Windows Update made my PC useless - MSVCRT.DLL is there, but Windowsdoesn't know it.

[ubiquital]

This is bizarre.

Ok it is not highly likely that WU did this, but I was fine before the
last "push" of patches.

I installed them today, rebooted... And now I get this error message
when starting almost any program:

"This application has failed to start because msvcrt.dll was not
found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem"

The file IS there, in windows\system32 and dllcache. It is version
7.0.37i90.3959. I thought maybe an application install replaced it
with a non-official copy. So, after replacing it and the one in
dllcache, by using a recovery console (because the file is locked by
apparently some process(s))... I can't even get to the login screen.

So I'm perpelxed as I have almost all real applications preventing me
from running... And the only hint is this one file, that is in
place... And apparently is in use by some processes as I cannot
delete it.

I'd greatly appreciate an idea or two. I really don't want to re-
install my OS.

By the way - this is Windows XP 64, SP2.

 

[Gerry]

Have you tried Last Known Good Configuration?
A description of the Safe Mode Boot options in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315222/en-us

System Restore?
http://bertk.mvps.org/

--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[ubiquital]

Thanks guys...

I forgot to mention:

1) Safe mode and last known good configuration do not fix the
problem. I can still fully boot, just get that error anytime most
programs started. (including IE, FireFox... really just about
everything)
2) System restore appears to work, until the reboot - after which
when system restore goes to "finish" its work I think, I get that same
error. System restore is making use of that dll (or another component/
dll and Windows is confused)

I have access to recovery console and can copy files from other drives
or from a USB stick, and I can even boot into windows... So
theoretically I can register other dll's if needed and hopefully do
anything necessary to fix this without re-installing.

I'm really perplexed as to why XP thinks it isn't there, even though
it is - and apparently in use by other processes. (And unfortunately
any tool - like "handle" that might help me find out more information,
will not run)

Also - I really haven't installed anything lately that I think could
have caused this. Really I haven't installed anything other than
those patches..... I uninstalled all the hotfixes that were installed
over the last two days... problem persists. I allow the fixes to re-
install, in case something got corrupted during the first install....
Problem persists.

Since I have recovery console access I SHOULD have the power to fix
this, I just really don't know what is going on. (This is on my home
PC of course, which is now useless - posting from my work PC)

Thanks again....

 

[Gerry]

Please post copes of Error Reports as they appear in Event Viewer.

Have a look in the System and Application logs in Event Viewer for
Errors and Warnings and post copies here. Don't post any more than 48
hours ago.

You can access Event Viewer by selecting Start, Control Panel,
Administrative Tools, and Event Viewer. When researching the meaning
of the error, information regarding Event ID, Source and Description
are important.

HOW TO: View and Manage Event Logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308427/en-us

A tip for posting copies of Error Reports! Run Event Viewer and double
click on the error you want to copy. In the window, which appears is a
button resembling two pages. Click the button and close Event
Viewer.Now start your message (email) and do a paste into the body of
the message. Make sure this is the first paste after exiting from
Event Viewer.

--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[ubiquital]

Ah ha... Microsoft, I have beaten you!

Ok this is almost certainly not MS's fault.

I reviewed my event logs carefully but one problem is that I hadn't
rebooted since late Dec... I scanned through there and saw nothing of
consequence.

I did a search though of my registry and found a reference to c:
\windows\syswow64\msvcrt.dll

I put a copy of msvcrt.dll there, and the error changed. I learned
about how the win32/win64 subsystem works, and that syswow64 should
have the 32 bit version. I tried putting what I thought was the right
version there last night, but that wasn't it. And I also learned that
my 64 bit programs were working, just couldn't run 32 bit.

I searched the Winxp cd for msvcrt.dll, and unfortunately that was the
same file I just tried.

It wasn't till today when I happened upon a website post somewhere
that I learned that syswow64 files are stored with a "w" in front of
them on the xp cd... I expanded that, put it in the syswow64
directory... And all is well.

It seems likely some poor written installation program that I may have
used in the last 2-3 weeks did something wrong. My machine is mature
and I don't install much these days, so I can't recall what it might
have been.

But it's fixed, and now posted for future people that run into this
one...

Thanks for your comments...

 

[Gerry]

Glad it's sorted.

I do not think it's a good idea to leave a computer on 24/7.


--



Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Alister]

Glad it's sorted.

I do not think it's a good idea to leave a computer on 24/7.

Really!!

The more you turn a PC on and off, the more likely you are to
experience a hardware failure.
This is because, at power up, the hardware is under much more stress
and power supply voltages fluctuate much more. Disk drives, fans and
even motherboard logic draw much more current on initial boot than at
any other time during their operation.

I agree that for good environmental reasons, (and financial concerns
over electricity usage) a domestic PC probably shouldn't be on all the
time - but I would suggest that using standby is a better thing for
the PC than turning a PC on and off every time you use it.

Alister

 

[Gerry]

Alister

I have seen your argument and a counter argument, which I cannot
remember at the moment. Wear on hardware is not predictable and I would
imagine obsolescence will often occur in many situations before hardware
failure.


--



Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Alister]

Alister

I have seen your argument and a counter argument, which I cannot
remember at the moment. Wear on hardware is not predictable and I would
imagine obsolescence will often occur in many situations before hardware
failure.

--

Given the continued rapid evolution in hardware - and the increasing
requirements of software - I am sure you are right about obsolescence.

I am afraid that as a bloke who mostly works with servers, the idea of
turning them of overnight seems a trifle strange, and my poor PC's at
home don't get much of a rest!

Alister

 

[Gerry]

Alister

Most visitors to these newsgroup are users of home computers. Whilst I
have a foot in both camps, the way computers are used at my business
base does not greatly vary from the home user environment. I fully
appreciate that things are different in the world of big business. You
may not turn a server off but surely you do not leave networked
workstations linking to it on?

--



Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Alister]

Alister

Most visitors to these newsgroup are users of home computers. Whilst I
have a foot in both camps, the way computers are used at my business
base does not greatly vary from the home user environment. I fully
appreciate that things are different  in the world of big business. You
may not turn a server off but surely you do not leave networked
workstations linking to it on?

--

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To be honest, yes we do, for the most part.

The majority of my users are application developers who tend to want
access to their workstations outside of office hours, as they often
remote in from home in the evenings or at weekends. I did actually
insist that we closed down all workstations over the christmas period,
and I am trying to limit the number of machines we leave on at
weekends, but I am fighting a losing battle.

Alister

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Really!!

The more you turn a PC on and off, the more likely you are to
experience a hardware failure.

I don't agree with this at all.

This is because, at power up, the hardware is under much more stress
and power supply voltages fluctuate much more. Disk drives, fans and
even motherboard logic draw much more current on initial boot than at
any other time during their operation.

Although there's some truth in what you say, from a practical
standpoint, it hardly matters at all. Even if you power on and off
multiple times a day, almost all computer hardware lasts long enough
that it gets replaced, not because it failed, but because the owner
wants newer, better equipment.

I agree that for good environmental reasons, (and financial concerns
over electricity usage) a domestic PC probably shouldn't be on all the
time - but I would suggest that using standby is a better thing for
the PC than turning a PC on and off every time you use it.

My view is that it doesn't matter very much either way, and you should
do what works best for you. Personally I used to power on once
a day, when I got up in the morning, and power off once a day, when I
go to bed at night. I now leave my computers on 24/7, because I use
Windows Home Server, and it backs them all up every night while I'm
asleep.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I started keeping my computers on 24x7x365 in 1993 when I operated a
BBS. The only exceptions have been my notebooks.

Yes, I didn't mention it, but I don't keep my laptop on 24/7 either.
In fact, on most days, it doesn't get turned on at all.