HELP!! Bad Image Error Message (aim.exe)

Hello all,
This is the second time i'm typing this post (very annoyed about that by the way, the first one was awsome) I've started getting an error message when trying to launch AIM. It says that ...quartz.dll is not a valid windows image. Then it appears to log on, the buddy list starts to load, and then promptly moves to the taskbar. When I mouse over the AIM icon in the task bar, the icon disappears.

In addition, the computer has (quite unconveniently) begun to close windows for no discernable reason. I'm assuming this is linked to the weird messages I've been receiving from AIM, because it began after i got the first "invalid windows image".

Here is what i've tried so far:
1) Scans with Ad-Aware, SpySweeper, Norton AntiVirus
2) Replacement of the quartz.dll file (in the system32 folder) with one downloaded
3) Deletion of the quartz.dll file altogether (error message goes away, AIM and OS behave the same way)
4) Numerous System Restore's (going back almost a month)

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE help me!! I'm very touchy about this computer acting up as I need it to run smoothly for my law school courses (I type on this thing about 8 hrs. a day)
and if it goes down (as it appears to be doing) I'm up #!&* creek, sans paddle!!

THANK YOU!!!
-A.T.

quartz.dll is a DirectX file.

You might try downloading the latest DirectX here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=en

This also might be an AIM problem.

Do you get any error messages when Windows closes? A blue screen? A # e.g. 0x00000007?

Also: look in your Event viewer: rt. click My Computer then click Manage then Event Viewer.
Or: Administrative Tools/Event Viewer or Start/Run/ eventvwr
Open the system as well as the application tabs & look for X errors. Click error line for details.
Post back the source & event id especially of errors that seem to coincide with a crash.

WOW! thank you for the quick response. So far no luck with anything.
-Downloaded ErrorNuker (registry cleaner) that found some registry errors and fixed em
-Tried booting in safe mode, and running Ad-Aware, nothing new there
-I tried looking at the event-viewer, but really don't know what i'm looking at there (there were a bunch of errors, in the application and system section, but not sure exactly what i should be looking for)
-And to clarify, my computer froze up (for the first time) today, and I could not get the task manager to appear (i had to shut it off manually). Also, in addition to the AIM program not staying open (and the message about the invalid image) the "windows" (not the os) are sometimes closing when my mouse is not active within them (it actually happened with the event viewer, i could not take the mouse outside the window or the viewer would close--very weird)
-I have downloaded the latest DirectX from microsoft

So yeah, there's my situation again, in another not-so-brief-multiple-issue-cry-for-help!
Thank you so much for your assistance on this!
-A.T.

Is this a totally new problem? Any previous issues? How old is the computer?

Try posting the Event Errors for today. Double click the error line then copy the Source as well as the ID as well as the Description.

Also look to see if the same errors are repetitive. From boot to boot; day to day; etc.

The screen freeze is indicative of a hardware problem more than software. Did this only happen once?

Do you have TweakUI installed? Or any other mouse software?

Do you have a full version XP CD or was XP pre-installed on your computer?

If the former try running sfc /scannow via start/run sfc /scannow (note the space between sfc & /scannow. This is the System File Checker & will repair any corrupted XP files. You will need your XP disk to run this.

If the latter what is the exact make & model & # of the computer? We can look online for the equivalent tool.

Also if you want to run this scan:
http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

Post back the info under Drives as well as Display

This will let us find a diagnostic for your hard drive as well as your latest graphics drivers.

Yes, this is a totally new problem, the computer is only a few months old, It is an Averatec AV3270.

Here are the even errors i picked out (there are more if these don't seem to make any sense):
Source: LoadPerf
ID: 3011
"Unloading the performance counter strings for service WmiApRpl (WmiApRpl) failed. The Error code is the first DWORD in Data section."

Source: Ntfs
Event ID: 55
"The file system structure on the disk is corrupt and unusable. Please run the chkdsk utility on the volume C:."

I'm learning more about the way this thing is behaving: if a window is maximized, the window stays open fine. If the window is minimized, and the mouse leaves the window, the window will either close or the computer will freeze up. I've tried using ctrl+alt+delete but cannot get the task manager to appear to end the process.

I do not have a XP disk. XP was bundled on this laptop when i bought it, and I've searched for an install disk and cannot find one.

I am still getting the "C:\Windows\system32\quartz.dll is not a valid windows image" message when i attempt to open AIM

Also, a new development, when i start my computer some program that i've never seen before starts up, I believe its called Configure Rt2500, and it looks like some kind of wireless network configuartion utility (it doesn't do anything, and I can exit the program; all it shows is the available wireless networks).

Thank you so much for your help on this. I am a broke Law School student and this great (FREE) advice is truly appreciated!!
-Alex

We might as well take care of this first:

start > run > cmd
in the new window type chkdsk/f
when prompted to run on boot choose Y & reboot
this will check for & fix any disk errors.

Thank you for all your help Jephree,
I called avaratec, because I was sick of messing with this thing, and they informed me that my computer never came with an installation disk (hence my frustration in trying to locate one) instead the computer had a built in recovery system (Pheonix Core Management, or something) I backed up everything i needed and set the laptop back to its factory image. Things are workin great now!!
Thanks for your patience and your help. Now i know where to come when i have problems with my laptops!! Very fast and very informative help.
Thanks again,
-ATempl

Glad you got it sorted. Thanks for the update & the thanks!

Let us know if we can help further in the future!

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