How to deal with Outlook Express error messages involving kernel32.dll

Troubleshooting Outlook Express Kernel Errors

Symptom
If you are running Windows 95 or 98 When you try to start Internet Explorer or Outlook Express, your PC may hang, and you may get one of the following error messages:

• Explorer caused an invalid page fault in module Kernel32.dll.
• Commgr32 caused an invalid page fault in module Kernel32.dll.
• Mprexe caused an invalid page fault in module Kernel32.dll.
• Msgsrv32 caused an invalid page fault in module Kernel32.dll.
• Iexplore caused an invalid page fault in module Kernel32.dll.

Solution
The cause of this message is a damaged password list file (.pwl). To fix it:

• Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files Or Folders.
• In the Named box, type *.pwl, and then click Find Now.
• In the list of found files, right-click each file, and then click Delete. Repeat this step until all of the .pwl files are deleted.
• On the File menu, click Close.
• Restart the computer. The password list files are re-created automatically when you log on to Windows. (If you are running early versions of Windows 95, you need to download the Mspwlupd.exe file from the Microsoft Web site, and then double-click the file to run it.