How to Detect Missing DLL File Errors?

When a DLL file is corrupt or missing you may receive an error message similar to the one given below when you run a program that needs to use this DLL file:

Cannot find the file Program_Name.exe.

In the error message Program_Name represents the name of the program or name of one of its components in which the error occurred.

This error message is usually followed by an error message similar to the one given below:

Error starting program. A required .DLL file DLL_Name.DLL was not found.

Here, DLL_Name is the name of the DLL file that is causing the error.

What Causes Missing DLL File Errors?

There can be many causes of missing DLL errors. Some of the most common causes are:

* An essential system file required by the program you are using has been deleted. This may happen when a program is uninstalled/installed or you have tried to clean up space on the hard disk.
* A virus infection has infected the required DLL file.
* DLL entries in the Windows registry are corrupt

How to Fix Missing DLL File Errors

The following are some of the methods that you can use to resolve issues related to missing DLL files.

Method 1: Reinstall the program that is generating the error message.

Reinstalling the program replaces any missing or damaged program files with their original version. This step also helps in rectifying problems in the Windows registry related to this program.

Method 2: Reinstall the recently installed program.

Sometimes, when you uninstall a program, some of the shared DLL files required by other programs on your computer may also get removed. This may lead to missing DLL file errors when you try to use programs that require the removed DLL files.

In this case, the best way to resolve the problem is to reinstall the program you removed. Doing this will copy and register the required files on the system again.

Method 3: Update the program or device driver that you may have installed recently

If you have recently installed a new program or device driver, it is quite likely that some of the existing DLL files are overwritten by their older versions. In this case, to resolve the error, try to search for any updates for this new program. If you find an update, download and install it to try and resolve the error. You may also try to download the newer version of the DLL file from the Internet or another computer with a similar configuration as yours and copy it your computer.

If nothing works, you may need to use the System Restore to revert your system to the time when no error occurred on the PC.

Method 4: Repair your Windows registry

In order to work, all DLL files need to be registered in the Windows registry. If the registry entries related to one or more DLL files are corrupt, missing DLL errors may be generated. To prevent this problem, you must perform registry scan and repair and maintain an error-free registry. To easily perform this task on a regular basis, you may use a reliable registry tool, such as RegGenie.

Method 5: Scan and remove virus infections

Malicious virus infections may cause damage to existing DLL files and generate errors. To resolve this issue, you must use an efficient antivirus tool, such as AntiVirus Plus to perform a full system scan of your computer and remove all malware data from it. An antivirus tool helps in repairing infected files and restoring your computer back to it’s normal working state. Before performing the scan, you must update your antivirus tool. Additionally, it is recommended that you perform the scan in Safe Mode to make it more effective.