How to Fix the “DLL Not Designed to Run on Windows” Issue?

DLL Not Designed to Run on Windows

The “DLL not designed to run on Windows” error can happen on different DLL files. You may find the DLL comes with some specific file name, such as msvcr100.dll, msvcr110.dll, msvcp140.dll, and lmirfsclientnp.dll, which means the triggers can be different.

When you run into this error, it will show you a message that reads:

Bad Image – DLL is either not designed to run on Windows or it contains an error. Try installing the program again using the original installation media or contact your system administrator or the software vendor for support.

According to what people reported, we have concluded some common triggers for different DLL errors.

• Faulty Windows update
• Corrupted system files
• Missing or damaged DLL files
• Problematic software installation

Now, you can try the next methods to fix the “DLL not designed to run on Windows” issue.

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Fix: DLL Not Designed to Run on Windows

First of all, you can choose to re-download and install the related corrupted or missing DLL file. But notice that you should do that via official sources in case you unwittingly bring potential dangers into your system.

Fix 1: Perform SFC and DISM Scans

SFC and DISM are two excellent built-in tools for repairing system file corruption. You can run these tools to see if the DLL issues can be fixed by that.

Step 1: Type Command Prompt in Search and choose Run as administrator.

Step 2: Copy and paste this command and press Enter.

sfc /scannow

Then you need to wait for a while until the scan finishes and perform the next command for further check and repair.

DISM /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

After that, you can restart your computer to check if the error has been fixed.

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Fix 2: Run a Malware or Virus Scan

The possibility is that your computer has been infiltrated by viruses or malware and therefore, the DLL file gets missing or corrupted. You can scan your computer for sure via Windows Antivirus or third-party antivirus programs.

Step 1: Go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Security.

Step 2: Click Virus & threat protection from the right panel and in the next window, click Scan options > Full scan > Scan now.

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Fix 3: Reinstall Affected Programs

You may encounter the “DLL not designed to run on Windows” issue when you attempt to run a program but that fails. In this case, you can reinstall the program and try it again.

Step 1: Open Run by pressing Win + R and input appwiz.cpl to enter the Programs and Features window.

Step 2: Then please locate and click on the problematic application and click Uninstall.

When you are prompted to finish the uninstallation, you can download and reinstall the program via the official source.

Fix 4: Uninstall and Reinstall Windows Updates

If this error happens after you update Windows, you can try to reinstall the Windows update.

Since some DLL files are related to crucial system components, you may need to reinstall the Windows update so that the missing part can be restored.

It would be useful if all of the above can’t get rid of the error message. This method may erase your data so before that, you need to back up your important data.

You can use this Windows backup software – MiniTool ShadowMaker to backup files. And for better protection, you’d better prepare an external hard drive for your important data. MiniTool allows you to perform local backup and NAS backup for your system, files & folders, and partitions & disks.

MiniTool ShadowMaker TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Then, to reinstall Windows updates, you can do as follows:

Step 1: Go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update.

Step 2: Click View update history from the right panel and click Uninstall updates in the next window.

Step 3: Choose the latest installed Windows update and click Uninstall to remove it.

Then your system needs to be restarted and you can check if the “DLL not designed to run on Windows” error happens again. If not, you may go to Update & Security > Windows Update > Check for updates to reinstall the update.

For Windows 11 users, you can read this post for details: How to Uninstall and Reinstall Updates on Windows 10/11 PCs.

Apart from that, you can choose to directly perform a clean installation of Windows.

• [Illustrated Guide] How to Clean Install Windows 10 21H2 on PC?
• How to Clean Install Windows 11? Here Are 5 Options

Bottom Line:

Have you ever encountered the “DLL not designed to run on Windows” error? If you run into this error, you can follow the above troubleshooting methods.