I have a Win'98 ver. 4.10.1998 OS. My daughter did something and now everytime I boot my computer as soon as Windows 98 begins to load and I get the wallpaper on the screen and then I get a box message which says: "Explorer - This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down. If the problem persists, contact the program vendor". Under Details I find the following: "Explorer caused an invalid page fault in module explorer.exe at my mac address" On pressing OK all I get is a screen with the wallpaper on it, there are no icons, shortcuts or taskbar so nothing can be done (but the mouse functions). I believe my explorer.exe (NOT Internet Explorer) file has been corrupted. I've tried starting the computer and hitting the F8 key to start it in 'safe mode' and the same thing happens. I've also tried the 'command prompt only' and typing: ren c:\explorer.exe explorer.old Still the same thing. I don't know what to do except re-install the system and loose all my info. Any suggestions? Thank you

have you tried to repair Ie?

Hi, Nautilus327... Aren't kids wonderful?!! First of all, Explorer should be located in your WINDOWS folder (C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE) rather than the root directory (C:\). At any rate, DO NOT try renaming or removing EXPLORER.exe until you have an uncorrupted copy to replace it with. You can easily copy the file from a friend's healthy Win98 v.4.10.1998 system onto a floppy (EXPLORER.exe is surprisingly small: under 200KB). Then, boot to the Command (DOS) Prompt, insert the floppy into your A:\ drive, and type: copy a:\explorer.exe c:\windows Note that there are two spaces in the above command. When asked if you want to overwrite the existing file, type y (for "yes") and hit enter. That should do the trick. However, it's usually quite safe, and a bit easier, to repair the damage using the Win98 CD. Since there is no need to format the disk, you won't lose any files or info simply by reinstalling Windows. The system files will overwrite and/or correct themselves, but your personal programs, documents, pictures, etc. will be ignored by Win98's SETUP.EXE, and you should find them right where you left them. Windows98 SE is an extremely stable workhorse, and it takes a lot more than a mischievous little girl to cause any permanent data damage. But, from now on, do keep an eye on her downloads and installations since teen websites are a haven for malicious hackers to spread their spyware programs, browser hijackers, trojans, worms, and viruses. Keep your system scanners updated and remember to use them EVERY DAY. Good luck to you, Nautilus327. I hope this helps to get your system up and running again soon. ~cgstrange

If copyin Explorer.exe doesn't help, try the following: Boot to Standalone Dos and type: scanreg /restore Restore the Registry to a date before the problem started.

If you are eventually "forced" into reloading Windows it can be done without reformat and you will not loose your own personal data. You just need to check to make sure you haven't lost the odd update and there maybe some program that needs re-installation. Generally it goes quite well. Derek.W