Missing DLL File Prevents Getting Past Log On

JoAnn,

Thank you for using the Dell Community Forum.

Try booting to the Windows XP cd and choose the option to run the Repair install. This should resolve the missing files.

Hey Jesse! Thanks. I tried that from the start. I get to the welcome window showing my user name and button (I'm the only user and there are no passwords). Next under my user icon, "Loading your personal settings..." appears, then the system briefly changes to the desktop, then back to the welcome window. Under my user icon, "Saving your settings..." appears, then the system just stops at the welcome window. It appears that one or more files might be corrupted, but I'm not totally sure. I would love to run the Repair install... is there another way to get to it? Thanks again for your reply!!! Jo Ann :o)

Hey Jesse-- Well I finally got to a window (in startup) which as for a disk "Windows Automated System Recovery Disk." I have every disk saved that shipped with my Dell 4550. I don't seem to have a recovery disk. Any helpful suggestions? Again, thank you for your support! Jo Ann 

JBJDesigns,

The recover disk is made in Windows by following the steps below. This disk is not sent with your system.

In Windows 7 and Vista, how do I create a system repair disc?

Note: System repair discs contain security-sensitive information; keep them in a safe location.

1. From the Start menu, select Control Panel.
   
2. Click Backup and Restore, and then on the left, choose Create a system repair disc.
   
3. Select a drive, and then click Create disc.

See if the information below will help you run the repair install

How to run a repair install

Hi Jesse,

Well, things are progressing. I tried to run the restore, but no go. Same problem. BTW my Dell 4550 runs Windows XP, not Vista or Win7. As I sit here writing this reply, the Dell 4550 is running Windows XP (SP1). I'll take it from there and see what happens. I have the WinXP (SP2) disk, but I'll have to download and reinstall WinXP (SP3). Thanks again for your help.

Jo Ann

Hi Jesse--well, I thought everything was looking pretty good yesterday. Once WinXP SP1 reinstalled and the system booted up, it seemed I was going to get my old 4550 back. But alas, the same problem described above occurred. The system opens to the "welcome" screen and then the desktop for a couple of seconds and then pops back the the "welcome" screen with my user id and icon. 

I have an idea though. How about connecting the Dell Studio directly (crossover cable) to the Dell 4550. Perhaps I could gain access through DOS. What do you think?

Thanks again for your help.

Jo Ann

Hi Jesse,

I finally got my Dell 4550 up and running (sort of... still missing a few pieces which I'm working on). I had to open up the computer, swap the order on the two hard drives (the original C: drive which came with the 4550 crashed a couple of years back and was replaced with a new hard drive; however, I was able to restore the original hard drive and use it in tandem with the new hard drive). Back to the current situation: I reformatted and installed windows xp sp1/sp2 on the old hard drive which was now the master drive. The only problem I've had so far is getting connected to the internet. I can't find the driver for the Ethernet Controller. I can use "dial-up," but it's so slow, I can't download anything of significant size (NetZero closes the connection assuming there's no activity). Anyway, windows xp sp3 would take 13 hours to download through a dial-up connection. 

To the point, I need the driver for the Ethernet Controller so I can get back on the internet and finish restoring the 4550. Also, I've gone through all the original disks, drivers, application, etc. but the system can't find the driver.

Here's what I do know:

• the data on the other hard drive is all intact; where can I find the Ethernet Controller driver?

• if that's not possible, where can I find the driver on Dell or the internet?

Maybe it's right under my nose, and I just can't see it.

Your expert advice and help is greatly appreciated.

Jo Ann

Your hard drives should be jumpered as Cable Select, with the boot hard drive connected at the end of the ribbon cable.

Did you install the chipset driver as the first driver loaded after installing XP? If the chipset isn't installed first, other drivers -eg, network driver- either won't install or won't work properly.

If you didn't install the chipset. download it and copy to the desktop of the 4550. Then reboot in Safe Mode (press F8 before Windows starts to load) and double-click on the chipset. When that's done, reboot normally.

The XP drivers for the network adaptor in the 4550 are all listed here. You may have either Broadcom or Intel ethernet so you'll need to figure out which one you have and install only that driver and matching software. If you use your Service Tag at support.dell.com it should offer you the drivers for your specific system whiich will help you find the right one.

Ron

Hi Ron... thanks for the tips. I've upgraded and swapped a few hard drives in my day... the fact is when it's not your daily activity working on computers, you kind of start forgetting things as you age... bummer! :o(... Anyway, everything is up and running. The only issue is the following error message:

"Error Loading C:\Windows\System32\NVMCTRAY.DLL" also same message except the missing file is display as "NvMcTray.dll"

Everything has been installed properly, so I'm not sure why I'm getting the error message... I'm working on it right now. If you have any tips or suggestions, please have at it. Thanks again, Jo Ann :o)

Those errors are related to an nVIdia video card driver. Do you have an nVidia video card in this system?

The missing dll appears to be the one that puts the nVidia icon in the system tray next to the clock to give you quick access to video card settings.

Assuming you use an nVidia card, and assuming you installed the chipset driver, you may need to uninstall the video driver in Device Manager. Then reboot and install a fresh download of the latest nVidia driver that's compatible with both your video card and version of Windows. It's probably better to get the driver directly from nvidia.com since Dell tends to be behind on video drivers.

Do not install the new video driver "on top" of the old one. Remove the old one first and follow the instructions to install the new driver.

Ron

Hi Ron! Thanks again. I took care of the problem yesterday, and everything is now running just fine. I also have both systems sharing the internet with the wireless router. My brother-in-law had a bad crash recently and after being told his data was unrecoverable, he was directed to GRC.com where he downloaded a small utility called SpinRite. He was able to recover everything. I also purchased and downloaded the utility. Now I can keep both machines backed up and secure from HD crashes. I do appreciate this forums response time. And your help has been greatly appreciated. Have a great day, Jo Ann

P.S. I'm still back to the problem of networking the Dell 4550 with the Studio 9100. What started this whole fiasco was a "little" file from Microsoft—"Link Layer Topology Discovery (LLTD) Responder (KB922120)"—file name: WindowsXP-KB922120-v5-x86-ENU.exe." It crashed the 4550. Do you know of a way to "safely" network the two systems together even though they're running different OS? 

Glad you fixed the nvidia problem.

SpinRite is a great tool. It's not cheap, but if you desperately need your data back.. It's always better to back up data on external media on a regular basis, than to hope that SpinRite will rescue you from a disaster. :emotion-4: 

As for your networking issue, I'm not the right person to answer that question. You should post that on the Networking forum.

Ron