Explorer.exe - bad image

Dell Latitude E6500 Just powered up and received above Bad Image message with text. Windows stops loading at this point. C\Windows\dsound.dll is either not designed to run on Windows or it contains an error. Any way around this to a fix?

Hi Airdoc, welcome to WhatTheTech. The first thing I would try is a System Restore to before this problem occurred. Go back at least 2 days. Start / Programs / Accessories / System Tools / System Restore to get there.

Thank you for the advice. I had to do the restore from Safe mode as Windows wouldn't load due to the error. I hope that will work and am running it now. News at 11…….

If that doesn't fix the problem, try running sfc /scannow from a Command Prompt: How to Repair and Verify the Integrity of Vista System Files with System File Checker

I'm beginning to wonder if this is infection. System Restore will not complete, Autorepair does find a system file error, and when I try to log on as Administrator it says Your account has been disabled, even though password is correct???

Could be malware. You do need to enable the Administrator account in Vista: Enable or Disable Built-in Administrator Account in Windows Vista

If no help, go to the Spyware / Malware / Virus Removal forum, read the info there and follow the posted directions. Once you receive a clean bill of health, come back here if you have any additional questions or concerns or it turns out not to be a malware problem.

Please be patient as that is a very busy area. If you do not receive a response in 3 days, post a message here: http://forums.whatthetech.com/What_Do_If_Y…ays_t78698.html

OK. Restored to before problem successfully, ran scf successfully, and did a full virus and spyware scan with Spy Sweeper plus AntiVirus. Problem unchanged. Thinking only option left is to reload Windows. Anything else to try first?

I can't think of anything else to do. Backup your data and do a Clean Install (with format during the install).