subject: DLLs: The Building Blocks of Your Software [print this page] Author: Carl Haugen Author: Carl Haugen
A computer is a fairly complicated piece of machinery. In addition to circuit boards and wires, you have the software that runs the programs on the machine. Each of those programs is made up of many files, a lot of them dll (dynamic link library) files. To keep track of all these files, Windows has a database called the registry. Whenever you install a program, the registry gets new entries, called keys that tell Windows how to find and use all the files that make up your software system. The registry is a vital piece of Windows because it tracks your dynamic link library files.
What DLL Files do for You
A dynamic link library file is basically a container for pieces of code and other instructions for the computer. They are called libraries but are more like the books in a library. They can be called into action when needed, and put back on the shelf when not in use. Dynamic link library files are useful in different ways. They keep your system running fast because the code they contain doesn't have to be held in your computer's memory when it isn't needed. They can be shared among different programs, which saves disk space. But there are a lot of them on your computer. Almost every program you install will add new dll files.
Tracking the Pieces
Most of the time, your registry has no problem keeping track of your files. The registry is designed with a certain amount of redundancy so it can recover from small errors. But it's a big database, and complex. Like any large and complicated system, there is a tendency for mistakes to accumulate. Every time a program crashes you might get an error in your registry. If you shut down your system improperly there may be corruption in the registry. Some programs are poorly written and may not update the registry correctly every time.
The mistakes can build up and your computer will strain more and more each time you run your programs until mistakes happen that it cannot work around, and you get an error code. Almost always, that error code involves a dll file.
Registry Repair
Fixing the registry is a daunting task. It has thousands of keys and is written partly in computer code. Manually going through it to find mistakes would take days, if not weeks, and require special knowledge. So there are two solutions to look at when you run across a dynamic link library error. The first is simple but annoying. You may need to reinstall the program that got the error. Usually a reinstallation will fix any problems with that program and get you going again. But other errors in your registry will remain.
So the second solution is a little better. Run a registry cleaner. A registry cleaner will hunt down all the problems in your registry and fix them. There are a lot of choices for registry cleaners out there, so look for one from a company with a good reputation. Make sure it has a strong guarantee. Run it regularly to keep your system clean.About the Author:
Run a free RegZooka scan now at http://www.regzooka.com and be on your way to getting rid of registry errors for good!
