Fix the dreaded ‘Run DLL as an App’ error

By Fred Langa When rundll32.exe gives up the ghost, your PC may refuse to install or remove programs. Find out what causes rundll32.exe errors and learn some easy ways to fix the problem.

‘Run DLL as an App’ error kills Control Panel

I’m a fan of the Windows operating system; no single piece of software has done more to bring the power of small computers to the masses. But even the most fervent Windows aficionado has to admit that parts of the OS are not exactly shining examples of the programmer’s art.

A Windows Secrets reader named Alvaro ran into one of Windows’ uglier sides:

• “I have a question for which I have not been able to find an answer. Have Googled it and followed some of the suggestions, but I just cannot find a solution. I use XP. I have lived with this problem for over three months and do not remember how it originated.

  “The problem is that I cannot add or remove programs because I receive an error message about ‘Run DLL as an App,’ and the only option is to close the window. I can’t find a way to solve the problem.”
  

Hoo boy, Alvaro. The “Run a DLL as an App” problem doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, it can be a royal pain. Fortunately, there are several troubleshooting methods that get things working again with a minimum amount of hassle.

First, a quick aside: if you need add/remove functionality right away while your Control Panel is broken, tools such as Piriform’s free CCleaner (download page) and jv16 Power Tools from Macecraft Software (download page) have enhanced add/remove functions that don’t depend on Control Panel at all. Using tools such as these won’t fix the broken Control Panel, but it will return your ability to add or remove programs in the meantime.

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