Uninstalled Explorer Please help

After trying to correct some problems on my computer I accently uninstalled Explorer I think. It said it would go back to Explorer 6 or maybe it was Internet Explorer 6. I'm not sure. I know it wasn't a smart thing to do. Now all I get is a blank screen with no icons. My wall paper is still up but that is all. I don't know how to get anything back on my computer.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer are totally different beasts. EXPLORER.EXE is a critical system file, whereas IEXPLORE.EXE is the browser.

Can the machine be booted into Safe Mode by holding the Ctrl key during boot-up, which should bring up the boot menu? If yes, does it have the same problem in Safe Mode?

Is the taskbar visible at the bottom of the screen, or at least a thin white line which would mean that auto-hide is on?

Is the mouse pointer visible? If it is, right-click on the desktop and see if a menu comes up. If it does, Windows Explorer is working, and there may be a setting that got changed.

If it isn't visible, it's punting time.

Unfortunately, if EXPLORER.EXE is missing or corrupt, you can't get at the functions that allow replacing it. If you have the system recovery cd, I'd say that this is a good time to use it. If it offers a recovery without reformat option (which it bloody well should), by all means use that. Reformat wipes everything and it's a last-gasp option.

If you're uncertain about it, I'd recommend taking the box and the CD to a reliable service shop, and pay a few bucks to have it done professionally.

 

edited: Unfortunately, if EXPLORER.EXE is missing or corrupt, you can't get at the functions that allow replacing it. If you have the system recovery cd, I'd say that this is a good time to use it. If it offers a recovery without reformat option (which it bloody well should), by all means use that. Reformat wipes everything and it's a last-gasp option.

If your useing Windows Me, try system restore 1st to the previous day. I did the same thing a long time ago and it worked for me. If that does not work just plop the system recovery disk in and reboot with it in, then do the 2nd disk when prompted. Very simply you will loose nothing as long as you choose RECOVERY ONLY! Ive done that a few times also and never so much as lost a "favorite's" site soon as it was up and running again.
Im 90% sure IE will return by useing system restore to previous day. GL!
P.S. If you do anything other than a simple restore to the previous day, or there abouts...... then you "may" get to do all this other fun stuff. As I said it worked for me, I deleted it, rebooted, said a few choice words and restored. Once again good luck.

 

Ok, I know exactly what this person is talking about. You uninstalled Insternet Explorer 6, and it tried to revert to whatever the previous version of Internet Explorer was on the computer before 6.0 was installed. (Probably 5, or 5.5). Anyway what you will need to do is go to DOS. For this you need to make a Windows ME boot disk. If you don't have one, go to another computer with Windows ME and go to start, settings, control panel, add/remove programs, then click on the startup disk and the create startup disk button. If you have a Windows 98 boot disk or another computer that can access the Internet. If you dont have a boot disk handy use another computer that has internet. go to www.bootdisk.com and download the one for Windows ME. Follow the directions on the site. Then put it in the computer that will not start. Then turn on the computer. When you get to a prompt screen pick minimal boot. When you get the a:/ prompt type in "edit c:\windows\system.ini" and hit enter. (do not use quotes). Then you will see a blue screen, arrow to the line that says shell=explorer.exe or it may say shell=c:\windows\explorer.exe. Erase everything on that line by hitting the backspace key till it says shell=
Then type in progman.exe after the =
hit and hold alt and press f, then press s to save system.ini. Reboot and you'll get a window that pops out (take out the floppy disk before you reboot.) Under one of the menus, I believe it's under file, it will say run. Type in msconfig. then click launch system restore. Pick a point before you uninstalled Internet Explorer and hit restore. HOpefully this will fix your problem. If there is ay confusing about my description please come back and post questions.

 

(I am having the same problem)

This exact thing is happening to me, so I tried to do what you said and it almost worked, but once I click to run system restore it said. RSTRUI has caused error in SHLWAPI.DLL. RSTRUI will now close. System Restore doesn't open. IS there anyting I could do? I can't find my ME Cd.

*Last time I try to unistall Ie. M$ taught me :-D

 

Hmm what happens if you edit system.ini the way you did before and change progman.exe to the line shell=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\RESTORE\RSTRUI.EXE
so erase the progman.exe part. change it to what i put above, that will directly load system restore program. If that doesn't work. you have to change the shell= to say EXPLORER.EXE again. If none of this works you must reinstall ME by formatting and reinstalling. My advice, pick an IE version that works well for you. I'd say use IE 6sp1 (it's a later version than 6). It works great for me on windows ME

 

OK

Well, does anyone else know anything else that I could try? That dind't work. I don't want to START all over, and I think that might be impossible since I don't have a ME disk available. But if I do in my scrounging, could I find a "fix everything w/o deleting everything" option. I don't particularly even care if I do have to delete everything, but I would rather not because I have a Key for a program that I had installed on the computer I am using now, but now I don't, and if I can't get it, then I won't be able to use the program past its trial, since I just reinstalled in on this one........ Thanks for your tryouble, and if you knwo how I can access that data on the other computer that isn't working.. or in sys reg of this one. that would be much appreciated! thanks!

 

I am going to hazard a guess that ME was installed from a Emergency Recovery CD. During the install process the windows setup files are copied onto the hard drive into the folder C:\Windows\Options\Cabs. Boot with the floppy and type this command at the prompt.
dir c:\windows\options\cabs\*.cab <enter>
This will report if they are there. If they are, type this in at the prompt.
c: <enter>
cd\windows <enter>
regedit /e key.txt Hkey_Local_Machine\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion <enter>
type key.txt | more <enter>
Now look at the screen, you will see a line with "ProductKey "= "bunchoflettersandnumbers ". Write down the bunch of letters and numbers, you may need it on the next step. Hit CTRL+C to stop the scrolling thing.
c:\windows\options\cabs\setup.exe <enter>
Windows should now do an overlay install, without deleting everything.

 

ITS WORKING!

First off, I just want to thank you all for everything that you have suggested. I just want to tell you that my computer is working now. I had to use ProgMan.exe program to be able to access files on my computer by going to file/run: msconfig. Then I went to extract files and then clicked on browse... By using that I could find the Setup.exe file in the cabs, and by right clicking and saying open (not by double clicking on it) I was able to run it. Before that, I went to File Run Regedit on the Program Manager Program to look for my Program Key, but after I ran the ME Setup it already had it filled in. It took some time for the setup to install, but it worked, and now all my files (to my knowledge) are still there, and everything is working as it should. I just want to say thanks again for all your time, and I am estatic that I didn't have to reformat everything!
edit:
PS. Best of Luck to Sdrake5

 

Cool BriGuy2005, I see that you took the above advice, put it all togethor and got it to work for you.