Fun with Windows
 

Why do bad things come in bunches?

Yesterday, I noticed that when I click to connect to my modem, I get a message saying that an error has occurred in Rundll32, and that the program will shut down. In the detailed section, it says that a fault has been created in tapi.dll. I look up a solution to the problem, which happens to come from MS's website. It says I have to convert the current tapi file to .old, extract a tapi file from my Win95 disc, then delete the dial up network folder and recreate it.

Needless to say, I am confused to no fucking end. The last thing I want to do is fuck up Win95, and I've found a temporary solution to the problem. But it's causing my computer to freeze up at times, so I don't want to do this for too long.

If anyone knows what the hell I am talking about, and can offer a better suggestion, it would be greatly appreciated. :)

Re: Fun with Windows
 

The solution to all your problems.

A future solution...but not to the here and now. :p

When that kind of crap starts happening, I usually just reinstall Windows.

That's part of the problem. When it comes to installing and uninstalling other computer programs, no big deal. But I've never touched Windows...and to be honest, I'm worried that I'll fuck up my entire system. I don't know a thing about DOS or anything like that.

"tapi.dll" is the library for the telephony application program interface, probably mostly used on your computer for dial-up networking. The procedure on the MS website is one I've seen before, and might very well work for you.

Apparently the TAPI stuff is fairly fragile, gets corrupted easily, and needs to be dusted off and set back on it's feet every once in a while. The procedure they give, if followed exactlly, should get you a brand-new, unpolluted copy of tapi.dll.

You should probably do a virus scan (with current signatures) first.

<nag type="cannonical">Or install Linux. &lt/nag&gt

It sounds like tapi.dll is corrupt. It's a library used by programs for control of the modem and telephony applications.

The solution is to retreive a new copy of that file from your Windows 95 CD and copy it to your C:\Windows\System folder. Then you have to remove and re-install dial-up networking. This must be done with the Add/Remove Programs menu, under the Windows tab.


Here's how it's done.

Here's how to extract tapi.dll from your win95 cd.

And here's how to uninstall and reinstall dial-up networking.

Gah! You beat me by 8 minutes. :)

Those are the files I was reading earlier. Admittedly, it's still all baffling to me.

I'm also hindered by lack of a printer. I'll have to run up to Kinko's and print them this evening. At least I found my Win95 CD.

If you print them out you should be okay.

I realize that it looks like a bunch of gibberish. As long as you follow the instructions step-by-step, though, it should cure your problems.

Have you called tech support?

It will not allow me to rename Tapiaddr.dll. It tells me that it's being used by Windows. I did this while off my modem.

You'll have to reboot into pure MS-DOS mode and rename it from within MS-DOS.

??? :(

Procedure one:
Startup using a cold boot. When the screen says something like "starting Windows" or "loading Operating System" , press F8. This will provide a list of about 6 options to start the computer. If I remember correctly, option 3 is MS-DOS mode.

Procedure two:
Upon selecting Shutdown, select "Restart in MS-DOS mode".

Procedure three (not sure of this one):
From Windows, press Cntrl-Alt-Del. From the list of tasks, cancel or kill the one that looks like Tapi or remote operation. Do not cancel Explorer. If you cancel one and it does not work, then shutdown the computer and try the whole procedure again to cancel another task.

Further notes. The entire operation that include TAPI was upgraded. The program to download from Microsoft is MSDUN13.EXE (MicroSoft Dial Up Networking 1.3).

I do this from memory. Would know nothing about Wndows 95 except that it is so unstable, I have learned by fixing so many Win 95 problems. Just another reason why I was using Windows NT when Windows 95 was released.

Hey, before you get all crazy replacing tapi.dll, try just doing the get-rid-of-DUN-and-rebuild-it part. I recall solving some DUN problems (back when I *had* to use Windows) by just doing that much....didn't have to get a clean copy of tapi.dll, whatever was broke was broke in the shortcut itself.

Try just defining a new connection and see if that's good enough.

Sycamore,

MaggieLs right. Your best bet is to uninstall and reinstall dialup networking. its been a while, and i cant get to a win95 machine right now, but you should be able to go to start>settings>control panel>add/remove programs.

in there you should see a tab called windows setup. in there you should see an item called communication. double click on that and youll see dialup networking. uncheck it, choose ok, let it do its thing and reboot. once rebooted, follow the same process, this time adding a checkmark to dialup networking. upon reboot, you should be okay.

also, if you want to follow microsofts instructions, you should be able to boot to safe mode and rename the file. cold boot, and when you see a black screen with white text saying 'starting windows 95', press f8. if all goes well, youll be presented with a menu. option 3 is safe mode.

good luck!

~james

Just to clarify: start by just creating a new connection definition, see if that works. I've seen *just doing that* fix some DUN problems....although they weren't actually blue-sceening, as I recall.

The next level is uninstall and reinstall DUN. Depending on the patch level of your Windows, that may or may not actuallt replace your tapi.dll, although if you delete it *while* DUN is not installed, that pretty much ensures that you're getting a fresh copy.

If neither of those approaches works, follow the full-monty procedure in the MSKB articles. While you're doing that, remind yourself that Windows is popular because it's so easy to use...