I think we will have to do a Repair Installation as a last resort.

Many thanks,

FVDW

 

by: SheharyaarSaahilPosted on 2004-06-29 at 08:27:54ID: 11426974

hmmmmmmmm u can try SFC scan,,,, but to tell u the truth i also have doubts that its not gonna work,,, coz it can Restore the Original shell.dll from the CD, but as the registries have been also removed, im afraid its not gonna to be corrected without a Repair,,, coz basically what a Repair does is that it restores the default System files and re-register them,,,, so u will surely get it to work after a Repair !!!!!
I have just found a similar problem, and this person also face the same problem as urs >> http://www.opentechsupport.net/forums/archive/topic/25912-1.html

and here also the end result was a Repair i think =\

So i think u better do a repair, and after that reinstall ur programs so that they can also re-register them according to the new registry files :)

!! GOOD LUCK !!

 

by: FVDWPosted on 2004-07-02 at 03:38:07ID: 11455547

Thanks guys,

It would seem that the only way to solve the problem is by doing a repair. Since both of you made this suggestion, how do you recommend we go about asigning the points?

Regards,

FVDW

 

by: gemartiPosted on 2004-07-02 at 03:48:25ID: 11455593

That is up to you. You must decide who provided the best answer and then award the points accordingly.  

 

by: SheharyaarSaahilPosted on 2004-07-02 at 11:14:16ID: 11458847

hehehe, give a Revision to this help page FVDW >> http://www.experts-exchange.com/help.jsp#hs5

;-)

 

by: FVDWPosted on 2004-07-05 at 00:40:04ID: 11471295

Hi guys,

I hope you'll be satisfied with my decision. I decided to split the points between the both of you...

Kind regards,

FVDW

 

by: SheharyaarSaahilPosted on 2004-07-05 at 08:32:04ID: 11473754

^_^

 

by: jerbohrPosted on 2004-10-02 at 15:05:31ID: 12209270

I had the same problem (shell.dll error) and I tried all of the suggested remedies and the problem was not resolved. I don't know why the Windows XP repair installation did not resolve the issue, but my only option seems to be to format and reinstall from scratch. I wanted to bring this point up in case someone else experiences the problem. If you are having this problem don't assume that a repair installation will resolve the issue.

 

by: flipside1212Posted on 2004-11-03 at 01:26:47ID: 12481251

I had this problem before and I found an obscure message board after a couple hours that had the solution and it worked. The only problem is I don't remember exactly how it to do it. I know you have to expand the autoexec.nt_ file from your win2000 or xp cd, then once it is in the windows/system32 or winnt/system32 directory, you must make the autoexec.nt_ file read only, then restart your computer and then install avg. I swear this worked. I just can't remember the proper command to expand the file.

 

by: flipside1212Posted on 2004-11-03 at 01:43:29ID: 12481360

OK, please disregard the last comment I made.
I misread the problem, that fix is for another problem while installing AVg. The solution to the shell.dll problem is:

go to Start < Run
type "cmd"
type "cd c:\windowsdirectory\system32\dllcache"
type "copy shell.dll .." <-------yes, that's one space and two periods



*** substitute windowsdirectory for winnt or windows, depending on if you have winnt or win9x/xp respectively

close the command window.
try installing the program again.
it worked for me

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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