3 Solutions to .exe Is Not a Valid Win32 Application

When the file or program you are trying to run is corrupt or missing, Windows is unable to execute the file properly. Hence, you may encounter the error that .exe is not a valid Win32 application, as the following picture:

So, when coming across this error, do you know how to solve it? Keep on your reading to find the answers.

How to Fix the Error Not a Valid Win32 Application?

In this part, we will demonstrate how to solve the error that .exe is not a valid Win32 application.

Before proceeding with the solutions, please check the program is compatible with your version of Windows. If you downloaded a wrong version of program, you will come across the error that .exe is not a valid Win32 application.

Method 1. Reinstall Program Again

If the program you downloaded has been verified that it is complete and compatible with your version of Windows (What Version of Windows Do I Have? Check Version and Build Number). The error not a valid Win32 application may be caused by the corrupt file during downloading.

So, in order to fix the error that .exe is not a valid Win32 application, you can try to download the program again and reinstall it.

And then run it and check whether the error not a valid Win32 application is solved. If it is not effective, try other solutions.

Method 2. Run the Program as Administrator

In order to fix the error that .exe is not a valid Win32 application, you can choose to run the program as administrator.

Now, here is the tutorial.

1. Right-click the program encountering the error not a valid Win32 application.
2. Then choose Properties.
3. Go to the Compatibility tab and check the option Run this program as an administrator.

Then run the program and check whether the error that .exe is not a valid Win32 application.

An Easy Way to Set Apps Always Run as an Administrator Windows 10

Do you know how to set apps always run as an Administrator Windows 10? In his post, we will walk you through an easy and quick guide.

Read More

Method 3. Check Bad File

And file can be changed or renamed as the .exe file. If you’re downloading the file, make sure the file is supposed to be .exe file and it is not being changed. If you want to create a .exe file, please make sure that you are compiling the file for Windows and never rename a file to a.exe file directly.

Otherwise, the file would not be executable and you may encounter the error not a valid Win32 application. For a file to become an executable file, it needs to either be compiled or converted through a software program designed to convert the file.

So, in order to fix the error that .exe is not a valid Win32 application, you can try checking whether the file has been renamed or changed.

Final Words

To sum up, this post has introduced 3 ways to fix the error that .exe is not valid Win32 application. If you come across the same error, try these solutions. If you have any better solution to fix it, you can share it in the comment zone.