Help! When I download webshots I receive an error message at the end of the download stating that the "Procedure entry point SHGetSpecialfolderPathA could not be located in the library SHELL32.dll. What does this mean and how can I fix it?

Im not sure what downloading webshots is. what o/s are you using? what program are you running that causes the error? or if you dont know which program it is, what programS are running when the error occurs?

if youre talking about webshots.com, do you have the latest version of the software (available here: http://www.webshots.com/support/help/softwareupdates.html )? with most programs you can see what version you are running by going to help >> about.

Hello! Yes I am trying to download Webshots.com desktop software/ screensaver. I have never had any problems in the past. My hard drive crashed three times in a period of two weeks. It has been rebuilt. (This is my computer at work). The IS folks here at work don't know why I receive the message. I tried downloading the latest version and towards the end of the download, receive the same message. I also tried webshots help but nothing is listed for dll problems. I am unable to figure this one out.

what OS you runnning and what version of IE?

SHGetSpecialFolderPathA () exists in SHELL32.DLL version 4.71 and above.
NT 4.0 does not ship with the DLL at this version, unless IE 4.0 has been
installed.
If you have installed NT 4.0 and IE 5.0, you will not have SHELL32.DLL at version 4.71

it looks like NT 3.5 and 4.0 and 95 has problems with it cause the shell file is an older version but if you download newer vershio of IE it should help..
I have seen lots of websites that have this error with mostly NT, 95 and IE 5.0 and older. Check to make sure that your OS is supported.

Thanks troopre! I will try down loading the newer version and see what happens.

OK checked the systems : IE 5.50.4134.0600IC, NT 4.0, build 1381 with service pack 6, SHELL32.dll version 4.0. BUT, windows has installed the shlwapi.dll version 5.50.4134.600. Still receiving the same error message. I checked MICROSOFT and there are some problems with SHELL32.dll -incorrect PDF format (missing the comma's)I don't know if this is my problem. Any suggestions?

i would suggest downloading IE 6.0. that might fix it.. hopefully since you have win NT.. that is what i understand from the info.

Thanks Trooper! Will try that and see what happens.

Installing InternetExplorer 6 will not solve the problem. I have installed the latest iexplorer and my system still has shell32.dll with version 4 installed.

Another solution would be to install the nt4 resource kit from the microsoft website, which contains shell32.dll in version 4.72.xxx, but the problem is that this included dll is not compatible with nt4. I have the latest service pack installed, so perhaps this is a problem, but I don't think so.
I have replace the old shell32.dll with the new one from the resource kit. I have used the tool "moveex" to do this and it worked. The file was replaced the next time I booted, but then explorer shows me an error-message, I pressed the "ok"-button and explorer crashed ...
So I executed moveex again to replace the new shell32.dll with the old one I backed up before ...

heyho...I have solved the problem .
You need the file "Ie4shlnt.cab" from the IE4-CD...In my case this file was in the following folder: "X:\I386\EN\IE40".
If you have this file, grab it and uncompress it with winrar or something else.
Then right click on "ie4shell.ini" and klick on the menuitem "install".
Ignore the errors and restart.
After you have rebooted, you will recognize that you already have a newer version of shell32.dll (version 4.72.xx), but your start button will not work anymore and perhaps you will get some errors from the explorer, but that is also no problem.
Start now "cmd.exe" and type "cd theDir". "TheDir" is the dir where you have extracted "Ie4shlnt.cab" and then type "regsvr32 webvw.dll". This must succeed.
Then go to the system controlpanel and navigate to "software". There you need to repair internet explorer.
After the reboot everything will work. You will have a newer explorer, with the big buttons .
If you have questions just ask.