shell32.dll corrupted - only a few programs can be used.

[zten]

A few days ago a problem started, very often such pop-ups came up:

The program can´t start because SHELL32.dll is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem.

During recent days I just watched movies or was on edge browser so it did not bother methat much, just clicked ok and continued doing whatever I was I was doing at the time.

Today I decided to take a look at it and found out that majority of my programs do not work at all. So far the only ones that work are BitComet (BitTorrent does not work), Edge browser and antivirus program. So I went online and started searching for solutions. I used that guide as a guideline : http://pcsupport.about.com/od/findbyerrormessage/a/shell32-dll-not-found-missing-error.htm

What I tried + extra info

• I usually do scans quite often (once a week /once every two weeks + automatic scans and live protection) , never any problems have popped up. I made full scan in safe mode with antivirus, for the first time there were a few issues, mostly cookies, although one trojan had managed to sneak in, it got removed. I am not fully competent when it comes to viruses, so I hope this was not something that could have corrupted the file? I can not use MalwareBytes for extra scan as it does not start. Windows Defender does not work just as the registry cleaner I use ( Advanced System Care 8)


• Recent two windows updates have failed:

Cumulative Update for Windows 10 for x64-based Systems (KB3105210) - Error 0x80073712

Update for Windows 10 for x64-based Systems (KB3106932) - Error 0x80073712


• I tried to use restoring computer to previous state, but there are no restore points. Resetting the computer is also not possible. A window pops up with text :

There was a problem resetting your PC. No changes were made.


• When I tried used sfc/scannow in elevated command prompt, the scan started and then :

Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operation.


• Everything has been done in safe mode.


I can not start majority of the programs I have and I can not install any new ones as well in order to gain better look. I am completely clueless right now. I was thinking of asking my friend who uses the same operating system to send me the file and then just overwrite the current one, but have no idea whether it could make things even worse.

Can anybody suggest any solutions that could help me out.

Thank You

 

[Trouble]

Sounds like you are extremely limited as to what you can do at this point.
My suggestion would be to perform and in-place upgrade repair. That is to say...... upgrade it again, overtop of itself from within your current install, just double click setup.exe in the installation media. Just be sure to check the little box to get updates as part of the upgrade process.
That will generally keep all your programs, data, drivers and such safe, but.....
I would still create a disk image before going forward.

Installation media can be obtained here
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/techbench
OR here
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

If you already have the ISO you can simply mount it from within Windows 10 and run setup.exe from there.

Neosmart has a pretty good article on it here https://neosmart.net/wiki/windows-10-repair-installation/
You can skip the first couple paragraphs where they are promoting their recovery CDs and drill down to the meat of the article below.

 

[zten]

Sounds like you are extremely limited as to what you can do at this point.
My suggestion would be to perform and in-place upgrade repair. That is to say...... upgrade it again, overtop of itself from within your current install, just double click setup.exe in the installation media. Just be sure to check the little box to get updates as part of the upgrade process.
That will generally keep all your programs, data, drivers and such safe, but.....
I would still create a disk image before going forward.

Installation media can be obtained here
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/techbench
OR here
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

If you already have the ISO you can simply mount it from within Windows 10 and run setup.exe from there.

Neosmart has a pretty good article on it here https://neosmart.net/wiki/windows-10-repair-installation/
You can skip the first couple paragraphs where they are promoting their recovery CDs and drill down to the meat of the article below.

Thank you for your reply, I tried it out. Unfortunately, I can not start either one. Neither .exe files or .iso files do not work. Both give the same error response of shell32.dll missing. Could you suggest any other options if you know? Thanks

 

[Trouble]

Sorry.
The only other thing I can think of is, if you have access to another computer running the same version of Windows 10, you could possibly grab a copy of the shell32.dll from that machine and copy it to the proper location on the problem machine.
C:\Windows\System32\shell32.dll