Internet Explorer is corrupted… how do I fix it?



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Introduction


This article we will cover how to quickly repair your Internet explorer if you are having serious problems such as, explorer.exe (the system shell) won’t load, or if your Internet Explorer Web browser is completely corrupted. Both of these systems on your Windows Server or Desktop system will surely create headaches. Using the regsvr32 and sfc /scannow commands we will see how we can quickly repair our systems when disaster strikes.


This is a real life actual experience I encountered this past month while working on a Windows Server 2003 Active Directory repair. On one of the servers after we (working with Microsoft) applied tested hotfixes, explorer.exe wouldn’t load when rebooted. A script was deployed and within two fixes, the whole system came back to life when it looked as if an in place upgrade or fresh install would have been the next options of the evening.


Always remember to reapply hotfixes and service packs after repairing system files against any source disk.


First, we tried the quicker easier way. We attempted quick surgery – we attempted to repair the actual files that the shell and Internet Explorer uses.


(Remember – using scripts for the first time should always be done on a test system to ensure success)


Using regsvr32


The regsvr32 command-line tool registers *.dll files as command components in the registry. If you don’t know, a dynamic link library (*.dll) is a collection of smaller programs, which can be called upon when needed by an executable program, such as explorer.exe. The *.exe extension specifies an executable program, so if the *.dll files are corrupted; they will most likely not work properly and cause you problems. You can quickly re-register them with this command quickly and safely. First – you need to ensure that you need to repair Internet Explorer. You will know if, you have major problems with opening it (closes on its own), or you may have spyware that has corrupted it so badly that nothing can save it anymore.


Second – we need to make a batch file and get it on the server. This is easily done with a USB, CD-ROM or floppy drive. The batch file is made by opening up a word or text document and creating the actual script as seen here:



rem Script used to manually reregister Internet Explorer and Shell related *.dlls
rem Also included the Digital Signing and Cryptographic Provider *. dlls if needed
rem rundll32.exe advpack.dll /DelNodeRunDLL32 C:\WINNT\System32\dacui.dll
rem rundll32.exe advpack.dll /DelNodeRunDLL32 C:\WINNT\Catroot\icatalog.mdb
rem regsvr32 setupwbv.dll /s
rem regsvr32 wininet.dll /s
regsvr32 comcat.dll /s
regsvr32 CSSEQCHK.DLL /s
regsvr32 shdoc401.dll /s
regsvr32 shdoc401.dll /i /s
regsvr32 asctrls.ocx /s
regsvr32 oleaut32.dll /s
regsvr32 shdocvw.dll /I /s
regsvr32 shdocvw.dll /s
regsvr32 browseui.dll /s
regsvr32 browsewm.dll /s
regsvr32 browseui.dll /I /s
regsvr32 msrating.dll /s
regsvr32 mlang.dll /s
regsvr32 hlink.dll /s
rem regsvr32 mshtml.dll /s
regsvr32 mshtmled.dll /s
regsvr32 urlmon.dll /s
regsvr32 plugin.ocx /s
regsvr32 sendmail.dll /s
rem regsvr32 comctl32.dll /i /s
rem regsvr32 inetcpl.cpl /i /s
rem regsvr32 mshtml.dll /i /s
regsvr32 scrobj.dll /s
regsvr32 mmefxe.ocx /s
rem regsvr32 proctexe.ocx mshta.exe /register /s
regsvr32 corpol.dll /s
regsvr32 jscript.dll /s
regsvr32 msxml.dll /s
regsvr32 imgutil.dll /s
regsvr32 thumbvw.dll /s
regsvr32 cryptext.dll /s
regsvr32 rsabase.dll /s
rem regsvr32 triedit.dll /s
rem regsvr32 dhtmled.ocx /s
regsvr32 inseng.dll /s
regsvr32 iesetup.dll /i /s
rem regsvr32 hmmapi.dll /s
regsvr32 cryptdlg.dll /s
regsvr32 actxprxy.dll /s
regsvr32 dispex.dll /s
regsvr32 occache.dll /s
regsvr32 occache.dll /i /s
regsvr32 iepeers.dll /s
rem regsvr32 wininet.dll /i /s
regsvr32 urlmon.dll /i /s
rem regsvr32 digest.dll /i /s
regsvr32 cdfview.dll /s
regsvr32 webcheck.dll /s
regsvr32 mobsync.dll /s
regsvr32 pngfilt.dll /s
regsvr32 licmgr10.dll /s
regsvr32 icmfilter.dll /s
regsvr32 hhctrl.ocx /s
regsvr32 inetcfg.dll /s
rem regsvr32 trialoc.dll /s
regsvr32 tdc.ocx /s
regsvr32 MSR2C.DLL /s
regsvr32 msident.dll /s
regsvr32 msieftp.dll /s
regsvr32 xmsconf.ocx /s
regsvr32 ils.dll /s
regsvr32 msoeacct.dll /s
rem regsvr32 wab32.dll /s
rem regsvr32 wabimp.dll /s
rem regsvr32 wabfind.dll /s
rem regsvr32 oemiglib.dll /s
rem regsvr32 directdb.dll /s
regsvr32 inetcomm.dll /s
rem regsvr32 msoe.dll /s
rem regsvr32 oeimport.dll /s
regsvr32 msdxm.ocx /s
regsvr32 dxmasf.dll /s
rem regsvr32 laprxy.dll /s
regsvr32 l3codecx.ax /s
regsvr32 acelpdec.ax /s
regsvr32 mpg4ds32.ax /s
regsvr32 voxmsdec.ax /s
regsvr32 danim.dll /s
regsvr32 Daxctle.ocx /s
regsvr32 lmrt.dll /s
regsvr32 datime.dll /s
regsvr32 dxtrans.dll /s
regsvr32 dxtmsft.dll /s
rem regsvr32 vgx.dll /s
regsvr32 WEBPOST.DLL /s
regsvr32 WPWIZDLL.DLL /s
regsvr32 POSTWPP.DLL /s
regsvr32 CRSWPP.DLL /s
regsvr32 FTPWPP.DLL /s
regsvr32 FPWPP.DLL /s
rem regsvr32 FLUPL.OCX /s
regsvr32 wshom.ocx /s
regsvr32 wshext.dll /s
regsvr32 vbscript.dll /s
regsvr32 scrrun.dll mstinit.exe /setup /s
regsvr32 msnsspc.dll /SspcCreateSspiReg /s
regsvr32 msapsspc.dll /SspcCreateSspiReg /s
regsvr32 licdll.dll /s
regsvr32 regwizc.dll /s
regsvr32 softpub.dll /s
regsvr32 IEDKCS32.DLL /s
regsvr32 MSTIME.DLL /s
regsvr32 WINTRUST.DLL /s
regsvr32 INITPKI.DLL /s
regsvr32 DSSENH.DLL /s
regsvr32 RSAENH.DLL /s
regsvr32 CRYPTDLG.DLL /s
regsvr32 Gpkcsp.dll /s
regsvr32 Sccbase.dll /s
regsvr32 Slbcsp.dll /s
exit


Once you complete the file, it simply needs to be saved with a new extension, as you can see here – *.bat. (for batch file). You can name it whatever you want, as long as you remember to type at either a command prompt in safe mode, or if you can get the system to load without the shell and by doing a <ctrl> <alt> <del> you can get Task Manager, go to the Applications tab => New Task … button => and run the batch file in the Create a new task dialog box which is basically a renamed run dialog box if it looks familiar to you.




If you run this and reboot and you still do not have a shell… you need to run more surgery but this time – no anesthesia.


Using sfc /scannow


Now we will attempt to use the System File Checker tool to help to repair the system. If this fails, an in-place upgrade or a reinstall may be needed – as possible solutions to help you get the system back up and running. In this example we will discuss using Windows XP which is something you could try this on at home if you wanted to follow along. The system file checker can be used to restore original system files to a corrupted system from the source disk.


With the release of Windows Millennium Edition, Microsoft made a serious effort to stop instability of their software and crashes caused by making their operating systems protect themselves from problems caused by 3rd party software which would overwrite important system files.


Windows File Protection is always enabled and when enabled, (you can disable it) – it will definitely help you to keep only digitally signed drivers and software in place so that system crashes are more and more infrequent – if you remember (or still use) Window NT and 9x, you know exactly what I am talking about.


Windows Service Packs, Hotfix distributions, base operating system upgrades and updates are all digitally signed. The System File Checker is also a command line tool run as an executable programs from the command prompt (sfc.exe). The most frequently used switch with this tool is the /scannow option. Using the tool is simple.


Run sfc /scannow from the command prompt. You will see the following dialog box:




This command once executed will start the Windows File Protection service so that it can scan your systems ‘protected’ files and verify them against the source to ensure that they haven’t been corrupted. The tool will replace these files immediately upon finding them. You may get asked for the source disk, so make sure you have that with you. This would be the disk that contains your operating system, whether it is Windows XP, Windows 2000, and/or Windows Server 2003 and so on.


Summary


In this article we covered the a real world catastrophe and looked at how we could use


In this article we covered how to quickly repair your Internet explorer if you are having serious problems such as, explorer.exe (the system shell) will not load, or if your Internet Explorer Web browser is completely corrupted. Using the regsvr32 and sfc /scannow commands will help us get out of a pinch.


Links and Reference Material


To learn more about using resvr32
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/regsvr32.mspx


Explanation of Regsvr32 Usage and Error Messages
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/249873/EN-US/


Load Library Failed While Registering DLL File
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;309288


Description of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 System File Checker (sfc.exe)
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;310747

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