Can't Install New Drivers - rundll32.exe / msvcrt.dll errors

Hi there!

For some reason I'm getting rundll32.exe errors whenever I try installing new drivers (including Firewall software). For example, I can't install the new 8.12 beta version of the ATI Catalyst drivers even after a Driver Sweeper run in Safe Mode, but I am able to reinstall the ones I was using previously (8.11).

Another example is that I had Comodo Internet Security installed, but when I went to troubleshoot this problem by uninstalling it, it won't allow me to install the latest version successfully, because the RunDLL32.exe error pops up when it attempts to install the firewall driver.

Here's a typical error message taken from Event Viewer:

Faulting application rundll32.exe, version 6.0.6000.16386, time stamp 0x4549bb52, faulting module msvcrt.dll, version 7.0.6001.18000, time stamp 0x4791ad6b, exception code 0xc0000005, fault offset 0x0000000000001753, process id 0x65c, application start time 0x01c9577f57f28b6f.

I've tried installing the latest Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable 9.0.30729.17 SP1 (x86 and x64) as well as Microsoft .NET 3.5 SP1, but the rundll32.exe / msvcrt.dll errors persist when I try and install COMODO Internet Security.

System Specs:

Akasa Eclipse 62 | Enermax Galaxy 1KW | Abit IN9 32X-MAX | Intel Core 2 DUO E6700 | G.Skill F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ | Powercolor ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB | BenQ FP241W 24" | Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB

 

Hi, I think I've found the cause of the problem. Can someone please send me their pnpui.dll file from Windows\System32? Mine is corrupt. I need the file from someone who's using Windows Vista Ultimate x64 SP1, because I've tried downloading the file from a DLL hosting site and it didn't work.

 

That's how I discovered the corrupt file in the first place, using SFC, but apparently it can't be fixed, for the reason below:

[SR] Could not reproject corrupted file [ml:520{260},l:46{23}]"\??\C:\Windows\System32"\[l:18{9}]"pnpui.dll"; source file in store is also corrupted

I have used Windows for years (since '95) without having the need to back up the entire OS (apart from hard drive failures, for which I'm happy to reinstall Windows anyway). I keep all my important files syncronised on 2x 1 terrabyte hard drives, which are separate from the OS drive, and I've always kept System Restore deactivated, as it uses up valuable hard drive space.

Seeing as there's only something wrong with one file here, I'm kind of reluctant to do a full Windows reinstall, as you can imagine. In future, I will make an archive of all Windows files directly after installation, in case something like this happens again.

I hear people boasting about having the latest version of Windows all the time, so I'm sure that there are still many people with Vista x64 SP1 on these Forums. They may be the kind of people who are too busy to provide me with the pnpui.dll file, but still... I've requested the file on 5 different forums, so we'll see what turns up before I'm forced to reinstall.

 

True, but I've never really trusted it to do it's job. I've always preferred to do things manually, and disable anything that could slow the computer down or consume unnecessary disk space.

Does Restore only affect system files, or can it delete other files that have been modified since the restore point? I'm a bit apprehensive about things that could change my files around in an unpredictable manner.