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My Windows XP computer shows a blank screen and an error message saying, “Please reinstall shdocvw.dll.” I don’t know what it is or where to get it.

Shdocvw.dii or Shdocvw.dll?

Before we move forward, I noticed the file extension .dii in your question. Let’s capitalize that, shall we? DII looks remarkably similar to DLL, doesn’t it? I believe the error is really a DLL error, though I’m always a bit unnerved when I see .dii errors. Why? Because malware makers commonly give their programs legitimate looking names in order to trick users. Hopefully, it’s really a DLL file, because those are usually easy enough to deal with.

What is Shdocvw.DLL?

The Shdocvw.dll file is a Shell Document Object and Control Library file that is required by Windows. It is involved in displaying your folders and, as you’ve discovered, Windows won’t work without it.

Is the black screen a window? Can you see any icons? Can you access the Start button? If so, you can use System Restore or the System File Checker utility using traditional means. If not, it’s a bit trickier.

Try System Restore from a Command Prompt

Is the black screen an actual command prompt screen? That is can you enter commands after the C:\ prompt? If so, you can try running a few commands such as System Restore and System File Checker. If not, try rebooting while pressing the F8 key in order to get into the Safe Mode choices screen. Pick Safe Mode with Command Prompt. Enter:

%systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe

Note that you’ll replace %systemroot% with the appropriate location of Windows such as:

C:\Windows\system32\restore\rstrui.exe

Try System File Checker

If you do not have a restore point, the System File Checker is the next tool to try. You will need your Windows installation discs because the System File Checker will scan your system for damaged or missing files, such as the shdocvw.dll file, and replace them with original copies from the disc. Once again, get into Safe Mode with a Command Prompt. Type in:

sfc \scannow (note the extra space before the ‘\’and press enter once typed)

Try Windows XP Repair

What if you can’t get to a command prompt? Not to worry, Windows XP’s installation discs also come with a repair Windows XP option. Insert the Windows XP disc in the drive and reboot your computer (you may need to change the boot order in BIOS). You’ll see a Windows Setup screen with several choices, one of which is “To setup Windows now, press Enter.” Press Enter. Don’t worry, we won’t be reinstalling Windows. DO NOT SELECT THE RECOVERY CONSOLE REPAIR OPTION DESPITE ITS FRIENDLY SOUNDING NAME.

Accept the license agreement and then choose the Windows XP installation on your computer and press the R key. Hang tight and let Windows do its thing. It will look like it’s reinstalling, but don’t worry - it’s only repairing. Once complete, you’ll be asked to activate Windows. You may want to postpone activation until you’ve enabled your firewall to protect against worms.

After performing the repair, go to Windows Update and update your operating system as your service packs and other security patches will likely have been removed by the repair.

When opening Outlook, I get this error message: The procedure entry point GetIUMS could not be located in the dynamic link library MSDART.DLL. How do I fix this?

DLL errors mean that something is wrong with the registry - the registry contains information and the settings for basically everything on your system. This includes the hardware, software, preferences and users. Your operating system uses information from the registry continually while it is running. DLL errors usually occur when there is malware or a virus or a program was installed or removed improperly.

MSDART.DLL Error

An msdart.dll error means that the MDAC (the Microsoft Data Access Components) module msdart.dll is missing or corrupted. It often happens when you are trying to reinstall the Windows operating system. There are two main ways to fix this issue, one for those who don’t have Windows XP SP2 and one for those who do. If you do, you are going to need the Windows XP CD in order to fix it with this method.

Fix the MSDART.DLL Error

If you don’t have Windows Service Pack 2 installed, you can download MDAC2.8, and this should fix the issue and stop the error from appearing when you start Outlook.

If you do have Service Pack 2 installed, then you need to do a little more work. Go to Start and then My Computer. Find the file C:\Windows\Inf. Find Mcad.inf and right click on it. Choose Install. You will be prompted for the Windows XP Service Pack 2 CD. At this point, just type in C:\Windows\Servicepackfile\i386 then click Ok. Now put the CD in the drive and type the path for the i386 folder. For example, if the drive for the CD is D, type in D:\i386.

Use a Registry Cleaner

In a lot of cases, the easiest thing to do is to use a registry cleaning program that can monitor and fix any registry errors for you. It’s worth it to download a program like RegCure and have it do the work for you.

As with all things having to do with possible viruses, once you have your computer up and running without errors, you should make sure that your virus and antimalware protection updated and running regularly. This should help prevent registry problems in the future.

I have something running on my startup called ‘omuwurafoxosivol’ and the command line is rundll32.exe “C:WINDOWSomuwurafoxosivol.dll”,e ….. I have Googled it with no results. Please help, as I don’t know if it is malware or something bad.

DLL Errors in the Registry

What you are looking at is a dll error, in your case, specifically a rundll32 error. Rundll (DLL stands for dynamic link library) errors indicate that there is something wrong with the registry. The registry in your computer contains information and settings that run everything on it -hardware, software, users and preferences. The operating system uses information from the registry continually while it is operating. When a program can’t access the codes in the registry, you get rundll errors.

Rundll Error Causes

Rundll errors can happen because of many different things. It could be malware - a virus or spyware that may hijack the files that are being shared by the rundll file, or they can be the result of software that hasn’t been installed or removed properly.

Manually Fixing DLL Errors

Have you recently added or removed a program in Windows that might have caused the DLL error? If you have, then uninstalling and/or reinstalling the program in question might get rid of the DLL error manually. Like you, I was unable to find the program that was causing it, so manually fixing it yourself might not work. If you were to manually fix the DLL error, you would need to go to Start > Run and then type regedit in the dialog box. Then you would find the registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. You would then look in the right pane and click on the DLL file that was giving you the error, delete the value and restart. Just know that messing with the registry can give you more problems than you are having now, and particularly in this case, I don’t recommend it. You never know what other programs are using the registry key and you might adversely affect those as well.

Registry CleanersRegistry cleaning programs are made for just this purpose - they will monitor and fix any damaged or partially deleted registry keys and will most likely solve your DLL error issues. We recommend RegCure for this purpose - it has a lot of support and you can try a free download before you purchase the program.

Using a program that was specifically designed to help you clean up your registry is probably your best bet to fixing this error. Once you have the registry cleaned, it is a good idea to run a complete virus scan and then set a restore point on your computer so you can go back to a totally clean machine should anything else happen.

DLL Errors Explained

DLL errors occur when required “dynamic link library” files go missing, become corrupt, or are replaced with updated or older versions of the same file by a different computer program. Dynamic link library files are building blocks of pre-written code for common computing routines. The various programs on your computer reference specific sets of DLL files for common tasks, such as printing a document, rather than being completely self-contained with code. By using common coding modules, programmers do not need to create their own unique code for general tasks. This allows them to keep the final program smaller and focus on more complex coding requirements.

Unfortunately, when a DLL file disappears, goes bad due to file corruption, or gets overwritten by a different version, programs that reference that particular DLL file no longer function properly. Not only will the program’s related function fail, your computer will display a DLL error message.

Fixing DLL Errors on Your Own

DLL errors can be a do-it-yourself job though it takes a bit of troubleshooting to pinpoint the exact solution. One of the more common DLL fixes is simply reinstalling the software generating the error. This often works because programmers include DLL files with the software. Reinstalling the program will replace the missing DLL file with a fresh copy from the disk.

Similarly, another common DLL error involves uninstalling programs. When you uninstall a program, have you ever seen the prompt by Windows notifying you that some shared files are no longer needed by any other programs and asking you to remove them? When you agree to remove these “shared” files, you are agreeing to remove DLL files! Although Windows may say that no other programs need these files, Windows has been known to be wrong. If your DLL errors have happened after uninstalling a program, try reinstalling it. This will reinstall those shared DLL files and potentially solve the problem. Once you’ve verified that your DLL problems have been solved, you can uninstall the program once again, this time remembering not to remove any shared files when prompted.

Downloading DLL Files

If the specific DLL is named in the DLL error message box, one option is to search for a replacement copy online. Many websites specialize in providing DLL file replacements. If you use such a service, make sure to use a good anti-malware scanner to scan the file for threats.

Using Registry Cleaners to Fix DLL Errors

Registry cleaners such as RegCure are excellent at solving common DLL errors and cleaning up your system in general. These utilities go through the Windows registry and clean out unnecessary junk, such as duplicate, obsolete, or conflicting DLL files. For about $30 or so, you can solve thousands of computer errors and improve your computer’s overall performance with a registry cleaner. Regular cleaning sessions ensure that fresh registry-related errors are quickly taken care of.

DLL errors continue to plague computer users. Think back to the most recent changes to your system and you’ll likely be able to figure out what needs to be undone in order to get your DLL files back.

Every time I open my computer I have an error message about dll error.khffcyax.dll, pvecyisr.dll. How to get rid of this error? Please help.

A .dll is a file extension that stands for Dynamic Link Library file and is a part of a computer’s operating system. These kinds of files have code that contains functions for another executable code.

.dll Errors

.dll errors can be caused by many things, although in your case I suspect a virus or Trojan. They can be cause by a program that uninstalled a .dll file that another program or the operating system needs, a bad installation or even a hardware problem. Have you uninstalled or reinstalled any programs lately? This could be a cause.

Manually Download .dll Files

If you can find information on your particular .dll error, then you can try to download the .dll manually. There are many sites on the Internet where you can look for a .dll file and download it from that site onto your system. I could not find any information about these two particular .dll errors, which tells me that they are most likely caused by a virus.

Run Antivirus Programs

It sounds to me like you can still access your system, even with these .dll errors popping up. If you can get into your computer, then the first thing you need to do is run a good antivirus program, as well as a good antimalware program. It is always advised to run more than one to catch the most errors possible. If you don’t have a good program installed, or want to try a different one, look to our Filetonic antivirus reviews article for suggestions. Once you have thoroughly checked your system, the .dll errors may disappear.

If you are running Windows XP, there is a program built in that can scan the system for these errors. Go to Start and then Run. At the prompt, type in sfc /scannow and click Enter. This may allow the system to fix the .dll errors by itself.

System Restore

If these methods are still leaving you with .dll popup errors, you can try a System Restore to bring your computer back to a point before these .dll errors were happening.

1. Go to Start and then choose All Programs. Select Accessories.
2. Get into System Tools. Then choose System Restore.
3. You will see a Welcome Screen. Find “Restore my computer to an earlier time” and choose it.
4. Click Next. You will be asked to choose a restore date. Pick a time just before the problem started to happen to your system.
5. You will need to confirm the date and the system will shut down and reboot.

Start with updating your virus protection, and go from there. One of these methods should get rid of those annoying .dll popup errors.

I have problems sending email under Windows Live Mail. I get the error message “msmail.dll mail could not be initialized (0×80041161)”. Next, IE7 has started blocking access to MSN sites consistently. I also get locked out of Yahoo Messenger and receive notices to update Java and Adobe as well as low memory. My fourth question relates to another PC which says my Office 2000 Professional software is not found on the PC or CD-ROM, so how to correct this? Finally, is there a free anti-spyware program that works with AVG 8.0 free antivirus software?

Let’s take each question one at a time and see if we can’t solve some of your computer problems.

Windows Live Mail Msmail.dll Error

The Windows Live Mail msmail.dll error appears to be related to a poor shutdown of the application. Many users have reported that rebooting has solved this problem while others have successfully solved it by going to Task Manager and ending any WLMail.exe processes running under the Process tab.

Internet Explorer Blocks Access to MSN Sites

Is it possible that someone has adjusted your security settings to block specific websites? For example, many companies create group policies that restrict users from visiting specific Web sites. I’ve heard of non-Microsoft Web browsers (such as Firefox) being blocked from accessing MSN sites but not necessarily Internet Explorer 7.

You might check your Internet Options settings to see if MSN sites have been added to the Restricted Sites list. Go to Tools > Internet Options > Security and click on Restricted Sites. Click on Sites. From here, you can add and remove sites. Likewise, your firewall may be blocking access to specific Web sites as well.

Yahoo Messenger and Updating Java and Adobe Messages

Yahoo Messenger periodically updates the underlying technologies used, thus requiring users to update their computers. Many users report problems with updating Java and Adobe. These two programs generally require a full uninstall before you download an updated version. Go to Add and Remove Programs and uninstall Java and Adobe before downloading and installing the latest version. Here’s an article discussing Java installations.

Out of Memory Issues

Out of memory issues can be related to any number of problems. One of the biggest culprits is having too many programs running at once. Many of these are needlessly running, so it pays to close them - and prevent programs from launching automatically whether you need them or not. Another culprit is spyware. Thus, I’m going to recommend that you download Windows Defender if you don’t have it already.

This free Microsoft product guards against spyware and features a handy Startup Programs management tool. Simply launch Defender, go to Tools, click Software Explorer, and view the Startup Programs list. When you see a program that you don’t need to run at all times, click Disable (or remove if you want to remove it from the list completely).

While you’re at it, go to Options and set up regular spyware scans.

Office Professional Software is Not Found

I’m not exactly clear on your Office Professional error. Was it previously installed on this PC and now it can’t be found? If so, the shortcut may be corrupt. Shortcut icons do occasionally go bad. If this is the case, delete the shortcut and create a new one. Do this by right-clicking the Start button and choosing Explore. Now, let’s navigate to the Program Files folder. Find the Microsoft folder. Next, find the Office folder. It may have a version number in its name. For example, I have Office 2007 and the Office folder is named “Office 12.” Now, look for the various application files such as winword.exe, excel.exe, and powerpnt.exe. Right click each one and click Create Shortcut.

Free Anti-Spyware Programs

We recently reviewed a crop of antivirus programs for 2009. Of those reviewed, several offered anti-spyware protection. Of those, I did find one that is free for personal use. Avast Antivirus is a well-respected application that provides free virus and spyware protection for personal users. Read the full review here: http://filetonic.com/blog/2008/10/24/avast-antivirus/.