explorer.exe

[MaSonZ]

You cannot simply install Win 7 on top of Win XP and have it replace only the OS while leaving his files intact.  Sorry.

You might try a repair from the Win XP installation disk, by booting from that CD?  You *might* get lucky if you boot from the Win XP disk, select repair, and then run "chkdsk /r" on his drive?

...or you could wipe out all his user files by installing Win 7 with a full low-level disk format, and then just say "oops."  

Users seem to learn better when you inflict a certain level of pain.

xp came installed on it, so no disk... but I should be able to easily say" oops" . Could be sell worth it......

[2bighorn]

was deleted from my brothers computer for no apparent reason.  he doesnt delete anything, and the day before it was deleted I ran a malwarebytes test and it found nothing, im ruling out a virus got to it.

how can i reinstall this, or better yet wipe his HD of JUST the OS and reinstall with windows 7? right now he has running Windows XP. it will boot to the desktop, it will load his background then a popup window will appear and say something to the effect of "explorer.exe is not present. please reinstall". i would rather not have him use my laptop much longer for the sake of keeping that fairly safe from his horrible browsing habits. if only the OS can be wiped, but all his photos and videos can be saved without backing them up to another drive (i have the room on mine if it needs to be done) I would like to go that route.

thoughts on how i could go about reinstalling Explorer.exe or wiping just his OS and starting fresh with windows 7?

run -> cmd -> sfc /scannow

Microsoft(R) Windows XP Windows File Checker Version 5.1
(C) 1999-2000 Microsoft Corp. All rights reserved

Scans all protected system files and replaces incorrect versions with correct Microsoft versions.

SFC [/SCANNOW] [/SCANONCE] [/SCANBOOT] [/REVERT] [/PURGECACHE] [/CACHESIZE=x]


/SCANNOW        Scans all protected system files immediately.
/SCANONCE       Scans all protected system files once at the next boot.
/SCANBOOT       Scans all protected system files at every boot.
/REVERT         Return scan to default setting.
/PURGECACHE     Purges the file cache.
/CACHESIZE=x    Sets the file cache size.

If you don't have a XP install disk, copy explorer.exe from another machine...

[icepac]

Explorer exists in more than one place on most windows machines.

If he get's desktop and not mouse then it should boot to command prompt easily.

Boot pc.....hit f8 over and over until you get start up options menu.

Once in command prompt he should type  "copy c:\windows\system32\dllcache\explorer.exe c:\windows".

All the standard dos type commands exist within the c:\windows\system32\dllcache directory so, if he has trouble with it not being allowed, he can use those tools such as "attrib.exe" to get what he wants though he should probably type "path=c:\windows\system32\dllcache" so he can execute them from any directory he might be in.

[Bizman]

No mouse curser...how would I do that?

Sorry, re-read your original post and noticed that you had told about the message about explorer not being present. But in that case I refer to my first answer. If there isn't the possibility to run Recovery Console in the start options menu, you can use any version of XP cd to boot. Even the famous pirated corporate edition disk will do, as far as you don't try to reinstall from it.

And for reinstalling the original XP there should be an option to do it from the hard disk by tapping a certain button (F10, F11 or F12) during startup. Some brands and versions have this function to be activated in BIOS settings, under the title of like "F10 option at startup -enabled/disabled" and/or "startup options ## seconds".

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Wow......then you really have a working computer with "explorer.exe" not being loaded.

It might be possible to manually put explorer.exe where it belongs but it makes you wonder what deleted or renamed it and whether the culprit still exists within the system.

Explorer.exe should also exist in c:\windows\system32\dllcache so you might be able to start the machine in safe mode command prompt using f8 when windows boots and use the copy command to copy explorer.exe to the windows directory......if it is indeed missing.

Posting from blackberry.....I need a new phone

Explorer.exe is a protected system file - you can't delete it yourself from windows desktop without special actions. Therefore it's 99.99% sure a virus deleted it.

[Easyscor]

I thought of you when I found this article this morning. Looks like pretty good instructions, says it works for XP as well, and sounds like it'll fix you up. MaximumPC magazine.

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/how-tos/how_repair_faulty_windows_installation_without_reformatting

[2bighorn]

Explorer.exe is a protected system file - you can't delete it yourself from windows desktop without special actions. Therefore it's 99.99% sure a virus deleted it.

Could be just case of corrupt, missing or wrong registry entry.

I'd check if HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WinLogon\Shell actually points to explorer.exe

[BERN1]

again I would try a restore point from about a month or so ago