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While installing a custom theme for Windows 7 I had to replace shell32.dll in the system32 folder. I renamed the original file to shell32.dll.bak, but when I uninstalled the theme I must only have deleted the theme's shell32.dll and have forgotten to rename shell32.dll.bak to shell32.dll. Thus explorer.exe doesn't work, and when I boot Windows I only get a black screen together with a moveable mouse cursor.

I need a way to either

  1. Rename the original file back to shell32.dll
  2. Undelete the shell32.dll from the theme, so Windows will work, and I can swap the file names

I have tried to follow this guide to create a WinPE with recovery tools, but I get "Subsystem needed to support the image type is not present" with PStart on my Alienware M14x R2, and AOMEI PE Builder doesn't support the computer I borrow.

Kasper Knudsen
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1 Answers1

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There are two ways to check your Windows files for consistency and attempt to repair them:

  • Microsoft's System File Checker (offline)

    Run sfc /scannow in a command prompt as administrator.

  • Microsoft's System Update Readiness Tool (online)

    Download and run it.

They will compute hashes of your files. If they mismatch they will attempt to restore the correct file from respectively an offline or online copy. This should help you get the correct file back.

Tamara Wijsman
  • 57,881