# Setup initialization error?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/setup-initialization-error/47848>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 31, 2000, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/setup-initialization-error/47848 "2000-12-31T01:59:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2000, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/setup-initialization-error/47848/1 "2000-12-31T01:59:28Z")

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I’ve been asked to tinker with a PC with some problems. It’s a little outside of my main frame of reference, so I thought I’d go to you guys… It’s a Windows 95 platform, lots of space, blah blah blah fishcakes.

Okay, every time it boots, it attempts to install something. Then I get:

Setup Initialization Error  
Setup requires \_SETUP.DLL and \_ISRES.DLL (located in \_SETUP.LIB) in order to operate properly.  
Please ensure these files are located with SETUP.EXE

Now, there are a bunch of setup.exe programs on the computer. Are any of them really necessary, as a general rule? Also, I’ve noticed that when I tried to run scandisk and defrag (which they’ve never run :rolleyes: ) that they never can finish- I think that something is running that I can’t find and shut down with control alt delete.

Um, help?

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**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2000, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/setup-initialization-error/47848/2 "2000-12-31T03:07:55Z")

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According to the helpdesk at work, “re-install Windows”. 🙂

Since that’s probably not what you want to do, here’s a thought. Try installing [Startup Cop](http://www.zdnet.com/downloads/stories/info/0,,000YKL,.html). It’s a free utility from PCMag that will list for you everything that starts up on the computer, even the things that are normally damn hard to find. I expect there will be a “setup.exe” listed in that list, which you would want to stop from loading.

Someone else may have a better solution. I hate Windows.

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**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2000, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/setup-initialization-error/47848/3 "2000-12-31T05:30:58Z")

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Get rid of the .tmp files and any unnecessary contents of the windows temp directory.

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**Author:** ![Eft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b782af/32.png) [@Eft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eft)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2000, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/setup-initialization-error/47848/4 "2000-12-31T15:07:35Z")

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See if there’s anything in the Programs\>StartUp folder, too. Any .EXEs in that folder will be run when the OS starts up.

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**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2000, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/setup-initialization-error/47848/5 "2000-12-31T15:53:07Z")

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Its just trying to find those files. Someone tried to install a program.

It’s probably a registry thing. Keep what’s on the hd & run the W95 setup from the cd & reinstall it on top of what’s there & youll have the same programs, etc.

I don’t remember if you can boot to DOS & run:  
scanreg /restore

But that would be easiest if you can restore an old registry before the program was put on.