Same Old Bootup Error--Stop Me Before I Reinstall

[Fanblog]

Here's a recap since I know of no way to link to my three
previous messages since Feb. 24. I'd been running Windows
XP Home Ed. without any major problems for over a year
until I started getting an "Unable to Locate Component"
error at bootup (browseui.dll is supposedly missing).
With nothing but my Windows wallpaper on screen, all I can
do is bring up the Windows Task Manager.

Some applications like MS Works 2000 and Mozilla 1.6 still
work. Other programs such as System Restore, my ISP's
software, and Spybot-S&D 1.2 would return similar errors
referring to DLL files like urlmon, wininet, and javai.

Someone mentioned a similar-sounding error on Windows ME
that was fixed by running the Windows Registry Checker.
However, scanreg (or scanregw) doesn't seem to be
available on XP. I tried running it from Task Manager and
the DOS prompt--file not found or command not recognized.

Per someone else's suggestion, I tried running the system
file checker (sfc /scannow). It would spend 30 minutes
copying files from my XP CD, but after I restart or reboot
my system, I would get the same error message as before.

I also tried the system configuration utility (msconfig)
per another suggestion. When I selected Diagnostic
Startup, I'd still get the same error. That's interesting
because diagnostic mode pretty much disables everything
except for two "essential" Remote Procedure Call
services. It's noteworthy that one of these two RPC
services is flagged as "stopped" and the other
one "running."

So what else can I try before I reinstall XP from my CD.
Will it "cleanly" write over my existing copy of XP? Or
will it basicallly "reformat" my hard drive and delete all
my files? Or will it treat my existing XP as another
operating system and leave me with two instances of XP on
my hard drive (sounds like trouble)?

Any comments/ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Huck]

Fanblog -
We feel your pain, honestly.
Try a 'Repair' install from the CD first. That basically
saves most of your 'goodies' but, possibly, can fix what
has gone wrong. Next step, is the big one of course. I
hate to mention it, but running a full back-up when you
have everything running right has saved my backside more
than once.
good luck - Huck ----------------------------------------

 

[Malke]

Fanblog -
We feel your pain, honestly.
Try a 'Repair' install from the CD first. That basically
saves most of your 'goodies' but, possibly, can fix what
has gone wrong. Next step, is the big one of course. I
hate to mention it, but running a full back-up when you
have everything running right has saved my backside more
than once.
good luck - Huck ----------------------------------------

Actually, I'd do a hardware diagnosis before reinstalling. Make sure
that a hardware component hasn't failed. Start by testing your RAM with
something like Memtest86. Test the hard drive with a diagnostic utility
from the drive mftr. Post back if you need help doing hardware testing.

Malke