If your operating system cannot or is not able to load a required DLL file on your Windows startup and you encounter a message saying, “Failed to load DLL”, then you’ve come to the right place as this post will guide you in fixing this problem.
When you encounter this kind of issue, you will see either of the following error messages on your screen:
“The dynamic library dll failed to load.”
“Failed to load dll library.”
This kind of error can occur when your Windows operating system fails to locate the DLL library which the system needs to access during startup. It can also occur when the DLL file is not in a directory specified in the path or when the DLL file is corrupted or has gone missing. Moreover, you can also encounter this error if the DLL file is infected with some malware. Whatever the case is, here are some suggestions you have to check out to resolve the problem.
Option 1 – Try to reinstall the program
The first thing you can do is to reinstall the program that’s giving you this error. Once you’ve uninstalled the program, download its latest setup file from its official site and then install it again.
Option 2 – Try checking the startup programs
You might also want to check the startup programs on your computer, especially the Windows Registry startup paths, and then remove the startup entry to the concerned DLL file.
Option 3 – Try to re-register the problematic DLL file
You may have to re-register the ntdll.dll file using the regsvr32.exe before you can successfully install the program and fix the ntdll.dll file crash error. The Regsvr32 tool is a command-line utility that can be used to register and unregister OLE controls like DLL and ActiveX (OCX) control in the Windows operating system. Follow the steps below to use it.
- Open Command Prompt as admin from the WinX menu.
- Next, type the following commands in the elevated Command Prompt and hit Enter to execute the command. This will re-register the affected DLL file using the Windows operating system tool, regsvr32.exe.
- exe /[DLL file]
- exe [DLL file]
Note: Replace “[DLL file]” with the name of the DLL file that was pointed out in the error.
- After you execute the given commands, you should see a message saying, “DllRegisterServer in vbscript.dll succeeded” if the Regsvr32 tool was able to run successfully. After that, try to install the program again and see if it now works.
Option 4 – Try to replace the DLL file with a trusted source
- First, you need to get the new DLL file from another computer with preferably the same file version number.
- After that, you need to boot your PC into Safe Mode and navigate to the paths listed below and then replace the file using a USB drive or other external storage devices.
- x86: This PC > C:/Windows/System32
- x64: This PC > C:/Windows/SysWOW64
- Next, type “cmd” in the Cortana search box and right-click on Command Prompt, and select “Run as administrator” to open it with administrator privileges.
- Now type the “regsvr32 ntdll.dll” command and hit Enter.
- Restart your PC and check if the error is now fixed.
Option 5 – Try checking the details in the Event Viewer
Checking the details in the Event Viewer can also help you find out the root cause of the problem as the Event Viewer usually contains detailed information about the error.
Option 6 – Try running the DISM tool
You might want to repair potentially corrupted files in your system as having them could also trigger the “Failed to load DLL” error. To repair these corrupted system files, you can run the DISM commands:
- Tap the Win + X keys and click on the “Command Prompt (Admin)” option.
- After that, input each one of the commands listed below sequentially to execute them:
- Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
- Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
- Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
- Once you’ve executed the commands given above, restart your computer and check if the “Failed to load DLL” error is now fixed.
Option 7 – Try scanning your computer using Windows Defender
The DLL file might also be infected with malware or virus and to eliminate it which could explain why you’re getting the “Failed to load DLL” error. Thus, you have to scan your computer using security programs like Windows Defender.
- Tap the Win + I keys to open Update & Security.
- Then click on the Windows Security option and open Windows Defender Security Center.
- Next, click on Virus & threat protection > Run a new advanced scan.
- Now make sure that Full Scan is selected from the menu and then click the Scan Now button to get started.