If you use Windows as the operating system of your computer every day, it is quite possible that at some point or other you have encountered a warning or system alert that indicates that a certain DLL file is missing or not found.
Although when this happens the most common thing is to go quickly to the Internet with the intention of downloading that file on the first download page that we find, this can end up becoming a serious problem, rather than a solution. And the fact is that many of these pages are not usually authorized pages, in such a way that, on many occasions, we run the risk of downloading a DLL file with a virus, or that it ends up compromising the security of our PC.
Not in vain, it is something that most computer security experts advise: it is not advisable to download DLL files from unreliable download sites as an attempt to replace that file that is damaged or missing , since, in many cases ( unless it is from an originally trusted source), these Web sites are simply sources of malware .
Therefore, in what way is it possible to repair these types of errors, adequately and one hundred percent safely?
How to Fix “Not Found” or “Missing” DLL Errors
Before explaining the steps to follow when solving errors related to these types of files, we must remember that DLL file errors can appear in any of the operating systems developed by Microsoft, which includes Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10.
In fact, if at any time it has happened to you, you may have already realized that these types of errors can become especially problematic, especially if we take into account that there are many types of files, all with the potential to cause problems.
Returning again to the previous advice in which we indicated that we should not download DLL files from untrustworthy download sites , here are the steps you should follow to try, at least, to correct DLL file errors :
- Restart your computer. It is possible that the problem that is causing the error of that particular DLL file is only temporary, and all we need is to restart the computer.
- Restore. We may have accidentally deleted the DLL file. Not surprisingly, most of the errors like “DLL file not found” or “DLL file missing” are due to it. In these cases we could choose to restore the DLL file that has been deleted by mistake, which we could find in the Recycle Bin.
- Recover. If we suspect that said DLL file has been accidentally deleted, and we have emptied the Recycle Bin, we could try to recover it by using a free file recovery program. Of course, it is only a useful option when we are sure that we have been the ones who have deleted the file, and the system was working correctly before it was done.
- Run a virus and malware scan. Sometimes some errors can be related to actually hostile or dangerous programs, which masquerade as DLL files.
- Restore the system. When none of the previous steps has solved the problem, restoring the system becomes an appropriate option when we suspect that the error has been caused by a change that we have made in the registry or in another configuration of the system.
- Reinstall the program. Another more drastic option is to proceed with the installation of the program that is causing the error. This is particularly useful when the error appears when opening or trying to use a particular program. In these cases, reinstalling the program should be enough to reinstall and store the DLL again.
Not surprisingly, reinstalling the program that provides that DLL file becomes one of the most likely solutions , especially most of the time.
What to do if none of the above works?
When none of the above has worked, it is necessary to try other steps, such as applying the Windows updates that are available or performing a repair installation of Windows , which would help restore all the Windows DLL files to the versions originals.
Still, if we still can’t fix it, we may need to do a clean install of Windows , which will erase the contents of the hard drive and install a fresh copy of the operating system.
