Nearly everyone that has used a computer on a regular basis has received an error message saying something like “cannot find xxxx.dll.” When this happens you most likely either have a corrupted dll file or a dll file that you need has been removed from the computer.

There are a number of ways that a DLL file can become corrupt or missing. Incorrectly removing some programs from a computer can result in DLL files that are used by other applications being deleted or partially deleted. Installing new software on your computer can also cause DLL files to become missing or corrupt. Installing new software sometimes causes DLL files to be overwritten with older versions of that file that may not be compatible with other applications or with your operating system. This can cause your computer applications to not be able to recognize the DLL file, causing missing or corrupt DLL file error messages. Hardware problems are a less common cause of missing or corrupt DLL files. When a hard drive goes bad, it can damage or delete information stored on it, including DLL files.

The easiest way to fix this problem, and get rid of the pop up messages, is to replace the corrupted or missing dll file. There are several websites that offer download service of common dll files. Many of these sites offer their services free of charge, however some of these sites have a limited selection of dll files and the one you need may not be available on all sites. It is also a good idea to scan any dll files that you download with an anti-virus program prior to installing it into your computer.

If you are unable to find an available version of your missing or corrupt DLL file to download there are still other ways to fix your DLL problems. Often times, reinstalling the application that is giving DLL error messages will solve the problem. Most of the time reinstalling the application will also replace any necessary DLL files that have been deleted or corrupted or are otherwise unusable by the application. In some cases repairing your DLL files this way can be a better solution than downloading a replacement file. By simply reinstalling the application or program you eliminate the possibility of accidentally infecting your computer with a virus. Although most sites that offer DLL replacement file downloads are good about verifying the content of their files, it is still possible for viruses to be downloaded along with the DLL files

Every computer with any version of Microsoft Windows operating system installed has a registry. The system registry holds almost all the information about your computer in .dll files.

Many computer users notice that after a short time, their computer is not working the same way it used to. Part of the reason for this is your system registry. Often times, invalid dll files in your system registry caused by either software that is no longer in use or software that was not removed properly that can lead to a disruption in the normal operation of your computer. Improperly removing software from your computer can cause DLL files that are also used by other applications to be deleted or partially deleted as well. When this happens, the other applications on a computer can no longer run properly because part of the coding that is used by these other programs can no longer be found by the application. Re-installing software that has been recently removed from the computer may help to eliminate DLL errors associated with corrupted DLL files. Re-installing the software program will usually also re-install the DLL files associated with that particular program, allowing other applications that share the information in the DLL files to resume their normal operating functions.

. Sometimes a computer application that requires a particular DLL file to function properly will find an incomplete file while searching for necessary information. When this happens, the program you are using will try to load the incomplete or corrupted file even if a complete file is also installed in the system registry. Removing these disrupted dll files can also often restore your computer to its former productivity.

Along with your system registry, there are also several other areas where corrupted dll files could be the reason for error messages in programs such as activeX, windows explorer, internet explorer, windows installer and outlook. Other signs that you may have invalid dll files in your system registry include dll issues, system32 errors, runtime errors, EXE errors and SVChost errors as well as many other sytem issues and errors. Often times, these files have had their extensions changed and simply registering the files with the appropriate DLL extensions will enable computer applications to find the files for use and eliminate many common computer errors. In some cases, however, replacing the damaged DLL files may be necessary for some computer programs to function properly again.