RunDLL is an executable file that contains the functions needed by the dll files to run on Windows systems. There are 2 types of Rundll – 16-bit and 32 bit. 16 bit version file has the name Rundll.exe, while a 32-bit version file has the name Rundll32.exe. While Rundll.exe is supported by Windows 95, 98 and ME, Rundll32.exe is only supported by Windows NT, 2000, XP and Vista. The root cause of Rundll error is when Windows OS fails to transfer information from and to the Rundll files.

Now, let’s talk about these causes in detail. As I said, the root cause of the error which will look something like this on the screen “Rundll32.exe command is unable to locate the file you are trying to run”, is mainly due to the following issues:

1. Faulty DLL files and programs
2. Incomplete uninstallation of programs
3. Application conflicts
4. virus, Spyware and malware infections.

So, what’s the remedy?

You must make sure that you provide the correct location of Rundll32.exe or Rundll.exe when you are running it manually. By doing this you can be sure that the error won’t occur.

Talking about viruses and spyware which also attributes to the cause of this error, you must know that these malicious programs infect your programs, this making it inaccessible to the Rundll utilities smoothly. This also causes many more errors other than the Rundll. So the remedy in this case would be to install a antivirus and antispyware tool, and run a thorough system scan for virus and spyware, and clean them off of your PC, so that there is no infected program on your PC. I recommend you to scan twice to ensure full safety!

Another cause of Rundll error is Adware. Many people download a lot of free stuffs from the internet that will install adware during the installation. Adware is a program that runs advertisement on your free programs. This is not only annoying, but will eat up a lot of system resources – hard disk and RAM space, so that it puts haul on the programs that are currently running low on system resource, thus malfunctioning of it happens, like a failed execution of Rundll commands! So I recommend you to only download freewares and sharewares from the reliable and trusted source so that you don’t accumulate adware! In addition, you can also use a third party uninstaller program to uninstall programs that you think has got adwares in them, or run an adware scan and see what are the programs affected!

Talking about third party uninstaller tool let me tell a scenario where it’s useful. When there is a system crash, the program, even the legitimate ones, that you are running will abort, which will also give a rundll error! In that case, use a third party uninstaller to completely remove that program and reinstall it again. Because, there are chances that your program might be corrupted thus throwing up Rundll error as well as system hang up.

To troubleshoot Rundll errors resulting from application conflicts, I recommend you to use msconfig, to run that, go to Start > Run > type ‘msconfig’ without quotes. Navigate to start up program management and disable the program that you think might be in conflict. If you are now sure which one that is, just do a trial and error until you find the one that is in error. A Registry program can solve this issue automatically.

Yes, a reliable and program will help you scan and fix all the thus preventing Rundll errors from occurring as a result of damaged or corrupted registry entry.