Rich J Posted December 12, 2012 Report Share Posted December 12, 2012 Yesterday a message started appearing titled iexplore.exe - System Error, which reads The program can't start because xpcom.dll is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem. There is an ok option and a close button (x in the corner) clicking either just brings the message back up instantly. Now it came up initially when I was using Firefox, when I closed it and clicked ok it disappeared but then opening chrome about a minute into using it the message returned. Anyone who has had this problem or know how to solve it? It's a right pain in the backside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BradJohnson Posted December 12, 2012 Report Share Posted December 12, 2012 Try resetting the computer. Make sure you back up any important files! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muel Posted December 12, 2012 Report Share Posted December 12, 2012 (edited) No, don't. That is very silly advice. You need to replace xpcom.dll. What OS are you running? Does the error message specify the location of xpcom.dll? There are more than one of them I believe. Although, a swift search tells me it's related to old versions of Firefox (2 and 3) and not Internet Explorer, which is very strange. Personally, I would run a virus scan and an adware/malware scan, then if that doesn't solve it, uninstall Firefox and reinstall the latest version. If the error still occurs, then start playing around with the .dll file. Edited December 12, 2012 by Muel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich J Posted December 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2012 No, don't. That is very silly advice. You need to replace xpcom.dll. What OS are you running? Does the error message specify the location of xpcom.dll? There are more than one of them I believe. Although, a swift search tells me it's related to old versions of Firefox (2 and 3) and not Internet Explorer, which is very strange. Personally, I would run a virus scan and an adware/malware scan, then if that doesn't solve it, uninstall Firefox and reinstall the latest version. If the error still occurs, then start playing around with the .dll file. Windows 7, and that is all the box says, no location. I read, I believe the same thing about it being old firefox, except I am on chrome now and it still is showing. Suggest me some good scanning software? Also laptop has been off between it showing first time and now with no noticeable differences. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
that NBR dude Posted December 12, 2012 Report Share Posted December 12, 2012 We've always used MalwareBytes at work, seems to do the job. Think the other one we used to use was Super Anti-spyware Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich J Posted December 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2012 Appears to have solved the issue. Thanks y'all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich J Posted December 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 It's back. After using MalwareBytes I clicked ok in the error box and it went away. About a day later it came back and I just dragged it off screen and ignored it and forgot about it. Yesterday upon turning my laptop on it came back up on the password screen, so no programs running at all it just appeared. Googled it and suggestions came up about it being a problem linking add-ons so went into internet explorer and deleted the add-on file and restarted. Cue problems my screen blew up, everything went oversized, nothing fitted, went into the resolution settings and it had gone to minimum settings, took it back up to maximum but it is still a little blown out. Then about half an hour later message returns. The trouble I have is I can google all day but knowing what half the stuff means or even whether it is safe or correct is beyond me. If anyone has anything they could suggest I'd be most thankful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trials hoe Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 this exact same thing happened to my mams pc, right before the hd failed and was completely f**kered. although i'm pretty sure it was in no way attached to the browser though. just came up upon start up and would never go away, i spent a good 5 mins furiously clicking the x on the error box and it kept coming back. can't say where it came from or anything though (brother in law deals with computers and couldn't retrieve anything from the hd either) her pc was a few years old mind, the bro-in law said it was prob just a wear thing with the age or something (i tend to switch off when pc's are discussed as i have a bad habit of ruining mine ) how old is your laptop? could be the same deal maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich J Posted December 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 I bloody hope that aint it. It's under 2 years old, thing is it says Iexpore.exe which suggests to me internet explorer and that what appears when searched. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trials hoe Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 just had a google, looks grim on the possibility of a virus front looked in your 'processes' part of task manager to see if it's running twice? could point you in the right direction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NervGaz Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 Give Avast antivirus a shot as it allows you to run a scan during the boot procedure is windows which so that some viruses which use various ways to avoid detection can be caught and removed. The other thing I'd try is booting your/a windows boot cd/dvd and booting in to the recovery console and run chkdsk with the switches to check for defective sectors on. I think it is "chkdsk /f /r c:" without the quotes but if you run chkdsk /? it'll tell you. Could be a dying hdd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadManMike Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 My fave program is ComboFix. It's always solved any problems I've had. Give it a go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.