We uninstalled a program on our laptop. After we did this we are now receiving an error -

'explorer caused an invalid page fault in module Explorer.exe at 0167:00401f31'

I can not get the computer to boot in safe mode so I can try and fix the problem. I get the option to boot in safe mode but it doesn't do it. The same error keeps comming up. I have also tried safe mode with command prompt, and last good configuration.

Can somebody PLEASE HELP! Thank you in advance.

What was the program you uninstalled?

You might (possibly) (maybe) (if you're lucky) be able to get a copy of Explorer.exe onto a floppy disk, then boot the PC to Command Prompt Only (available from the same menu as Safe Mode).

Once you've booted to the command prompt, you could copy Explorer.exe from the floppy disk into its original location on the hard disk (probably C:\Windows\System I would guess) and overwrite the original copy.

Worth a try if you can't fix it through Windows.

We uninstalled PcAnywhere. it was an older version. I am not sure about the exact version.

More information:

The laptop is set up with a dual boot - Windows 98 and Windows 2000 Server. I choose which operating system I want to start up when I turn the system on or reboot. The laptop was set up this way because I was using some software that needed Windows 2000.

I am able to bring Windows 2000 Server up.

Before choosing which operating system I want to start, I am able to press F8. No matter which option I choose, if I want to start Windows 98 I get the error.

I can not get Windows 98 to start in safe mode, or get a command prompt.

(duplicate post)

Hmmm, a tricky one, this. Been looking around for a while this morning for an answer to this problem. Symantec's web site lists 2 issues related to Explorer.exe but they aren't related to your problem.

Microsoft Support suggests that uninstalling PCAnywhere might have incorrectly replaced Explorer.exe with a Windows 95 version of the file. Try this:

Boot the PC from a Windows 98 Startup Disk. If you don't have one, you can get one from www.bootdisk.com

At the A:> prompt, type ren c:\explorer.exe explorer.old
Press Enter
Restart the PC

Let us know if that helps

Originally Posted by tplov

We uninstalled a program on our laptop. After we did this we are now receiving an error -

'explorer caused an invalid page fault in module Explorer.exe at 0167:00401f31'

I can not get the computer to boot in safe mode so I can try and fix the problem. I get the option to boot in safe mode but it doesn't do it. The same error keeps comming up. I have also tried safe mode with command prompt, and last good configuration.

Can somebody PLEASE HELP! Thank you in advance.

I'm sure this guy has solved this problem now, but I had a similar problem today and it was one of those heart-crashing moments when you think your pc has crashed irrevocably.

I was already fully booted when suddenly none of the icons worked, ie, I couldn't click on anything and therefore couldn't reboot in the conventional way, so had to simply switch off and go through the whole scanreg thing. Fair enough, however, when I got to typing in my password, it let me do that then immediately flashed up the exact same error message as this guy got. I tried rebooting in safe mode too, but again got the same error message.

I phoned up Dell hotline and they put me straight quite easily, however, they did say that the probable cause is a virus. I'm in the process of buying new anti-virus software so didn't run check to varify that or not. However, here is the quite simple fix.
1. Switch pc off.
2. Switch pc on (lol, i like a literal explanation myself).
3. Get tapping on f8 to get to that pre-Windows options screen with safe mode on (etc) (enjoying the techie speak? lol)
4. Choose 'command prompt only' and press enter.
5. Where the little thing is flashing, type: cd windows (that's cd straight after the flashing thing and then a space before windows.) Press enter.
6. Now type command straight after flashy thing, and press enter.
7. Now type cd scanreg/restore and press enter. That's cd (space) scanreg(forward slash)restore, and again press enter.
8. This takes you to a list of previous registry saves. As you most likely know your pc usually autimatically saves recent versions of your registry. Just pick yesterdays if the pc was okay then, and press enter. All should now be fine.

Thanks for that info Nipperread - didn't know Scanreg could do that