[highland403]

When I tried to turn on the computer this morning, I got an error message that said <windows root>\system32\hal.dll file is missing or corrupt. After some research it appears that this file can become corrupt if the electricity goes off when Windows is updating. I don't know for a fact if that's what happened, but the short story is that I reinstalled Windows XP Home Edition using the repair installation, not the clean install, and that solved the corrupt hal.dll problem.

Near the very end of the install process, I got an error message that said mshta.exe could not be found. I clicked OK and the installation process finished. The computer boots up now and everything works but I can't start Internet Explorer. I also have Opera on the computer and it seems to be working fine.

Is mshta.exe needed to run IE and if so, can I download it from the internet? I searched my XP installation CD including hidden files and mshta.exe isn't on the CD. So, I'm assuming mshta.exe wasn't installed at the factory. If that's true, it's puzzling why IE explorer worked before the reinstall (without mshta.exe) and now it seems to need it.

Any help would be appreciated!

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Microsoft HTML Application Host. MSHTA is the process that runs .HTA files (HTML Applications = programs written in HTML) under Windows. Typically MSHTA loads as soon as a .HTA application needs to run, and then terminates when the application completes.

You may not see it on installation CD, if you search for mshta.exe. Those files are compressed and you should be looking for mshta.ex_ file.

[Broni]

Microsoft HTML Application Host. MSHTA is the process that runs .HTA files (HTML Applications = programs written in HTML) under Windows. Typically MSHTA loads as soon as a .HTA application needs to run, and then terminates when the application completes.

You may not see it on installation CD, if you search for mshta.exe. Those files are compressed and you should be looking for mshta.ex_ file.

[Broni]

I just checked my CD. It's located in \I386 folder.

File attached.

Attached Files

•  mshta.zip   14.35KB   766 downloads

[highland403]

Thanks! Do I open it in the System32 folder?

[Broni]

Yes.

[highland403]

I started to unzip the file in System32 and received the message that it already contains mshta.exe. I don't get it.

[Broni]

It can be corrupted.
Restart in Safe Mode, rename your file to mshta.old and paste my file in.
Restart.

[highland403]

I tried renaming it in Safe Mode but it won't let me delete or add to the name. Is there any harm in renaming it to mshta.old in normal mode?

I noticed that there is another similar file called mshta.exe.mui. I assume that file is OK to leave alone?

[highland403]

I tried renaming it in Safe Mode but it won't let me delete or add to the name. Is there any harm in renaming it to mshta.old in normal mode?

I noticed that there is another similar file called mshta.exe.mui. I assume that file is OK to leave alone?

[Broni]

Leave the other file alone.
You can't rename system file in normal mode.

Go Start>Run ("Start Search" in Vista), type in:
sfc /scannow
Click OK (hold CTRL, and SHIFT, hit Enter in Vista).
Have Windows CD/DVD handy (with Vista, most likely, you won't need it).
If System File Checker (sfc) will find any errors, it may ask you for the CD/DVD (rarely in Vista case).
If sfc won't find any errors in Windows XP, it'll simply quit, without any message.

[highland403]

This computer has XP OS, not Vista. Do I need a Vista CD?

[Broni]

No, simply omit Vista notes while reading my previous reply.

[highland403]

OK. Its been running about 10 minutes is about a third of the way thru scanning.

[Broni]

OK.

[highland403]

It just finished running and gave no messages.