I downloaded and installed a new browser.. FREE-BROWSER. During the installation process there was an error message saying something about having problems registering a DLL file... which I should have written down but stupidly didn't. I chose the option of "retry". Then... after the browser was installed I was prompted to re-boot.
Well, needless to say, the computer will start to boot, loading my wallpaper and I will see the taskbar "flash" for a second.... then all I am left with is my wallpaper and nothing else. No icons... and no Windows. Also... strangely enough, there are no error messages that you usually get with missing/damaged/corrupt DLL files. (???)
Anyway... I tried everything. scanreg /restore, which didn't bring me back far enough. I tried rebooting several times... to no avail.
I then emailed the browsers developer and asked him if there were any files that came with his system that could possibly have this effect on my Windows98se... and he was promptly wrote back with a list of 4 that he said were "windows" files... They are......
comdlg32.ocx
mscomctl.ocx
MSVBVM60.dll
shdocvw.dll
Now... it has been suggested to me by a few people (relativly computer saavy) that the file that is giving me the type of "symptoms" I am experiencing is
shdocvw.dll <-----
The thing is... I have no Windows98CD. And any bootdisk that I have created, doesn't work. Yes... my "A" drive is set as the first one in the drive sequence pecking order. I have never gotten a boot disk to work.
Obviously... at least to me I "forced" a DLL onto my system that is either corrupt or the wrong file version.
Does any of this make since to you guys. Are the above listed DLLs enough to paralyze my system if I have the wrong version or a corrupt copy?
Also... does the file mentioned as the potential "culprit" have any kind of history in producing these type of symptoms?
Thanks guys....
DAVID