Missing File WTSAPI32.dll in Windows XP

Hello all MajorGeeks,

First-time poster. I did try doing a thorough search of the Forums and couldn't find any topic quite like this, so I am posting a new thread; please be patient with me if my netiquette is off. :-o

Suddenly yesterday upon start-up of my laptop (tech info below) I developed two problems, which I will keep as separate threads. One of them is that when I try to start specific programs - in particular, Google Chrome, Norton Anti-Virus, and a System Start-up file called "msmsgs.exe" (not sure exactly what this file is) I get the error that the application "failed to start because WTSAPI32.dll was not found." I suspect this will cause problems with other applications/programs I have not yet tried to open as well.

Through some research I have determined that I can either (1) re-install the individual programs, or (2) run sfc /scannow with the Windows XP CD in the CD drive, which should replace the missing file. (I assume #2 would be the quicker and more effective fix.) However, I am away from home and do not have the Windows XP CD with me. Is there any way I can download the missing file from the Internet, or otherwise replace it without having the Windows XP CD on hand? I am of course wary about doing this, but thought if it is a possibility, you folks could probably steer me in the right direction.

Also, I may have access to another Windows XP CD where I am, but it is not the one that came with *MY* computer and is much newer ... hence I would be wary of using it to run scannow as above. Would this be an option?

Any help in the above or any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the length of this post but I am trying to provide as much info as possible.

Background info: I have a Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop, 2005 vintage, running Windows XP. Other than being a little slow (usually fixed with Registry Cleanup) it normally runs fine. It was working normally on Thursday; the only thing I did that I can imagine might have caused a problem was that I D/L'd the newest version of Ad-Aware (freeware).

Thank you in advance for your help!!

Toni

 

Greetings, toniskids, and welcome to MajorGeeks.

As long as the Windows XP CD is the same version as the OS on the Dell, the System File Checker should be able to replace the missing file. It's certainly worth a try - even if the two versions clash, no further problems should occur.

 

Hi Caliban,

Thanks so much for your quick response, I do appreciate your promptness (despite the fact that I didn't respond right away). And I love your "I don't need no steenkin title" rank, BTW!! :-D

Well, unfortunately, I can now find neither the WinXP CD I was going to borrow from my host, nor can I find my own - I believe I kept all the CDs for my laptop in the original box when I bought it back in 2005. As luck would have it, I threw out the box just a few months ago, and while I'm SURE I would've checked it for CDs before I tossed it, I have absolutely NO memory of where I might have put them, and they aren't in any of the "likely" places. My mother MIGHT have her original WinXP CD, but since her PC is a 2010, I'm not at all sure the versions will be same release. Fairly sure they won't, in fact, and not sure it's worth the week's wait 'til I get to her place to find out.

In the meantime, I just realized about 2 days ago the significance of the fact that my Norton AntiVirus is one of the programs that won't run without this app extension file. So I've been surfing and downloading willy-nilly for a week with no virus protection. :-o

Assuming I can't find the WinXP CD in short order, and short of re-installing all the programs affected by this, anyone out there have any other ideas?? Considering I'm without Anti-Virus at the moment, I suppose I'd be best off going ahead and re-installing Norton at least ASAP ... if I can ...

Thanks again, all!! Appreciate your help, and I WILL be back...

///(^_^),
Toni

 

I suggest you don't re-install norton instead of this download and install

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security_essentials/default.aspx

it's slightly than norton , run it to remove norton leftovers from your machine !! :wave

https://www-secure.symantec.com/nor...10133834EN&product=home&version=1&pvid=f-home

 

Hi Falconattack,

With all due respect, I'm a little nervous about completely switching to a new Protection/Antivirus suite I know nothing about (though I wish I'd heard about it a few months ago when my McAfee expired and I was looking for a new one!!). I am a little hands-on about my PC security - I like to customize a lot of settings, and monitor what it does instead of just letting it run in the background - and I have never heard of this program, though CNet gives it 4 out of 5 stars. Will Microsoft Security Essentials give me the total protection I need - I see an optional Firewall is included, but does it also do live real-time protection, email and download scanning, scan for malware, PUPs and "suspicious" programs as well as viruses, and fix registry errors - not that I'm looking for the answers to each individual question, but in general, is it a one-stop shop? If I use this, should I still run Ad-Aware?

If someone else could lend their voice, I'd feel a little better about it. I have used McAfee in the past and did NOT care for it - too slow and a memory hog. I'm not *in love with* Norton either, but I'm reasonably happy with it, and it's already paid for, set up and customized. Just a little more feedback on why I should switch from the tried-and-true to an unfamiliar freeware suite would be appreciated before I go ahead and take the plunge.

Thank You!

Toni

 

Hi, which service pack are you running? (right-click My Computer and select Properties)

 

Sach2,

Thanks for your inquiry. Appears to be WinXP Home, v. 2002, SP3.

After some further research on MSE vs. Norton, I decided to D/L it and un-installed Norton. However the lack of WTSAPI32.dll continues to hamper me and will not allow me to run the D/L'd MSE install file. I also tried re-installing SP3 in hopes of restoring the missing file; it didn't work either, tells me the downloaded file is "not a valid Windows file" (plus, it seems Windows is phasing out support for these OS's because they are so old). I just upgraded to IE8 (I was running IE7) in the hope that that might help with my DLL files, and I now plan to attempt downloading (1) MSE AV or, if that fails, (2) Norton again ... but this missing WTSAPI32.dll file is really hurting me. I wonder what the heck I did that deleted/destroyed it to begin with??

I am also on the hunt with friends & family for a WinXP 2002 SP3 CD that someone can hopefully loan me so I can restore this file; hopefully that might end the suffering .... I went to Windows and WindowsUpdate sites and they don't seem to offer the possibility of a replacement download (or I am not finding it). My PC is apparently running on the verge of obsolescence ... :-o

The whole time, WLKeeper.exe keeps reminding me every 30 seconds that it is suffering from an "unknown exception" and cannot run either...

Thanks for your help,

Toni

 

toniskids you must find windows xp cd , you have to run System File
Checker

http://www.pchell.com/support/network_setup_wizard_does_not_open.shtml

recovering your file i think !! :wave

 

The WTSAPI32.dll is supposed to be located in C:\Windows\System32. Because you downloaded and installed SP3, do you have a folder C:\WINDOWS\ServicePackFiles\i386? In that folder should be another WTSAPI32.dll. Copy it to C:\Windows\System32 and see if it helps.

 

And, if all else fails, I've uploaded a copy of the file from an XP SP3 machine to a temporary folder on my website:

http://www.calibancomputer.com/common/wtsapi32.dll

If you do use this file (or if you find that you don't need it) please advise so I can delete it.

 

tgell - THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! That did it!! There was indeed another copy of WTSAPI32.dll in the \ServicePackFiles\i386 directory (as well as one in the C:\i386 folder). I put a copy in the \System32 folder and now, sure enough, my programs work again!! :-D

I could have sworn that I searched my hard drive for extra copies of the file last week - that was one of the first things I did - but I guess I didn't look in all the right directories. Ah well, I have it now, and that's what matters.

Caliban, it looks like you can delete that file from your website - but THANK YOU SO MUCH for your efforts, I really appreciate it!!

And falconattack, thanks to your suggestion, I am now going to try installing Microsoft Security Essentials and see how I like it compared to Norton. (I already uninstalled Norton last night, so I might as well try it!)

THANK YOU AGAIN, everyone!! You MajorGeeks are AWESOME!!! Truly awesome. :major

///(^_^),
Toni
(toniskids)

tgell wrote:

 

Glad you got it to work!! Thanks for the feedback.

 

Hi plodr,

Thanks for your input. As you can see, I have located the WTSAPI32.dll file and now all appears to be running fine.

However, wanting to be safe, I checked to see if I had the file in my C:\Windows\system32\dllcache folder ... and found that I have no \dllcache folder, not in this directory or in any other location.

Isn't this a little bit odd? It seems to me that I SHOULD have a dllcache folder ... is it normal not to have one, or is it something I should try to recreate or restore? I know I've seen it on my previous computers ...

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

Hi plodr,

Wow, thanks for taking all the time to look that up for me. You were right, the dllcache folder is there - just hidden as an operating system file. Beginner mistake, duh! :-o

Usually I keep the system files visible, but I guess I had hidden them recently because I got tired of looking at the 80+ different $NtUninstallKB923561$ (for example) file folders in the C:\WINDOWS\ directory ... speaking of which, do I really need to keep all of these $NtUninstall file folders, or can I delete them? They LOOK like junk.

And with that, on to my next issue, which I'll post elsewhere ... thanks again, everyone, for all your help. :-D

Toni

 

Glad you're getting things sorted, Toni - thanks for the feedback, and good luck to you.

 

Thanks Nick!! After making that post, I did a bit more research on MSE and ended up downloading it after all. Nothing fancy, but it seems to work so far, so I'm giving it a try.

Thanks again - great forum you have here, with great people. :cool

Toni

 

Our machine security depens on how we are using the network , if we are searching to network in 90 % and secondly in the antivirus we are using , if we navigate to ( porn sites , crack sites etc ) we have more possibilities to infect by a virus !! :wave