A dynamic link library (DLL) is a file used by the windows operating system that contains programming functions and subroutines that can be used by more than one application on your computer to perform common or repeated application tasks. Many device drivers and vendor specific application programming code are packaged as DLL files.
When the windows operating system cannot find a dynamic link library that was called by an application, you will receive a missing .dll error similar to the one shown below.
“Internet Explorer encountered an error in KERNEL32.DLL at 0137:BFF3191C”
Error Causes
A missing or corrupt .dll file can be caused by any of the following problems:
- An existing program was uninstalled and the uninstall process removed a shared .dll file that was required by the application you are trying to open
- A newly installed application overwrote the .dll file with a different version of the file that is incompatible with or older than the one needed by other programs
- The .dll file was corrupted by a bad or incomplete installation process, or malware program
- The .dll file was deleted accidentally or on purpose by user carelessness or a malware program
Fixing the missing .dll Problem
Repairing the problem is dependant on what caused it.
Missing DLL Files
The first thing you should do is to use the windows search feature to see if the missing file is on your machine. Next go the Microsoft knowledge base at http://support.microsoft.com/ and search on the name of the .dll file to see if there is a known problem with that specific dynamic link library and a specific procedure to fix it.
If the file does not exist on your machine or there is nothing in the knowledge base, you need to replace the missing file by either copying it off another machine or downloading it from the internet. However, replacing the file may or may not work and requires care because replacing the file may cause other errors to occur.
Recently Install Application
First uninstall the application. If the problem was with that application, re-install it and see if that corrects the problem. If the problem was with a different application, try to open the non-working application after the uninstall to see if it is working. If it is, you probably have an incompatibility problem. This may not be possible to fix. You can try and copy the old .dll file to the application’s directory under Program files and delete it from the shared location. If the old application still works, you can safely install the new application. If it doesn’t, contact the existing application’s publisher and see if they have a patch to correct the situation. In the meantime, you need to decide which application you need most.
Recently Uninstalled Application
The uninstall program may have deleted a necessary .dll file. Reinstall the application to restore the missing file. When you uninstall the program again, select NO to ALL when asked to delete a system file or any shared file that may be used by another program.
System Restore
Microsoft has packaged some tools that can be used to correct problems.
If you are a windows XP user, try doing a system restore. Select Start -> Al Programs -> System Tools -> System Restore. Follow the instructions in the system restore dialog box to restore your computer to a time before the problems occurred.
SFC Utility
Both windows XP and 2000 users can us the SFC command to repair files. Click Start -> Run. Then type sfc /scannow in the dialogue box. When completed, windows will tell you if all protected windows files are ok.
Virus or Other Malware
Viruses, spyware, Trojans, worms, etc. can be the cause of the missing .dll file error. These programs can corrupt or delete files on your computer. Do a full virus scan, run a spyware remover and then do a full registry cleaning. You may also have to replace the missing or damaged files using the method described above.
Problem with Windows
If the error occurs when you are booting up into windows, you will need to boot to the safe mode. You can then do a system restore. If the machine will not boot into safe mode, you can use the repair console to fix the problem.
If the error occurs when you are trying to perform a task such as opening the control panel, you will need to boot to your installation CD and do a file repair.
In the worst case scenario, you will need reformat the hard drive and reinstall the windows operating system and all of your applications.
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