Nice try, but that is how I got there. It reads right in the shortcut and then I went to the target and clicked on it to try to open it. Any other suggestions?
thanks
Mike

Mike56555,

Go to Accessories\System Tools\System Information, right-click it and select Properties. The entry in the Target box should be (including quotation marks):
"C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\MSInfo\msinfo32.exe" and if it isn't it should be changed (assuming that is the correct location of the file. When you went to the msinfo32.exe I assume you browsed to it in Windows Explorer and double-clicked it. If Dell Help and Support has somehow replaced msinfo32.exe, you can restore it using system file checker (Start|Run, enter sfc /scannow and ).

I found 3 copies of the msinfo32.exe file on my computer. Each of them opens to the dell support center page. I ran sfc /scannow and it didn't change anything. Still looking for a solution.
Mike

Mike56555,

Go to the existing msinfo32.exe file and change it to msinfo32.old. Now replace it with the proper file (substitute the letter of your CD-ROM drive for X:\ and have the Windows XP CD in the drive.

Go to Start|Run, enter cmd and
At the command line enter:

expand X:\i386\msinfo32.ex_ c:\program files\common files\Microsoft Shared\MSinfo\msinfo32.exe

and .

You should see a messsage indicating that the file was extracted.

---

@Mike56555 wrote:
I found 3 copies of the msinfo32.exe file on my computer. Each of them opens to the dell support center page. I ran sfc /scannow and it didn't change anything. Still looking for a solution.
Mike

---

Change all to msinfo32.old. You can ignore the one in Prefetch if that is one of the three. You should extract from I386\msinfo32.ex_ into the dllcache folder as well, just so you have a current version which SFC would have used had not Dell Help and Support scr ewed it up.

ok, I did all of that and I still get the same results.... dell support center. Could the act of clicking on the file trigger another process? I don't show any malware on my machine.
Any help appreciated.
Mike

According to this DSL Reports thread, deletion of a particular index.dat file will produce this symptom. How very odd!

Jim

If you deleted all your index.dat files that will happen. I know because I did. However, when the Dell Help and Support screen opens, under "Pick a help topic", click on "Computer Information".  Is this what you're looking for?

delta 

Message Edited by delta7000 on 05-08-2005 09:04 AM

Delta and Jimw, you identified the problem. The Ccleaner software recommended by some is perhaps a little too aggressive. This is not the first problem I have had because I deleted "unnecessary" files.

Now how to repair the problem. If I get a friend to send me the file from her computer and just plug it in, will that do the trick? The file is not on my computer and I can't find it on a system restore disk. Is it a generated file?

Jim, the dell help center page will give me the info I require, but like a lot who are here, I do not like my computer not doing what it should as Efficiently as possible. (hence the tweaking and screwing it up!)
Thanks for your help.
Mike

Mike,

I later found another thread that says if you get someone to send you a copy of the file index.dat from the directory C:\WINDOWS\PCHealth\HelpCtr\OfflineCache, msinfo32.exe will work as expected after that one file is restored.

If you search Google for msinfo32.exe index.dat, you'll find the problem is actually fairly common.  It illustrates one of the key reasons why file and registry cleanup programs need to be used very carefully.  Nevertheless, I was surprised when I found the first thread I posted! What a strange symptom!

Jim