Solution to Shdocvw.dll Errors

In this article, we will discuss a few instances of shdocvw.dll errors and their resolution steps.

Error 1

On a Windows 98 computer, when you double-click or right-click the My Documents shortcut on the desktop, you may receive the error message mentioned below:

“Explorer
This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down.”

When you click Details, either of the following messages is displayed:

“Explorer caused a stack fault in module SHDOCVW.DLL at <memory address>”

-Or-

“Explorer caused a stack fault in module KERNEL32.DLL at <memory address>”

Cause of the Error

The above error occurs when the value of the Personal value in the following registry key is empty or does not contain the path to the My Documents folder.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders

Resolution Steps

Note: The steps mentioned below require you to edit the registry. It is recommended that you perform these steps with care and only if you are comfortable in working with the Windows Registry. A mistake in modifying the registry may cause irreparable damage to your system. As a precaution, always make a registry backup before editing the registry. You can back up the registry manually or use a reliable registry tool, such as RegGenie for this purpose.

To repair the above error, perform the following steps:

1. Click Start and then click Run.
2. In the open box, type regedit and press Enter to access Registry Editor.
3. Next navigate and select the following registry entry
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders
4. Next, in the right-pane of the Registry Editor window, locate and double-click Personal value.
5. In the Value Data box, type the path to the My Documents folder (the default path is C:\My Documents), and click OK.
6. Restart your computer.

Error 2

On a Windows XP computer, when you try to connect to a website, using either Internet Explorer 6 or Internet Explorer 6 with Service Pack 1 – a blank page appears, instead of the website you wanted to open.

Cause of the Error

The above issue occurs when during system update, some DLLs didn’t get registered.

Resolution Steps

To fix the above error, first register the urlmon.dll and actxprxy.dll files and restart Internet Explorer. If the issue persists, then register the following DLLs:

• shdocvw.dll‏
• browseui.dll
• mshtml.dll‏ 
• msjava.dll‏ 
• scrrun.dll‏ 
• msxml.dll‏ 

To register a DLL, you need to perform the following steps:

1. Click Start and select Run.
2. Next, in the Open box type the following command and press Enter to register a DLL
   regsvr32 DLLFilename

When I run the “Rundll32.exe shdocvw.dll, DoOrganizeFavDlg” command an empty dialog box appears, instead of a list of favorite websites

When you run the Rundll32.exe shdocvw.dll, DoOrganizeFavDlg command on a Windows XP computer with Internet Explorer 8 installed on it, a list of your favorite websites should be displayed.

If you receive an empty dialog box, to rectify the issue download the most cumulative security update for Windows Internet Explorer from the Microsoft Update website.

Alternatively, you can run the Rundll32.exe ieframe.dll, DoOrganizeFavDlg command to view the favorites information.

The shadocvw.dll file is missing – what should I do?

To resolve the issue, download a copy of shadocvw.dll file from a reliable online DLL Directory and save the file in C:\Windows\System32 folder.