How do I draw people into a post?

Like this!

OK, I recieved a call this evening from a man in our town who is having computer problems.

He started a program and the computer froze. He restarted and the computer came back on fine. It showed the mouse, the wallpaper, played the opening music and then sat. It will not show the icons or taskbar.

The Ctrl-Alt-Delete menu can be opened, but only four programs are displayed - Explorer, G-something-32 and two other programs which he has installed. Systray is not listed.

If the Windows button on the keyboard is pressed, Kernel32.exe performs an illegal operation and the computer freezes. We can, however, get the computer to start in Safe Mode.

This does not appear to be virus damage.

The computer is an HP running Windows 98.

Any suggestions?

This family believes that I am a "computer magic man" and can do anything on the computer, and I don't want to let them down.... :) (I'm not saying I don't want them to think I'm not magic - I just want to fix their computer). ANY thoughts or possible things I can try would be of much help. I am an active Registry editor, just in case your suggestion happens to involve the Registry.

Well personally I'd reinstall Windows, cos even if you do manage to fix it you'll never know if there's still something *****ed up, tucked away in the Windows config :)

Backup anything that they want to keep first....just in case.


You have tried rebooting with the Win98 floppy they corrected on the original install right?

Why not replace kernel32.dll? I think you have a typo or bad data from your friend. There is no Kernel32.exe, it is a dll file with all sorts of stuff in it. I think it is called "Kernel" because it has a lot of very basic programs in it.

A friend of mine had similar problems involving kernel32. His system was not crippled. It just could not do some non-critical functions.

The problems you describe might be fixed as follows.

On another system, make a copy of kernel32.dll. make sure both systems have same version of Windows 98. Boot from a floppy or use F8 to start in DOS Mode. Copy kernel32.dll from floppy to C:\Windows\System. I suspect, but am not sure, that DOS6.22 (or earlier) will not copy to a FAT32 Drive (use Windows 98 Bootable Floppy).

I could not copy from a floppy with Windows running. I got message saying something like "Kernel32.dll in use, cannot be replaced." I did not try doing the copy in Safe Mode, which might not use kernel32. You could try in safe mode first, which is slightly more convenient than working from a DOS Prompt.

The above is worth a try, before giving up and reinstalling Windows.

Hey, good idea Guv :) Shoulda thought of that *D'oh*

OK guys, thanks for the replies. I printed out all of your info and took with me to the poor computer. I now know a bit more about the problem than I did last night.

I copied Kernel32.dll onto a disk and brought it along. It would not let me replace the file in safe mode, so I did it from DOS. It did not change any of the problem.

Something I negected to mention - when the computer starts, it shows a black screen, then the pointer, then the wallpaper, then in plays the sound, and then it displays a box which says "Updating shortcuts - Programs - Startup." This box is displayed for only about half a second. It is at this point that the computer dies. It stops and does nothing more. If I press Ctrl-Alt-Delete, I see the following:
Explorer
Msgloop
Msg-something (I think it is Msgserver32)

I poked around on the computer (in safe mode) and discovered - yes - a virus! It is known as "KAK.Worm." I quickly got on the Internet on a laptop computer they have and found removal info from Norton AntiVirus' website. I then discovered the worm on the laptop, too. I freed both computers from the worm, but the problem did not change on the PC.

I think that the problem is related to the "Updating shortcuts" message in some way. I am not sure if it is related to the worm, though.

So, I've decided to re-install Windows 98, unless someone can offer more suggestions. If I install Windows over itself, will it erase their personal files, or should I back them up? Also, they have a CDRW, which would seem to be good for backing up files, but the CD Drive doesn't show up in Safe Mode. I also can't seem to get to work from DOS. any suggestions there?

If there's any suggestions or helps anyone has - I'd love to hear them...

Allen

[Edited by Allen Schoessler on 11-22-2000 at 11:30 PM]

Well - I fixed the computer this morning. I'll never know what was wrong, though. :)

I fixed it by restoring the Registry with the system.1st file, and it fixed the problem. I had to re-install a few applications and fix a few minor problems, but it was pretty painless.

BUT - one problem still exists. The monitor, which used High or True color on 800 x 600 resolution before the problem, now only supports 16 colors and a 640 x 840 resolution. I have re-installed the monitor driver, but no sucess. Any ideas there?

No, I didn't.... How can I figure out what kind of graphics card they have so that I can get the drivers?

To get hardware data: Start, Settings, Control Panel, System, Device Manager.

There is also a lot of data available in the Accessories Folder. Try: Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System Information. When you get there, look at the options on the Tools Menu.

Device Manager only shows info for installed cards :(.

Try opening up the case and looking for a serial/model number on the card, then look at the manufacturer's website (it'll say on the card who makes it).