Can I replace .dll files?

My son got a free game at McDonalds (Treasure Planet). I installed it following all instructions. When I rebooted my computer, the game wouldn't work and I uninstalled it. It came up with an error message that I did not have .ddl files, dsound.ddl, ddraw.ddl. I found out after that that several other childrens games no longer worked with the same error message. I obviously had these files before. Can I get these files back somehow or download them off of the internet? Thanks for your help.

This question was answered on November 27, 2002. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

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When it comes to free software, I have found some amazing programs.

Unfortuantely, in this case, it looks like you got what you paid for.

Uninstalling programs, especially games, often cause problems like you describe

Here's a tip:

Whenever you uninstall a program, should Windows inform you a file is shared by another program, asking you if you wish to delete said file, choose to keep it Hard drives are so big these days, the space will never be noticed, even if the file is never again used By default, Windows wants to delete files it thinks are shared I never could understand this I think it's a throwback to the days when hard drives were smaller

You have to click the "no" option each time.

However, some uninstalls never seem to get it right Unistalling a program never has been refined to an exact science Shared files often get thrown out in the process, without warning I blame this on software vendors who wrote the things.

Programs almost always share files called "dynamic link libraries" of ".dll" files By correcting your typo, you can find many common .dll files at a website called:

www.dll-files.com

In fact, by typing "missing .dll files" into Google.com, you can find several other sources Many of the sites seem to be overseas Copyright problems?

Anyway, you need to restore these files into their proper folders Read all information pertainent to your operating system Follow instructions on the website carefully Try dropping prodigal files into your Windows\System folder if you still encounter problems.

By the way Windows 2000 automatically detects deleted .dll files and replaces them, so it is said, but is not as good at playing games for which it is not specifically designed

Nothing's ever easy.

About the author

Posted by Robert of Mesa Community College on November 27, 2002

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