A recent survey established that most computer users find DLL errors among the most frustrating computer problems. This could be because either they are not aware of DLL files or they find that these errors are very difficult to resolve without adequate knowledge of troubleshooting. However, DLL errors can be easily resolved as well as prevented if you are aware of the origin of DLL files, their significance, and common causes of DLL errors.

DLL files or Dynamic Link Library files came into existence with the goal of achieving efficiency and saving precious hard disk space during the early days of computers. It was noticed that there were certain functions that were required by different computer applications and it made sense to have common files which could be shared by all these applications. The reasons why DLL file errors occur are:

1. Missing DLL files, which can happen if one or more required DLL files are accidently uninstalled. For example, you may see the xvidcore.dll not found error message when you try to play XviD media files, but you have either uninstalled or do not have the XviD codec on your PC.
2. The application you are trying to install contains one or more corrupt DLL files.
3. Problems and issues on your hard drive that have resulted in an invalid DLL file.
4. An existing good DLL file is overwritten by another DLL file that is incompatible or damaged or outdated.
5. A malware has infected one or more DLL files.

Now that you have understood the key reasons behind this error, you must be wondering how to fix DLL errors. This article enlists 4 important steps that you can take to troubleshoot DLL errors:

1. First and foremost, you must analyze what your computer is trying to tell you. This means trying to make sense of the error message. It is likely to contain a DLL file name to begin with. It may also tell you what has happened to that file whether it is missing, not found, invalid or has encountered some other problem. The primary mode of troubleshooting such DLL errors is to search for the specified file and save the file in the correct folder.
2. In case you are not able to understand the error message, a good way to resolve the problem is to recreate the system scenario before the error happened. This can be achieved by using the System Restore facility provided in the System Tools category of your Windows Start menu. You can restore the system to the time before the error took place.
3. Sometimes, you may have a fair idea of what has caused that particular error. For example, if you were in the middle of an installation process of an application, you know something went wrong with the files associated with that application. You must try to investigate the problem by uninstalling the program. If the problem is removed after uninstallation, you must contact the program manufacturer for support.
4. Lastly, more computer users prefer using an automatic tool known as registry cleaner to resolve all kinds of computer errors including DLL errors. Registry cleaners use advanced algorithms to resolve these errors and even repair DLL files that are part of the problem. So, if you are one of those users who would like to resolve DLL errors quickly and effectively, you can install a registry cleaner on your system.