One more Windows Vista problem

Abba San

Legacy of Elijah [LoE] - Proud Grandfather
My desktop machine at work - not my gaming machine, Praise the Lord - has virtually died. I'm confident it is Windows and not any hardware. This all started after the latest update that came out last week.

When trying to boot in normal or safe mode I get an error message related to browseui.dll and a black screen. There has also been a blue screen that says a problem has been detected and windows has been shut down. At first the machine allowed me to reboot in safe mode and try a restore to point prior to the update. That seemed to only compound the problem and now I only get the error message.

In chatting with Dell - their immediate response is to go for the throat - just do a clean reinstall of windows - losing everything. I have my data backed up - I'm not worried about that. It's the reinstall of all the various software and settings I've put together over the last year.

Does anyone have a suggestion before I go in this weekend and do the clean sweep option? Is it possible to boot from a disk and replace the browseui.dll file?
 
Depending on what type of restore disk dell gave you, you might be able to do a repair on the OS.

That said your probably better off doing a clean install and making sure all the hardware is in good order (especially the hard drive).

The other option is to try and replace the file with a livecd or bartpe disk. IMO this is pretty risky. That file should be located at: c:\windows\system32\browseui.dll so you could copy it off another machine or ask a member with vista to email it to you.
 
i'm glad it worked..but that's only a bandaid..the only way to truly fix a system with major errors is to reinstall.
 
I'm beginning to think the same thing. I'm looking for my original disks to various programs. Thinking about doing the same with my laptop - it could use a clean start as well. Should be an interesting first couple of weeks in August.

Any special advice for someone who has never done this before - on purpose?
 
only backup your documents and saved games and stuff. the programs you'll have to reinstall..disconnect everything usb based except mouse and keyboard then off to the reformatting races.
 
this is also a good point to remember...once you have the OS installed and all of your programs - do a full system backup. it images the box and you won't have to re-install programs again...
 
Can you recommend a good program for the full system backup? I like the "won't have to re-install programs again" part of that.
 
imaging just makes an image of the current system which has problems. why are you going to reinstall the current problematic operating system load. The only way to reset the OS is a format/reinstall form scratch which means reinstalling the programs as well.
 
I'm planning to do a total clean-up. Then take a system snapshot with everything loaded and working fine. At least that is what I am planning.
 
you need something bootable..windows does not allow you to image form within the running operating system. I think symantec ghost would fit that bill.
 
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