If you can locate that dll file in the System 32 folder on a working computer of any type using W-XP, send it to a floppy diskette and then put the diskette in your laptop. Open the drive. and drag and drop the dll file on the system32  folder. Windows will probably report there is already a file by that name and it will be overwritten if you continue. Do so as that is what you want. You can do this in Safe mode if the LT will not boot up normally

Hey, Thanks, Bay Wolf. Never had run across that page, I have done what I advised 3 times with a file that seemed to end up corrupted or lost under W98SE; that one was setupx.dll and when you lost it, the computer would only boot in Safe Mode. You could not use System File Checker to restore it from the W98 CD, as the CDROM did not work in Safe mode. I am curious to know whether the W-XP Setup Utility Disks would possibly have put it back for him, but have not tried it, and was reluctant to advise anyone else to do it that way.:smileyhappy:

seeing that it's a system file then running sfc /scannow from the cmd prompt should replace that file with a "good" copy.