I recently have been unable to open certain .exe files. most work, but for some reason the applications with the icon on the left don't work. when double clicked or right clicked and opened, nothing happens. for some reason, apps with the icon on the right still work. I went to the effort of restoring my system with a norton ghost image file, so I'm suprised this is still happening. Previously quicktime wasn't working, but it was fixed after I restored the previous image. any help is greatly appreciated! :)

make sure u dont have one of those stupid viruses that attach themselfs to exe files

I ordered a CD of files from DAZ once and one of the files looked just like that box icon, I decided it was corrupted and they gave me a download link instead. Never could figure out how to open it.

I also had a prob opening up ALL .exe files, the problem there was fixed by updating the driver on my graphics card. You might check that out and see if it fixes your problem.

Just about every action in a windows based application involves this DLL. So it can be a pretty broad :( . it could be that your Kernel32.dll file is missing or damaged.

Would be worth a try replacing it. Youll need your windows CDROM to get a new copy of the file from .

reboot your computer, if youre using 98, hold down the CTRL key while the computer is booting until your see the startup menu, and choose command prompt only.
If youre using Me, boot your computer with your startup diskette.
At the command prompt, type the following lines and press ENTER after each ..

cdwindowssystem

ren kernel32.dll kernel32.xxx

You can use the extract command to get a new copy of the kernel32.dll file from your CD-ROM type extract at the command prompt and it should give you instructions about using this command.

When you done you will restart your computer.

Not saying it will resolve your problem but its a good place to start troubleshooting Good Luck.

That little icon on the left basically tells you the program is no longer there. Either the program got deleted or something has happened to damage the exe file.

could the .exe extension not be associated properly anymore??

Looks pretty serious. Your Kernel32.dll IS DAMAGED. And it's pretty likely that other important files are damaged, too. The program entry point is missing, like it says. Just about every program ever written for windows uses Kernel32.dll... so I'm surprised that you can even get windows to boot!! Fully re-install windows. If you still have problems, your hard-drive is popping up bad sectors and needs replacing. H:)

Attached Link: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;142606

I don't think it's an association problem. If it were, Windows would bring up dialogs allowing you to choose how you wish the file to be handled. This particular error message is pretty specific and points to a DLL problem. I googled the error message and from what I've read on the net, this error could indicate not only a corrupt kernel32.dll, it could also mean that a program recently installed proprietary .dlls that were not meant for that Windows version, or it's misinterpreting the Windows version and calling the wrong procedure for the version of Windows installed. I.e. calling a Windows 95/98 procedure that isn't available on a Windows 2000/xp set-up etc... The link above points to Micro$oft's take on the matter. BTW, Red Baron, if you're asking for help with computer related topics, it's always a good idea to be as detailed about the problem as you can. Include what operating system you're running, what software you're using or action you performed that caused the error to appear. The more detailed and specific you are, the better the chances that someone out there can narrow down the problem and help find a solution. :-) nukem

The left hand icon is the default, no icon supplied by the creator, exe icon so I agree it's most likely that the file is incomplete or corrupt - Windows knows it's a program by the extension, but the file doesn't contain the correct data to run. By the look of the error message it's garbled in such a way that it seems to be calling for an invalid (ie not there) procedure in Kernel32. Odd that it should affect several files - I'd certainly do a virus check, or if they came from the same source it may be a CD/DL problem.

if they are seeing the Kernel32.dll it's a pretty safe bet to assume they are using 98 or ME since XP runs on the NT kernel ;)

doing a reinstall or reformatting would be my last line of defense. But sometimes corrupt files just happen, and happen often with a win98 system. It's not nearly as stable as the 2000 or XP systems running on the NT kernel.

Try a bit of troubleshooting .... never can tell .... could be something as simple as replacing a file.

If all else fails reformat. Even Microsoft recommends you reformat a win98 system once a year. Not that I would now ... but they do recommend it

But look at the procedure entry point name - it's a square, which usually means a character not included in the font, so it seems the problem is not with Kernel32 but with the calling program giving a nonsensical procedure name. Taken with the default exe file icon, and the fact that it is only some files, that strongly suggests corruption, either from mis-copying, bad storage medium or a virus doing a bad job of attaching itself.