Help! What is rundll32.exe? (working, driver, message, CD)

[oddstray]

Originally Posted by mrsgenealogy

... Okay, back to the System Event Log. The first warning yesterday...and there were MANY!...says the source was Dhcp. The description says it wasn't able to renew its address from the network and says the operation was canceled by the user, adding that the computer would continue to try and obtain an address on its own from the DHCP server. ...

See whether someone from your ISP can help you out. DHCP is something they will be involved in.

YIKES! This is BAAAAD!

No, it's not bad unless you do something damaging when you're trying to fix it. Until then, it's only Majorly Annoying. One event that fails often generates several messages. So don't let the number of error messages rattle your nerves.

[mrsgenealogy]

Originally Posted by Rita Mordio

What do you mean by "unsuccessful"? Could you not get into Safe Mode? Did it still act "weird" in Safe Mode?

If it's the former: What model of computer is it? That should help determine which hotkey you need to use.

After booting into safe mode, you should be able to run the scanning programs without interference from whatever is causing the issue.

Okay, I see where you're "going" with this now, Rita. Thanks! By "unsuccessful", I should have explained that I held down the power button and simultaneously began clicking the F8 but the lights just came on and then shut right back down. My computer has a blue "fn"/function button that works with those F keys and I tried that, too...but nothing happened at all...at least that I could tell. I have no idea what those keys are all for except that I used to use F5 to reload a page, I think.

It's an HP Pavilion dv4000 laptop.

[mrsgenealogy]

Originally Posted by oddstray

See whether someone from your ISP can help you out. DHCP is something they will be involved in.

Mrs: Really??? Oh, that's a great idea! Thank you!

No, it's not bad unless you do something damaging when you're trying to fix it. Until then, it's only Majorly Annoying. One event that fails often generates several messages. So don't let the number of error messages rattle your nerves.

Thank you so much for the encouragement, oddstray!!! I really needed that!

Of course, messing it up further is what I'm trying to avoid. I had a man help me once...I may have even found him through this forum...and he led me to make some really bad choices that only made things worse...and then he abandoned me. Oh, well. I know he meant well.

[gallowsCalibrator]

Originally Posted by mrsgenealogy

Okay, I see where you're "going" with this now, Rita. Thanks! By "unsuccessful", I should have explained that I held down the power button and simultaneously began clicking the F8 but the lights just came on and then shut right back down. My computer has a blue "fn"/function button that works with those F keys and I tried that, too...but nothing happened at all...at least that I could tell. I have no idea what those keys are all for except that I used to use F5 to reload a page, I think.

It's an HP Pavilion dv4000 laptop.

... Did you hold down the power button as you were pressing F8? Because that would be why it immediately shut down.

Press the power button like you normally would (not holding it down), then repeatedly tap the hotkey combination for F8.

[mrsgenealogy]

Originally Posted by Rita Mordio

... Did you hold down the power button as you were pressing F8? Because that would be why it immediately shut down.

Press the power button like you normally would (not holding it down), then repeatedly tap the hotkey combination for F8.

Yup, I did it the wrong way. It's open in safe mode now but Malwarebytes isn't able to open...just the same as before. I've started a full system scan with avast even though it is still not working to protect my system. I'm sure that is to be expected. I'll let you know how it goes...thanks, again!

[Tek_Freek]

Edit: A bit of a duh here.

[mrsgenealogy]

Originally Posted by Tek_Freek

Edit: A bit of a duh here.

Haha! I'm not sure what you're referring to, here...but it was still funny!
So, does that mean you are clueless as to what the problem is? If so, join the party!

And don't worry...as long as I don't mess anything else up, I'm no worse off than I was when I came here to ask my question.

[Tek_Freek]

Originally Posted by mrsgenealogy

Haha! I'm not sure what you're referring to, here...but it was still funny!
So, does that mean you are clueless as to what the problem is? If so, join the party!

And don't worry...as long as I don't mess anything else up, I'm no worse off than I was when I came here to ask my question.

I made a post then realized someone else had already posted it. Duh!!

[mrsgenealogy]

Originally Posted by Tek_Freek

I made a post then realized someone else had already posted it. Duh!!

Ha! That happens to me sometimes when I am writing a response and someone else responds before I get it finished so I've totally BTDT!

[Tek_Freek]

One way to possibly clear up the problem is to do this:

How to install and use the Recovery Console in Windows XP

This link takes you part way down the page to a specific set of instructions. Reading the entire page is not a bad idea before you start.

And at the prompt (When you see the prompt for %SystemRoot% (generally C:\Windows), you can start to use the available commands for the Recovery Console.) key in chkdsk C:/r/p and press Enter

So waht you should see after you key in the command is:

C:\Windows chkdsk C:/r/p

The command listing will tell you that /r implies /p, but I always do both just because.

Chkdsk The /p switch runs Chkdsk even if the drive is not flagged as dirty. The /r switch locates bad sectors and recovers readable information. This switch implies /p. Chkdsk requires Autochk. Chkdsk automatically looks for Autochk.exe in the startup folder. If Chkdsk cannot find the file in the startup folder, it looks for the Windows 2000 (sic) Setup CD-ROM. If Chkdsk cannot find the installation CD-ROM, Chkdsk prompts the user for the location of Autochk.exe.

This will check the entire drive and the system files. It will not make any changes to your files or the file system itself. What it will do is copy any file that is found to not be correct with one from the CD.

It takes a while to run and will normally run up to 70% or more, drop t0 50% or so , then run for a while and be done. You will know it's done when the prompt returns.

Remove the CD and reboot.