Are you saying that the name of the missing file is

dll.dll

?? or am I completely dense?? ;)

Because I have 4 machines running WIN98SE, and none of them have a file with that name.

Leoblob-

I know there is no dll.dll file in WIN98SE, but that is what the message that pops up says verbatim.  I spoke with Dell Tech Support on the phone and they seemed to think that a file was corrupted and advised me to reinstall WIN 98 and start over fresh.  I cannot determine a specific dll file that is the target problem so I think I'm going to have to reinstall.  Internet and all other programs work OK, but when I try to install new programs (such as McAfee VS 9.0 and System Mechanic) this error message starting programs pops up and installation fails.  Any suggestions?  Thanks for the reply.

OK, I think I understand better. Off the top of my head, I would agree with Dell Tech support that re-loading WIN98SE is the best choice. If Widows is so corrupted that it can't even produce an error message correctly (it refers to a non-existant file), then I suspect it that trying to fix it would be a waste of time.

That being said, if you are willing to try something, I might suggest this: Go into Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs, Windows Set-up, and you will see where you can add or remove Windows components. I would try removing a few (ones you don't use often). Then, reboot the machine. Then go back to the same place, and ask Windows to install those components. It will ask you for the WIN98SE CD, and PERHAPS it will look for, and find, the missing or corrupt files. I think the odds of this working are small, but I personally would give it a shot.

If that doesn't work, then I would go for the re-install. It's not really too bad... make sure you have all your drivers before you start. I'd load the video drivers as soon as you can, after the install.

Good luck, I wish I had better ideas. FWIW, I routinely wipe my hard drive clean, and re-install Windows about once a year... and I have FOUR different machines on which I do this. Windows seems to self-destruct over time, and I've found that a re-install is easier and more reliable than (trying to) fix what's wrong.

Shrines,

A Google search for "dll.dll" including the quotation marks, gets several hits that suggest that the file may be a malware component. You may be able to get rid of the error message by following this procedure from doxdesk.com.

Specifically in this case, the command (from a command.com window) would be:

cd \windows\system
regsvr32 /u dll.dll

After a reboot, it should be possible to delete the strangely-named file.

Since the machine may still be infected with malware, also download, install, update and run Ad-Aware and Spybot as described in this article.

If you need more help, please post a new message in the Virus/Spyware Information and Removal board explaining the problem.

Jim

Jim-

Thanks for the informative links.  I have Adaware SE with updated defs and Spysweeper installed.  I will follow your instructions and attempt to find & delete the potential malware file.  Then I'll run Adaware SE  and Spysweeper.  I'll let you know how it goes.

 

-Shrines 

Leoblob-

Thanks for the suggestions.  I will try what you advised and if no success I will go right to the reinstall.  Any specific pointers on reinstalling 98SE would be much appreciated. 

-Shrines 

Leoblob-

I tried removing a few Windows components and rebooting but to no avail.  I reinstalled last night and am up and running much better- error is gone and I am able to install and run programs without error(so far).  Thanks for the suggestion, it was definitely worth a shot.

-Shrines

Jim-

I followed the instructions from doxdesk.com but had no success.  Since I could not locate the file to delete, it was time for a reinstall of 98SE.  Reinstall went well and I downloaded Adaware and Spybot and reinstalled Spysweeper.  Things are running smoothly so far- no errors!  I appreciate your suggestions.

-Shrines

Glad it's running again.  That's the main thing.

Sometimes, it's really hard to "fix" the operating system.  In fact, I am getting ready for a complete do-over on my main computer with WIN98SE.  It's doing some funny stuff that I'm tired of, and starting over actually takes less time (and has a higher probability of success) than looking for each individual problem.

Message Edited by Leoblob on 03-28-2005 11:58 PM

Shrines,

I'm sorry to hear that malware won in this case. I've collected articles related to safe networking that you may find helpful. They're listed in the section labelled "Network safety links" below, in my signature. I hope you find them helpful.

Jim

Jim-

Great set of links, they are very helpful.  Glad to be back up & running.

-Shrines