docman

[docman]

Hi, community! I feel kind of abashed that I can't solve this one myself. Running XP with SP2 and Outlook Express, when I try to open an e-mail, I get a windows message box that says something about a file named riched32.dll and my need to reinstall it. Microsoft's help is no help. I do have my original XP distribution CD, but I believe the files on that CD are compressed.

 

How should I proceed, hopefully short of a full reinstall of XP?

 

The other mystery of this situation is that Windows says riched32.dll is a Windows 2000 item.

 

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

DOCMAN

[docman]

I don't know what this is.

 

Thanks.

[help4me]

Hi docman and welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help. :) I moved your posts to the appropriate forum. :)

[help4me]

Just a bit of information for you.... riched32.dll is a module containing functions for the Rich Text Edit control. If you do an internet search for riched32.dll you will find the exact way to download it and install it.

[AdvancedSetup]

Hello DocMan

 

Please take a look here and see if this is able to correct the issue for you.

 

Riched32.dll Error Message When Starting E-Mail Program or WordPad

 

 

.

[docman]

riched32.dll

 

First I renamed the file in WINDOWS/SYSTEM32 from riched32.dll to riched32.xxx.

 

Then I downloaded a zip file off the internet called riched32.zip, extracted it to the above WINDOWS folder, rebooted and tried again.

 

The riched32.dll file in the WINDOWS folder does not indicate that it was modified any time since 2001.

 

The e-mail problem persists.

 

Any further thoughts?

[AdvancedSetup]

Do you have the Windows XP CD ?

[docman]

Yes I do.

 

Thanks

 

DOCMAN

[Seth]

Insert the XP cd and try this:

 

1. Click Start, and then click Run. The Run dialog box appears.

2. In the Open box, type msconfig and click OK. The System Configuration Utility appears.

3. Click 'Expand file'.

 

Browse for that file on the cd and reinstall it.

 

OR...

 

Unzip that download to the desktop and manually copy and paste the riched32 dll into the system32 folder.

 

Before trying either of the above, delete any fake riched files such as the.xxx one.

Edited April 20, 2008 by Seth

[docman]

You are all obviously trying to help, but I got nothin'.

 

Seth, your first option does not offer the choice of accessing anything except .cab files.

 

Your second option, while the process seemed to go alright and the file was replaced in system32 folder, was to no avail.

 

Thanks all for trying.

 

docman

[maynardvdm]

Did you follow Seth's instructions exactly?

 

1.Click Start, click Run, type msconfig in the Open box, and then press ENTER.

2.In the System Configuration Utility dialog box, click the General tab, and then click Expand File.

3.In the File to restore box, type Riched32.dll.

4.In the Restore from box, type driveletter:\Windows\options\install. In this step,driveletter refers to the letter of the drive where the \Windows folder is located, typically C.

5.In the Save file in box, type driveletter:\Windows\system, and then click OK.

6.Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to complete the extraction process.

[docman]

Well, yes.

 

I tried today following your very clear and explicit instructions, and here's how it went.

 

After typing in as you instructed in Steps 4 and 5, and clicking on "Expand" (not "OK"), a little window comes up saying "The restore from file does not exist."

 

So I go look in my C:\WINDOWS folder and I note that there is no subfolder in there called "options". Other counselors have indicated to me that I should look in "I386" or in "ServicePackFiles". Neither of these has a copy of "riched32.dll".

 

OK, so I go open my WINDOWS XP distribution CD, presently residing in drive d: and look for "riched32.dll". I find one called "riched32.dl_". Typical MS ********, pardon my french.

 

So in the System Configuration Utility, I tried putting in d:\I386\riched32.dl_.

 

Press "expand" and I am immediately presented with a "System Restore" dialog box.

 

What the hell, says I, I haven't tried that yet. So I select a date about 3 weeks back, run the restore cycle, which reboots, as I'm sure you know, and when, two minutes later, my desktop reappears, there is a large window announcing that "No changes have been made to your computer".

 

I'm thinking maybe I didn't go back far enough, so I run through that fal-de-ral again, restoring to March 1. Same result exactly.

 

Maybe, it occurs to me, we are looking at this the wrong way. By Googling "riched32.dll" I find another potentially helpful suggestion, which says if I reinstall Wordpad, I will automatically get a fresh riched32. That's easy enough. And equally to no avail.

 

Is it possible that the error message in Outlook Express is some sort of manifestation of a virus? Could it be a phantom or some kind of spoof? Are there any useful diagnostics that could focus on OE specifically, or are we more likely looking at some kind of registry anomaly? Incidentally, I am running Norton Internet Security 2008, with automatic live update.

 

I was pretty much out of ideas when I came to this forum, and all of you have been generous with your suggestions and instructions and informations.

 

All I can say at this point is thanks very much for trying.

 

DOCMAN

[AdvancedSetup]

Well it's possible that Malware has caused it - the fix or cleanup though may not always be easy to locate.

 

Try running these scans. Much easier to run these then to rebuild or restore the computer. If it helps that's great, if not then nothing lost except a little bit of time, but some more knowledge gained as well. :D

 

 

 

Malware is the term used to describe computer infections such as Adware, Spyware, Viruses, and Trojan Horses.

You will need to run at least two malware scanners as well as an Antivirus scanner that are listed in the following instructions.

Anti-Malware and Anti-Virus scanners perform different tasks.

The reason to run multiple scanners is to ensure that no single scanner is missing something.

 

The time it takes will vary depending on your system and your internet connection.

Typically the SUPERAntiSpyware and Malwarebytes scanners will take between 30 and 90 minutes.

The Eset online scan should take between 1 and 3 hours.

In most cases, these scans will suffice to clean and disinfect your computer.

 

For best results print the following instructions and bookmark this Web page

To keep this guide printer-friendly, use your cursor to highlight the contents below.

From your browser select File - Print and in the printer dialog box under "Print range"

click the Selection choice to print out these instructions for removal of malware.

 

http://kixhelp.com/wr/images-freepchelp/printer-selection.gif

 

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• Follow these instructions carefully.
  
• Download ATF-Cleaner from Snapfiles.com to remove "junk" files from your computer that may contain malware.
  
• You can also download it from Majorgeeks.com
  
• When you run ATF-Cleaner, check the items as shown below for Main.
  
• For FireFox, be sure to click on the FireFox tab on top and check the items as shown below for FireFox
  
• NOTE: If you don't have FireFox or Opera installed then they will be grayed out and can be ignored
  
• Then click on "Empty Selected".

http://kixhelp.com/wr/images-freepchelp/atf-cleaner01.gif . http://kixhelp.com/wr/images-freepchelp/atf-cleaner02.gif

 

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• Install and run the free version (not the Professional version) of SUPERAntiSpyware from SUPERAntiSpyware.com - AntiAdware, AntiSpyware, AntiMalware!
  • Accept any prompts to allow SUPERAntiSpyware to install the latest rules and infection definition files.
    
  • You do not have to send them your e-mail address, just click next.
    
  • You can leave the automated check for updates on.
    
  • You can uncheck "Send a diagnostic report to research center" if you don't want to send the information.
    
  • DO NOT allow SUPERAntiSpyware to protect your Home Page settings.
    
  • On the Top Left select the Scan your computer button.
    
  • Make sure there is a CHECK MARK on all Fixed Drives.
    
  • Click "Perform a Complete Scan". Click "Next" and reboot the computer when prompted to do so.

  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• Install and run Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware from this link.
  
• Malwarebytes - click to directly download the application
  
• Accept all defaults for the installer and then click on the Quick Scan and click Next.
  
• If any items are found allow it to clean them and then Reboot your computer.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• Disable your internet security by right clicking on its icon (usually located in the system tray next to the time display) and choosing "Exit", "Disable", or "Shut Down".
  
• Run an online scan with Eset from Free Virus Scan: Use ESET's Online Antivirus Scanner
  
• You must use Internet Explorer for this online scan. FireFox, Opera, etc will not work for this scan.
  
• Accept the terms and click "Start".
  
• Once the scanner is ready, check "Remove found threats" AND "Scan unwanted applications".
  
• Click "Start" to begin the scan.
  
• When completed restart your computer

Make sure your internet security is enabled, and then please return to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help and tell us how the computer seems to be operating.

At that time, you will receive instructions to assist you in removing malicious programs from your Add/Remove program list if warranted.

[docman]

Just a quick interim report.

 

I downloaded Superantispyware and tried to run it. I got a fatal error message to wit: Error 2894. 126.

 

Tried downloading it from two other sites--same result. OK, enough of that.

 

Downloaded Malwarebytes; ran it, took about two hours, found nothing. Nada, zip, zilch, zero. OK, not really surprised.

 

Looked into Eset. Not entirely comfortable with disabling Norton even for a little while. I will study on that.

 

By the way, and this is probably not relevant, but I get the same riched32.dll message when I try to play a .flv video file, but it is not fatal; I just close that window and everything proceeds OK.

 

Additionally, there is a second error message in Outlook Express following the riched32 message, that seems to purport that there is insufficient memory. I find myself incredulous about that, since I have a gigabyte of RAM and 350 gigs of HDD.

 

More to come when I get freed up.

 

Sorry to annoy you all.

 

DOCMAN

[AdvancedSetup]

You're not annoying anyone, we're all here to assist other just like you.

 

 

Well even Microsoft seems to think this is malware related.

 

Please review this Knowledgebase and see if doing as they say fixes that error. If you need assistance let us know.

You receive an Error 2894. Setup cannot load Riched20.dll

 

You should NOT have gotten an error trying to install or run SUPERAntispyware so there is really something wrong with your system, we just need to locate what that is.

[docman]

A note

 

the microsoft knowledge base article gives me a very serious case of bewilderment; why are they talking about Windows ME files and problems in the context of an XP problem? And, there is no trace of a file called riched20.dll anywhere on my system (nor, I think, should there be).

 

and a question:

 

how exactly would one go about "suspending" operation of Norton Internet Security for a little while, without screwing something up, and how hard is it to start it back up after I'm done with Eset?

 

By the way, I ran the ATF cleaner, which is cool, not that I needed the freed-up disk space. It did not resolve my e-mail problem.

 

Thanks again

 

docman

[Tony D]

If you open up your Norton IS - probably by double clicking the the Notificaton Area (you may have to right click instead). Anyway - once it's open, there should be a place for settings and you should be able to disable it. There is usually a timer option where you can tell it to re-enable in 15 minutes.

[docman]

I hate to be piling on, but here's the latest development.

 

Sometimes in my web browsing I find an image that I think highly enough of to want to save it. Over the last ten years I have saved thousands of them, mostly jpegs but a few bitmaps, too.

 

As of this morning, when I save an image to my MyJpegs folder, it looks like the process is occurring, but then later when I open that folder, the recently saved image is not there.

 

A search produces two findings: a shortcut that returns a file not found message, and a linky sort of thing, that has a most peculiar, at least to me, nomenclature. It reads file:///c:/MyJpegs/example101.jpg.

 

Running a second search on that character string produces a not found message.

 

Whether any of this new behavior is related to the e-mail riched32 business is unknown to me.

 

Also, in the last few days, norton is showing a message that something called bloodhound.unknown has been detected and defeated and all is secure. Googling "bloodhound.unknown" really deepens the kim chee.

 

???

 

docman

[Seth]

The riched file should be in XP's system32 folder. Can you get it in there from Safe Mode? If not, I'd go for a repair install of XP considering the other problems that XP is showing.

 

In theory, a repair install doesn't affect any personal files or programs, but you may want to back up your personal data. Also, you'll have to install XP updates again.

 

Configure your computer to start from the CD-ROM drive. For more information about how to do this, refer to your computer's documentation or contact your computer manufacturer. Then insert your Windows XP Setup CD, and restart your computer.

 

 

1.

When the Press any key to boot from CD message is displayed on your screen, press a key to start your computer from the Windows XP CD.

2.

Press ENTER when you see the message To setup Windows XP now, and then press ENTER displayed on the Welcome to Setup screen.

3.

Do not choose the option to press R to use the Recovery Console.

4.

In the Windows XP Licensing Agreement, press F8 to agree to the license agreement.

5.

Make sure that your current installation of Windows XP is selected in the box, and then press R to repair Windows XP.

6.

Follow the instructions on the screen to complete Setup.

[docman]

Just a note of thanks. The repair install of XP has solved many of my manifestations, especially the e-mail glitch.

 

Things are not absolutely perfect--for example, the shut down function window from the start menu does not appear, but I'm used to hard-booting anyway.

 

I've incidentally also resolved several issues I was having with Firefox, so yesterday I went out and bought a new mainboard and CPU.

 

I'll be working up my courage for that ordeal.

 

Thanks again.

 

docman

[maynardvdm]

This thread appears to be solved and is now closed

 

If you are the original poster of this thread and need it re-opened, then please PM (Private Message) an Administrator or Moderator