How to register a DLL file in Windows XP and Vista

Ran into a Windows problem where you have to register a DLL file on your computer? A DLL file, aka Dynamic Link Library, are files that contain functions used across multiple applications.

For example, Microsoft Office has hundreds of DLL files that can be used between the various Office programs to perform certain certain functions, such as spell checking, etc. Multiple programs can load the same DLL at the same time.

If you need to register a DLL due to some sort of corruption or installation failure, you can do it manually by following the method outlined below.

Step 1: First click on Start, then Run.

Step 2: Now all you have to do to register a DLL file is to type in the regsvr32 command, followed by the path of the DLL file.

regsvr32 “C:\Windows\System32\myfile.dll”

Step 3: Now click OK and you should get a confirmation message that the DLL has been registered successfully.

That’s it! Now your DLL has been successfully added to the registry and can be used by Windows programs.

If you are not able to register a DLL file and you end up getting an error message saying that the attempt to register the DLL file failed, you might want to disable UAC (User Account Control) in Windows Vista.

Turning off UAC has been known to fix the issue of failed attempts to register DLLs. Other issues could be that you need to right-click on the command prompt and choose Run as Administrator. Sometimes if the command prompt does not have administrator privileges, the register DLL command will fail.

Finally, you can try copying the regsvr32.exe file from an XP computer onto your Vista machine and then set the compatibility to Windows XP SP2. If you still have issues, post a comment! Enjoy!