Major problems due to wow64win.dll errors

Question

Hi I would really appreciate any help!

I am having major problems

A couple of days ago I turned my computer on running vista 64bit ultimate. Not had any problems recently. During startup I got a blue screen of death and crash dump. I paniced and turned my computer off.

I Tried to restart my computer but vista kept getting stuck in a loop on loading and kept rebooting itself.

I then tried to start from last known good configuration but still kept rebooting.

I then decided to boot from my vista installation disc and intended to retore to a couple of days earlier. However I think I accidently pressed repair startup instead. When vista recovered and loaded I had a couple of dll errors. When vista loaded no applications will work and every time I try to open a programme I get a wow64win.dll error. and the programme will not open. I have done some research and understand that the wow64win.dll is the emulator that allows 32bit applications to run on 64bit systems.

I then tried to restore to a previous safe time using installation disc, however when I select a previous restore date, it starts to restore then comes up with an erro saying unable to restore.

Even my 64 bit internet explorer browser will not acess the net (currently using a different computer.) Strangely the only thing that can currently access the net is winmail. I can access all windows processes but no applications or programmes.

I currently have service pack1installed

Should I try loading service pack1 again from disc or something in order to repair problem .dll files I really dont want to reinstall and I would to have manually backup all my files to an external hard drive

I hope someone is able to help me please. Thank you in desperate anticipation

Answer 1

Hello, buddyfox

If you are unable to restore or repair your windows installation, you could try doing a Clean Install.

WARNING: Formatting the hard drive will wipe out ALL data, programs and user settings that you have on the computer. If there is any information on this computer that you do not want to lose, or is not backed up, you will need to make backups before proceeding with the FORMAT/CLEAN INSTALL.

Before performing a Clean Install, first create a backup of all files. Locate your Windows Vista Product Key, this is usually on a sticker located somewhere on your machine. Locate the your Windows Vista media, if you do not have a CD, there may be a restore partition, you will need to check with your manufacturer.

For steps to perform the Clean Install please refer to the following link: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918884

Let us know if this helps or if you need further assistance.

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David

Microsoft Answers Support Engineer

Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.

Answer 2

in the process of trying to uninstall sp1 I had an error when computer was uninstalling sp1 so it said it was reverting however the computer restarted and now keeps rebooting every time vista trys to load. Worse still when I try and restore from a particular date I get an 0x80070002 after it trys to load my selected restore point now I am really trapped !! Am I beyond help now? I am feeling miserable

Buddyfox

Answer 3

Hello Marilyn, thanks for the help it is much appreciated.  System file check didnt work so i am going to try upgrade as you suggested.  Just one question, do i uninstall SP1 before or after running upgrade?

Thanks very much

Buddyfox

Answer 4

Hello buddyfox,

Thank you for posting your question to the Microsoft Answers Forum.

You might try to run System File checker (SFC) to see if you have any corrupted system files.

Click Start

Click All Programs

Click Accessories and right click on the Command Prompt.

Select the Security Tab and choose "Run as Administrator"

Click on Command Prompt

Type SFC /Scannow.

This will scan and fix any corrupted operating system files.

The last option would be to try an In-Place upgrade (repair) if you have a Vista DVD installation disk.

I will include the steps for this also.

Note: After performing In-Place Upgrade, your personal data and installed programs will not be removed but we may need to run Windows Update to install all the available updates for your system to update these system files to the current version. This troubleshooting process is time consuming.

If your DVD installation disk is prior to Sp1, and you have SP1 installed on your computer, you will need to uninstall SP1 to complete the in-place upgrade and then reinstall the necessary windows updates .

If you would like to perform the In-place Upgrade, let’s refer to the following steps.

1. Start the computer by using the current Operating System.
2. Insert the Windows Vista DVD in the computer's DVD drive.
3. Use one of the following procedures, as appropriate:

• If Windows automatically detects the DVD, the Install now screen appears. Click Install now.

• If Windows does not automatically detect the DVD, follow these steps:

a. Click Start, click Run, type Drive:\setup.exe, and then click OK.

Note Drive is the drive letter of the computer's DVD drive.

b. Click Install now.

4. When you reach the "Which type of installation do you want?" screen, click Upgrade to upgrade the current operating system to Windows Vista.

Please run Windows Update again as you will need to download and install the most current updates.

If you do not have the Windows Vista Installation DVD, I suggest contacting your PC manufacturer to order a backup disk.

Please reply back and let us know if this helped to restore your system or if you need further assistance.

Sincerely,

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Marilyn

Microsoft Answers Support Engineer

Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.