Lost data/ Links - Need advice!

[Doctor Gallop]

Hello everyone,
I'm not too computer savy, so please bare with me.

Lately if I go to a site like YouTube.com and try to watch videos, it says I do not have 'Flash Player'. But yet I'm sure I do.
If I go to the Add/Remove section it shows that I do! It shows Shockwave Player and Macromedia Flash Player.
The only way I can get it to work is "uninstall Flash Player and then go to the Macromedia site and "install" it.
But if I run a simple program like 'Easy Cleaner' or others to clean the Registry once in a while, it happens all over again. Could I have erased something in the registry that I should not have? Can it/they/them be replaced?

Also, now if I try to click on the "email us" link of pages of web sites I get a pop up window that shows "Rundll" "can't find" or something similiar.

One more thing, I noticed that even the Yahoo icon that I had on my desktop does not work anymore. If I click on it a window pops up and says something like "Rundell missing", or something like it.

I know, I know, I should not have been messing with computer things I did not completely understand, I have been hearing this from my wife ever since the problem started. So fixing this problem would keep me from sleeping on the couch! [again].

Any advice as to what to do would be greatly appreciated.

I'm running a very slow Dell 485Mhz, Pentium 2, Windows XP
Thanks fellas!

 

[Peddant]

1.The flash problem might be caused by Eay Cleaner removing certain active x components.
You can find the FAQS for Flash HERE

2.Download CCleaner and use it instead of Easy Cleaner
It gives you the option to back up the registry before cleaning.
You can also exclude active x from the scan.

3.To fix the Rundll issue Go HERE and download
the Rundll for your OS.It`s in a Zip file.Copy the rundll32.exe to the C:\Windows\system32 folder
It would be a good idea to copy the existing Rundll32 to somewhere safe first.
You then have to delete the one in the system32 folder and replace it with your new one.

4.Rundll.32 problems are sometimes caused by viruses/spyware.
Make sure you scan for such things.

5.Congratulations for running XP on a P 2

 

[Doctor Gallop]

Did I do it right?

Thanks for answering my post so quickly my friend.
I think I followed your instructions but--- When I downloaded the proper zip file it only gave me 2 choices+ "save" or "cancel'. So I clicked on "save" and sent it to the "windows 32 folder", Is that it?
Shouldn't I have seen the zip have open?
I even took a look see inside the Windows 32 folder afterwards but saw no "zip".
Please remember your talking to a real "numb nuts" here.
I also read the "install instruction" on the Merg.org site and noticed it said to also send it to another folder!
Very confused.

 

[Peddant]

XP has an unzip utility.It should have done it automatically.
Try right clicking on the zip file and select "open with" then select "compressed folders" as described HERE

If that doesn`t work you can download a free unzip utility HERE

First unzip it to your desktop, then copy the existing rundll32 in
C:\Windows\system32 to somewhere safe. Then delete the one in the
system32 folder and replace it with the new one.
You might get a warning that rundll32.exe has been replaced, cancel that.

There`s no guarantee that will fix your main problem,but it`s the first thing to try.

 

[nork]

Just for future reference.
Years ago i used those cleaners and other supposedly must-have progs and ran into the problems you are describing. New windows install after install.

But now I have had the same install of winxp pro running on the same pc for over 4 yrs now. And that is only because i built a new pc. My previous pc ran for years as well with no problems. I dont listen to what a lot of people say. I dont run these cleaner progs, i dont run norton systemworks, i dont defrag my hard drive (larger hard drives dont really need it), I dont do ANY of that stuff. I have also installed a real ton of progs on my pc and no problems. My pc boots fast and works fine, burns dvds just fine too! A good quality power supply and a UPS is far more important that any "cleaner" program!

What i do is i run a good av prog, up to date, and a few other anti-malware progs like spybot s&d, m\soft anti-spyware and a few others. When i uninstall programs i manually edit the registry for references to the program being uninstalled. And i keep the startup list as short as possible. For that I use the msconfig prog that can run from the "run" command. And i have the good quality ps and UPS as mentioned above. I do an online scan at trend-micro once a month and i do backups. Thats it.
I do nothing else and my pc has run fine for over 4 years. Im not smart, i just dont buy into all these things one should do and such as i did at one time. I learned from my own experience and i figure i must be doing something right.
So, in my opinion, leave those "clean and improve" programs alone. Do the basics well and thats all. Im only saying this because i know it happened to me and if i can help one person then i am happy. I dont care if i get criticized because it works great for me, lol.
So uninstall that program and any others like it, again, just my opinion. But then again i have heard tons of other people have the same problems as you wiith those darn cleaner progs. I could go on and on, but i will end rant.

 

[Doctor Gallop]

Thank you very much for your time and attention and help Peddant. It did not solve the problem but you taught me a few new things to try in a crisis.

Doctor Gallop

 

[Doctor Gallop]

Hey "NORK', Thank you very much for sharing your opinion my friend. It is much appreciated by me.

Doctor gallop

 

[Peddant]

It did not solve the problem..

If your referring to the missing rundll problem,I`m sorry to hear that.

From everything I`ve read,replacing that file and removing any spyware that might be on your system usually fixes it.

Do have any System Restore points available ? It occasionally works.

Have you run the System File Checker (sfc /scannow) ?

 

[nork]

You're very welcome.
I know its after the fact but i am hoping to convince you to leave those darn progs alone, lol.