Massive problem, explorer.exe has a bad image?

[ct2k7]

Hi, When I boot my inspiron 6400 up, Vista gives me error:

 

"userinit.exe An application has attempted to directly access the hard disk, which cannot be supported. This may cause the application to function incorrectly. Choose Close to terminate the application"

 

After clicking close, I am presented with a blank desktop/ I can enter task manager through ctrl alt del, but there is not text in the window, show it just shows an icon. explorer.exe is not running, but when I try to launch it:

 

"C:\Windows\system32\dwmapi.dll is either not designed to run on Windows or it contains an error. Try installing to program again using the original installation media or contact your systemadministrator or the software vendor for support."

 

Help, I need to do my coursework and need my data very soon.

[RandyL]

Hi ct2k7;

Check out this Dell link. It seems you might be able to do a repair or restore from the hidden partition if your computer came preinstalled with Vista.

 

Check out the link and see if you have the Windows Recovery Environment available. Tapping F8 at startup should bring up the Windows Advanced Options menu.

 

From there you should see a list of options you can try such as Repair or Restore.