How To Fix “The program can’t start because msvcp140.dll is missing from your computer”

The program can’t start because msvcp140.dll is missing from your computer” – How to fix

A DLL file (Dynamic Link Library) is a type of file that contains instructions for other programs about how to perform certain operations. Multiple programs can share data allocated to a single file simultaneously. It is called “dynamic” because the data is used only when the program needs it. In this way, data is used only when necessary, rather than having it constantly available in memory. Unlike executable programs (with .exe file extension), .DLL files cannot be run directly. They must be called by other code that is already running. Despite this, .DLL files have the same format as .EXE files and some may even use the .EXE file extension.

.DLL files are very useful, since programs working with .DLL files use less memory and do need to load everything at once. If, however, a .DLL file is updated to a newer version (or overwritten with another version) or removed from the computer – the program relying on that particular .DLL file might fail or no longer work properly.

If you are getting the error message saying “The program can’t start because msvcp140.dll is missing from your computer”, you are at the right place. Usually users are getting this error message when this .DLL file is missing from your computer (like stated in the error). This error message is quite common and it occurs from time to time. Users usually getting this error message when trying to launch Skype, games or other utilities. If a system does not have the Visual C++ Redistributable patch installed (or the particular file like msvcp140.dll is missing), then programs cannot run. In other words it means that part of Visual C++ Redistributable was not installed properly or failed to install, or this “msvcp140.dll” file has somehow gone missing or got corrupted.

Good news is that you can quite easily fix “The program can’t start because msvcp140.dll is missing from your computer” error. In this guide we are going to show you several solutions for this problem, read the article below, try these methods and see which one does the trick for you.

NOTE: Download the file (usually it is a whole package of files) ONLY from the official websites to avoid any potential risks. We do not recommend you to download the “msvcp140.dll” file from the unofficial web page, unofficial sites are unapproved sources and downloaded files may be infected with viruses.

Check Your Recycle Bin

Maybe the msvcp140.dll file is missing because it was accidentally (or not) deleted and not it lies in your Recycle Bin. Open your Recycle Bin and find the “msvcp140.dll” file. If there are many files in you Recycle Bin then type the file name (msvcp140.dll) in the Recycle Bin’s search box and it will find the file for you. Right-click on the file and select “Restore” from the context menu.

Install Or Reinstall The Microsoft Visual C ++ Redistributable Package

Visual C++ is a part of the general “C suite” of programming languages often used for many different types of development projects. Visual C++ includes runtime packages and libraries for creating different compilations of function calls, procedures and other code elements that work within integrated software environments. The “msvcp140.dll” file belongs to the Visual C ++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015.

You can download the latest Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 from the Microsoft web page here. You will need to choose the download you want, the “vc_redist.x64.exe” or “vc_redist.x84.exe”. Close all your open applications before the install.

Make sure that you download the right version of the Visual C++ Redistributable file. If you are not sure which one to download and to install, find out whether you are using 32-bit or 64-bit.

Reinstall The Program

You can fix the “The program can’t start because msvcp140.dll is missing from your computer” error by reinstalling the program you are trying to launch and getting this error message as a result. To uninstall the problematic program from your computer type “run” in Search and click on the “Run” result and it will open Run dialog box for you. Type “appwiz.cpl” and press Enter on your keyboard, this will launch “Programs and Features” window for you.

In opened Programs and Features window locate the program and uninstall it by right-clicking on it and choosing “Uninstall” from the dropdown menu.

Download and install the program again and see if you are getting the “The program can’t start because msvcp140.dll is missing from your computer” error while trying to launch it.

Run SFC Scan

System File Checker (SFC) is a utility in Windows that allows users to scan for corruptions in Windows system files and restore corrupted files. This guide describes how to run the System File Checker tool (SFC.exe) to scan your system files and to repair missing or corrupted system files (including .DLL files). If a Windows Resource Protection (WRP) file is missing or is corrupted, Windows may not behave as expected. For example, some Windows functions may not work, or Windows may crash. The “sfc scannow” option is one of the several specific switches available in the sfc command, the Command Prompt command used to run System File Checker. To run it you need to open Command Propmt first. To open it type “command prompt” in Search and then right-click on the “Command Prompt”, select “Run as administrator” from the dropdown menu to run Command Prompt with administrator privileges. You must run an elevated Command Prompt in order to be able to perform SFC scan.

In opened Command Prompt window type “sfc /scannow” and press Enter on your keyboard to execute this command. System File Checker will start and it should take some time to complete the scan. It should take about 15 minutes. Wait for the scanning process to complete and restart your computer to see if you are still getting the “The program can’t start because msvcp140.dll is missing from your computer” error while trying to open a particular application.

Check For Windows Updates

Another thing you might want to try is to update your current version of Windows. Checking for updates for the whole Windows operating system might help. To check for Windows Updates go to Settings and select “Update & Security”.

You should be automatically directed to Windows Update section. Click “Check for updates” and Windows will start checking for updates. If there are updates available then install them and try checking for updates again, just to make sure that you have the latest updates on your operating system. After the updates are installed (if there were any to install) see if you are still getting the “The program can’t start because msvcp140.dll is missing from your computer” error while trying to open a particular application.

Perform A Full System Scan

Malware may cause various issues on your computer, including issues with the Microsoft Visual C ++ Redistributable package . Perform a full system scan and see if it detects any malware on your computer. You can use Windows Defender (built-in antivirus program) which protects your computer against viruses, spyware, other malicious software. Or you can any other third-party antivirus. To run full system scan using Windows Defender type “defender” in Search and click on the “Windows Defender settings” result.

Click “Open Windows Defender Security Center” on the right pane.

Then click “Virus & threat protection”.

In the Virus & threat protection window, click “Advanced scan”.

Select “Full scan” and click “Scan now”. This will start scanning your system for malware. When the scan is finished, try to launch the program again and see if you are still getting the “The program can’t start because msvcp140.dll is missing from your computer” error.

We hope that at least one of the solutions provided in the guide above helped you to fix the “The program can’t start because msvcp140.dll is missing from your computer” error and you are now able to run your program (or programs) without any problems.

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