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Explorer.exe failed to start because UxTheme.dll was not found
Has anyone had this problem? My PC worked fine until today. I cannot boot my PC beyond the background. I received this message: Explorer.exe unable to loacate component; This application has failed to start because UxTheme.dll was not found. Reinstalling the application may fix this problem.
I know nothing about this dll file. Nor do I know what software uses it. I talked with a Dell technician this afternoon as I could not get it reloaded from the Windows XP PRO CD. He could find nothing on the dll file. Neither could we restore the system via various methods. I was told that I would have to reformat the hard drive and reinstall everything. Not wanting to loose all my data, I started trying to work around the problem. I found that I could run programs using the Task Manager, File, Open. In a Google search for UxTheme, I found several website that referred tot a patch for the file, but none to explain what it is and why I would have it on my PC and why I cannot boot the PC normally.
It appears to me that there should be a way to fix this without reformatting since I can the run the programs and find my data through Task Manager.
Can anyone please help? I would be most thankful!
Sandy
Message Edited by SandyC on 05-05-2003 09:24 PM
Denny Denham
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May 6th, 2003 03:00
You should be able to restore that file using Recovery Console. To start Recovery Console, follow these steps:
1. Insert the Setup compact disc (CD) and restart the computer. If prompted, select any options required to boot from the CD.
2. When the text-based part of Setup begins, follow the prompts; choose the repair or recover option by pressing R.
3. If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot system, choose the installation that you need to access from the Recovery Console.
4. When prompted, type the Administrator password.
5. To replace the missing file, at the system prompt, type expand X:\I386\uxtheme.dl_ c:\windows\system32\uxtheme.dll (where X is the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive. There is a space between dl_ and c:\.)
6. To exit the Recovery Console and restart the computer, type exit.
Not that it's a lot of help, but the reason that file is on your system is explained (sort of) here.
SandyC
189 Posts
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May 8th, 2003 01:00
Denny, I was not able to recover the file. I worked with a Dell technician last evening and we finally had to reformat the hard drive and reinstall Windows XP. I'm still trying to get my PC configuration back as I had. Sure wish the recovery had worked. Thank you for responding to my inquiry.
Sandy
s2budd
1 Message
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November 1st, 2003 15:00
The following worked for me. I found it from the www.tek-tips.com website.
Message from tektips copied below:
I have experienced this in my place of work a couple of times, and after some serious head scratching i discovered that the common element was a file called Uxtheme.dll
If you get this file from the net or from another XP machine, copy it to a floppy disk, then start your XP machine in safe mode with a command prompt, then copy the .dll file into the c:\i386 and c:\windows\system32 directories - you should be able to restart your machine as normal - and the problem appears to be solved!
I dont know what causes it, and aint sure if its a permament solution but all I know that it seems to work!
Hope this helps!