# Libraries not displaying correctly, what to do?



## lreiser (Jan 28, 2013)

My library files come up as white sheets and wont open, i have tried restoring to defaults but wont work, how do i put this back to normal please?

My operating system is Windows 8

thanks


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## OldGrayGary (Jun 29, 2006)

Hi (and welcome to the forums)


Why not try a run of System Restore? It usually works fairly well for getting settings back to previous values, and it doesn't bother your personal files. I couldn't find any detailed information as to whether the Libraries setting is included in a System Restore, but I think it's worth a try.
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The steps below are for computers running any version of Windows 8 except Windows 8 RT (which mostly is used on the Microsoft tablets called "Surface" ... ["Surface Pro" tablets run Windows 8 Pro]. System Restore isn't available for Windows RT.

I'll assume that your computer isn't running Windows RT, and is running Windows 8 or Windows 8 Pro.
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To restore your PC using System Restore

1. From a touchscreen, swipe in from the right edge of the screen to produce the "charms" bar, and then tap Search. (Or, if you're using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down to produce the "charms" bar, and then click Search.) Enter Recovery in the search box, tap or click Settings, and then tap or click Recovery.

2. Tap or click Open System Restore, and follow the prompts. Pick a restore point from before the unwanted changes.
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There are a few known malware programs that hide personal files and folders, so you should also run an antivirus scan with your installed antivirus. Many major-brand computers come with an antivirus package installed (such as Norton, McAfee, Kapersky, TrendMicro, etc.). If yours didn't come with an antivirus package, and you didn't install one - you should still be protected by the built-in Windows Defender, which is turned on by default. You can check on Windows Defender by going to the Windows 8 Start screen, then start typing Windows Defender. The Search screen will automatically open & show an icon for Windows Defender. You can click on that icon to check on Defender's status. It should be running. [Of course, Defender will not be running if you have a different antivirus program installed].

Should your Libraries reappear and work fine for a while, but then disappear again - it might be worth checking with the Security techs over in our Security forum here at TSF.

Best of luck
. . . Gary


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## lreiser (Jan 28, 2013)

The system restore hasn't worked, but thanks for the help  I'll manage without them,
thanks again


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## OldGrayGary (Jun 29, 2006)

I looked around, and strangely enough this same sort of problem occurred a few years ago for some Windows 7 computer users. Re-registering a system dll helped fix the issue. It may have been accidentally caused by an update back then.

The file needing re-registering is present in both Windows 7 and Windows 8, so I would expect that the fix should work for Windows 8 as well.

Here's the procedure:

1) From the new Windows 8 *Start* screen, start typing *command*
2) *Right-click* the *Command Prompt* icon
3) Select *Run as administrator*
4) From the command prompt, type 
*regsvr32 /i %systemroot%\system32\shell32.dll*
and *press Enter*.
5) You will see a message:
*DllRegisterServer and DllInstall in C:\Windows\system32\shell32.dll succeeded.*
(the location C:\Windows will be different if your Windows installation is on a drive other than C ... that's okay)
6) Restart the computer, and see if the Libraries display correctly again.

Let us know if it works or not: I've seen several recent posts around the web that folks are seeing this Libraries issue again.

Best of luck
. . . Gary


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## lreiser (Jan 28, 2013)

Nope, no luck, doesn't work...

Thanks, lreiser


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