In semi-tech speak, a DLL is a program file that dynamically loaded and executed by programs. DLL (Dynamic Link Library) files can either be used by the specific application that loads it, or by several applications, in order to reduce the required storage space. All well so far? Good, but what if you fall into DLL HELL?

In computing jargon, DLL Hell is a phrase used to describe the DLL problems that result in Microsoft Windows operating systems. These problems are most often attributable to a situation when, say, three different applications are using the same DLL, and the user then installs a program that uses a newer version of that DLL. Immediately, the three programs that we have mentioned refuse to function and cause your system to crash when you try to run any of them. Ergo, you are in DLL Hell.

Actually, the proper name for this situation is ‘dependency hell’, but DLL Hell is a far more accurate description of the miseries that you face when your system crashes repeatedly and without warning! Derek O’Hare, a 41-year-old fast food restaurant owner in Long Island, suffered from the DLL Hell syndrome without knowing the first thing about DLLs. “I was a very basic level user and Internet junkie, and I thought it was cool to download software and games from apparently trustworthy sources,” he says. When DLL problems began to crop up, Derek was at sea. “It was a friend who alerted me to the importance of DLL files and told me all about the Windows Registry.”

And there lies the root of the problem. Basically, Windows Registry, which is part of every Microsoft Windows operating system, is a vast internal database in which all programs that you use, including Windows itself, store an enormous volume of data. Essentially, it represents your PC’s unique configuration. Therefore, it is also the repository of all DLL files, and the first step toward fixing your DLL problems is to clean up or repair Windows Registry.

For advanced users, the way to do that is to run regedit.exe, but amateur users must not even think about going there. What you should do instead is what Derek did: download a free Registry repair tool that scans your Registry for errors and automatically fixes them. “I was amazed by the user-friendliness of the Registry repair software,” says Derek. “Even for a novice like me, running it was a piece of cake.”

Note: we recommend RegCure (direct download link) as the premiere Registry & DLL Repair tool.

Essentially, registry repair software will repair Registry errors, seek out and destroy viruses and spyware that have found place in your machine, delete links to non-existent programs and thus solve your DLL problems, and make your PC smooth and efficient, much like it was when you first bought it. Remember, an efficient Registry lies at the heart of an efficient PC.