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Missing DLL errors

api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll

This file belongs to Microsoft Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redistributable. Install that package and the DLL arrives with it, in the right place and correctly registered.

This one belongs to a family that works differently from ordinary libraries: why api-ms-win files cannot be downloaded at all.

If the file is already there and Windows still complains, read the message again: “entry point not found” is a different problem from a missing file, and installing the runtime again will not solve it.

And if the box says RUNDLL rather than naming a program, the fix runs the other way: something left an instruction behind pointing at a file that is meant to be gone, so restoring the file is the wrong move.

Do not download this DLL on its own

Searching for a missing DLL by name leads to sites that hand you that single file. It is one of the oldest and most effective malware delivery methods there is, and a system DLL from an unknown source is indistinguishable from a deliberately modified one. There is never a legitimate reason to obtain a runtime component that way.

The same goes for the tools that offer to do it for you: what a DLL repair tool can and cannot actually fix.

What it is

Part of the Universal C Runtime. On current Windows it arrives through Windows Update and the Visual C++ redistributable, which is why a machine missing updates hits this one.

Where you see it: Installing modern software on a Windows install that is behind on updates.

Run Windows Update first, then install the redistributable. This particular file is more update-related than most.

Install Microsoft Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redistributable

The official package, with the download URL Microsoft declares and the SHA-256 of every installer so you can verify it before running.

After downloading you can check the file against our index to confirm it is the installer the publisher shipped.

Other files from the same runtime

More DLL errors we cover