Entry point not found...

[Kikinchikin]

Nearly every download that someone posts in the lounge that is funny and thus intrigues me never works. I'll click the link, the download will finish and then I get a red box that says a bunch of weird shit on it and at the top says entry point not found. Is there any way for me to fix this?

[Acaila]

Would it be possible to post a screenie of it?


The reason I ask is alot of error messages contain "Entry point not found" and a screenie of the message would help narrow it down.

[Acaila]

This is the sort of problem I like trying to fix, so I am just going to jump right in before I know precisely what the problem is.

It could be associated with rundll32.exe, rstrui.exe, your browser or may even be prompted by your graphics adaptor or other process. It means that a required module inside a file (executable or library) is either corrupted or can't be found. This is most often caused by a virus, malicious software, software designed to tweak your system by optimising your system files, poor installation of windows, bad sectors on your HDD, poor installation of a Service pack (this is the most likely), poor installation of a component upgrade (IE or other browser, HDD controller, etc.)

First thing you should try is installing another browser to make sure it isn't a problem with your current browser. Just get Netscape or something. If it is a problem with your browser, reinstall it and it should be fixed.

If it is XP SP1, the simplest answer is to reinstall the Service pack, remembering to reboot whenever prompted. That includes a reboot before you install the Service pack. If for some reason you can't reinstall the Service pack, you can fix it from recovery console.

cd \windows\system32
Rename the winlogon.exe, shell32.dll, msgina.dll and shlwapi.dll files to *.old
(rename winlogon.exe winlogon.exe.old) etc.

Copy the service pack version of these files to the System32 folder by typing. I have no idea how to locate the service pack version of these files. I have SP1 on CD integrated with my copy of XP pro, so for me I can locate them on the CD obviously. If you have the compressed SP1, you may have problems.

Type:
dir /s winlogon.exe
it should list all winlogon.exe files on the drive. Do this on c: (there may be a backup) and your CD drive if you have SP1 on CD.

Reboot the computer


Post exactly what the error message is (screenie would be even better) and I should be able to figure out what's wrong. Also post your OS and Service Pack.

[Kikinchikin]

Next time I see it I will try to remember :). BTW I am a huge n00b with computers, so I would just hit print screen to do a screenie? Also where would I gain access to my screenshots?

[Acaila]

What you have to do, is hit ctrl+print screen, then open MSPaint (start->programs->accessories->paint) or other gfx program, paste it, crop the image with the crop tool so only the error message is displayed, put it on some webspace (or send it to someone who can over IRC or whatever) then post the url to it.

[dscytherulez]

You don't need to hold ctrl. Just hit the prtscn button and paste it in the photo editor of your choice, paint being the most convenient.

[martyr]

control is convenient down the line though, since it takes a picture of only the active window area, fyi. eliminates cropping step, which is annoying to do in paint.