/ What Does DLL Mean?

What Does DLL Mean?

What does DLL mean? I have a laptop but a DLL won’t allow me to see the desktop. What could possibly be wrong? Celeste Stewart

DLL - Dynamic Link Library

DLL stands for Dynamic Link Library. Files within the Dynamic Link Library are more like small modules in a larger collection of computer programs. Software and hardware developers rely on DLL files for many of the more common computer functions. Rather than creating their own computer code from scratch, they use these pre-existing modules for common functions. For example, your computer already contains hundreds of DLL files. A software program calls up the necessary files rather than contains duplicate information. This makes for less redundancy between programs, thus saving your computer valuable hard drive space.

DLL Errors

However, because DLL files are shared, they are often mistakenly uninstalled or overwritten. In addition, like all files, DLL files can become corrupt and unusable. When any of these events happen, the computer stops cooperating when the file is not found.

Troubleshooting DLL Errors

Normally, when DLL errors occur, retracing your latest computer changing steps can lead to the solution. For example, if you recently uninstalled a program and you suddenly get DLL errors, reinstalling the program usually reinstalls the lost DLL. Because DLL files system files, running a System Restore is a viable solution.

In your case, since your desktop is affected, it’s a bit harder to troubleshoot. A missing desktop is usually related to a problem with the explorer.exe file. You may be able to launch that manually by pressing Control + Alt + Delete and launching the Task Manager. From there, go to File > Run (New Task). Type in: explorer.exe and then click OK. If the desktop loads, you can then run a System Restore via the Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore path.

However, if that doesn’t do the trick, you’ll need to run System Restore from the Command Prompt. First, boot up into Safe Mode with Command Prompt by pressing the F8 key as the computer starts and choosing that option with your arrow keys. Type in: %systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe

This will launch System Restore. Choose a restore point from before the DLL error occurred and follow the prompts to roll you system back in time. This option will only work if you have System Restore enabled on your system. It does not affect your data though you may need to reinstall recently added programs and other changes that occurred after the restore point’s date.