IE cannot find Active Desktop HTML file

Okay rzb, this should help you!

This occurs when the Windows\Web folder has been moved or renamed, or the Windows\Application data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer folder is missing or damaged.
 
Use Microsoft Windows Explorer to create a Windows\Web folder, or
reinstall Internet Explorer to re-create the folder.

To create a Windows\Web folder:

1. Open Windows Explorer and scroll down to the C:\Windows directory (presuming that C is the drive on which Windows is installed) and click on the + to expand it.

2. Now click on the C:\Windows folder to highlight it.

3. Now go to the top left of the Windows Explorer windows, click File, New and then folder and name it Web.

4. You should now have a subdirectory called Web under C:\Windows.

5. Now you should be able to enable the active desktop.

To reinstall Internet

Explorer, first remove it, and then reinstall it. To remove Internet
Explorer, follow these steps:
 
1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
 
2. Double-click Add/Remove Programs.
 
3. On the Install/Uninstall tab, click Internet Explorer 4.0 in the list
   of installed programs, and then click Add/Remove.
 
4. Click "Uninstall Internet Explorer 4.0 and all its components," and
   then click OK.
 
5. Restart your computer when you are prompted to do so.
 
6. In Windows Explorer, delete the Windows\Web folder.
 
7. Reinstall Internet Explorer.
 
8. Create a new Windows\Application data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer
   folder. For information about creating folders, click Start, click
   Help, click the Index tab, type "creating" (without quotation marks),
   and then double-click the "creating folders" topic.


This problem can also occur if the Mshtml.dll file is missing or damaged, or if the registry entries for the Mshtml.dll file are missing or damaged.

If you have tried the first of the two suggestions above and the problem is not resolved, try this before removing and reinstalling IE.
 
To resolve this, follow these steps:
 
1. Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files Or Folders.
 
2. In the Named box, type "mshtml.dll" (without the quotation marks), and then
   click Find Now.
 
3. If the Mshtml.dll file is found, right-click it, click Rename, and then type
   a new name for the Mshtml.dll file (such as Mshtml.xxx).
 
   If the Mshtml.dll file is not found, skip to step 4.
 
   For more information about how to rename a file, click Start, click Help,
   click the Index tab, type "renaming" (without the quotation marks), and then
   double-click the "Renaming Files" topic.
 
4. Quit the Find tool.
 
5. Extract a new copy of the Mshtml.dll file from your original Internet
   Explorer CD-ROM, the folder to which you downloaded the Internet Explorer
   Setup files, or your original Windows 98 disks or CD-ROM to the
   Windows\System folder.
 
   NOTE: If you do not have an Internet Explorer CD-ROM or a folder on your hard
   disk that contains the Internet Explorer Setup files, contact Microsoft
   Product Support Services.
 
   NOTE: If you previously applied an update to the Mshtml.dll file provided by
   Microsoft, reinstall the updated version of the Mshtml.dll file instead of
   the version included with Internet Explorer or Windows 98.
 
   In Internet Explorer 4.0 or 4.01 for Windows 95, follow these steps to extract
   the Mshtml.dll file:
 
   a. At a command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER
 
   extract /l <path1> <path2>\ie4_s2.cab ie4_2.cab
 
      where <path1> is the path to the folder to which you want to extract
      the Ie4_2.cab cabinet file, and <path2> is the path to the folder in
      which the Internet Explorer Setup files are located.
 
      NOTE: If you downloaded Internet Explorer 4.0 or 4.01 from the Internet,
      <path2> is location of the Internet Explorer Setup files on your
      hard disk. If you installed Internet Explorer 4.0 or 4.01 from a CD-ROM,
      <path2> is the path to the Internet Explorer Setup files on your
      Internet Explorer 4.0 or 4.01 CD-ROM.
 
   b. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER
 
   extract /l <path1> <path2>\ie4_2.cab mshtml.dll
 
      where <path1> is the location of the Windows\System folder, and
      <path2> is the path to the folder to which you extracted the
      Ie4_2.cab file.
 
   In Windows 98, use the System File Checker tool to extract the Mshtml.dll
   file. For information about how to extract files using the System File
   Checker tool, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge
   Base:
 
   ARTICLE-ID: Q129605
   TITLE : How to Extract Original Compressed Windows Files
 
If the behavior persists, follow these steps:
 
1. Click Start, and then click Run.
 
2. In the Open box, type "regsvr32 /i mshtml.dll" (without quotation marks),
   click OK, and then click OK again.
 
3. Restart your computer.

Dennis

Dew,
The answer that you gave was very good.  However I already have and seen the Microsoft explanation and directions and am still having a problem.  I have identified that the Mshtml.dll is corrupt.  The problem that I am having is that I have the Windows 98 CD and the IE4 CD, but I downloaded IE5 from the internet recently.  This problem was happening prior to the download.  Specifically, I am having keystroke problems.  I renamed the Mshtml.dll file as microsoft suggested, but using the extract commands are where I fail.  Here is some additional information.  If you could help I would be much appreciative:
1.)  I used this command to extract from START-RUN prompt:
extract /l g:\win98_02.cab mshtml.dll /l c:\windows\system
(g: is my cd rom drive) and the extract had a problem with
the path.  I believe that it should have a problem with the path because I do not see a cabinet named win98_02 on the Win98 CD. I also tried ie4_s2.cab with the ie4 CD and I also tried these command from a DOS prompt and did the same thing.  (Could you please help with my syntax).
2.)Which CD do you recommend to use (IE4 or Win98) and which cabinet are the files in for each?

Thank you for your continued effort,
RZB

Okay, for reference, you can use the system file checker to extract a file from either CD. You would click Start, Run and then type in SFC <ok> and then you can use SFC to extract the correct file and place it where necessary. This eliminates the syntax problem.

In this case though, this DLL is from IE 5 and must be repaired through IE 5.

Click Start, Settings, Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs. Scroll down to Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 and Internet Tools and click on it, then click Add/Remove. Now choose repair IE 5.

Dew,
Thank you for the use of SFC.  That worked well and am able to extract files now.  However, I did as you suggested and chose repair IE 5.  When repairing I received a message that my extract32.exe file may be corrupt.  I continued with the repair because that was not the file I was concerned with.  The repair finished and I rebooted as suggested, but it still cannot find the HTML file.  After it did not work, I tried using the extract from the Win98 and IE4 CD just to see.  Needless to say, they did not work and caused illegal operation errors all over the place, so I put the corrupted Mshtml.dll file back in.  To put it plainly...I'm stumped.  Could you tell me what my next options are or do I just have to live with it?  
Thanks again,
RZB

I don't know that you have to live with it. How about uninstalling IE 5, remove it's files and then reload it.