Method 1: Copying the Compress32.dll Library to the Windows System Directory 

1. The file you are going to download is a compressed file with the ".zip" extension. You cannot directly install the ".zip" file. First, you need to extract the dynamic link library from inside it. So, double-click the file with the ".zip" extension that you downloaded and open the file.
2. You will see the library named "Compress32.dll" in the window that opens up. This is the library we are going to install. Click the library once with the left mouse button. By doing this you will have chosen the library.

   

3. Click the "Extract To" symbol marked in the picture. To extract the dynamic link library, it will want you to choose the desired location. Choose the "Desktop" location and click "OK" to extract the library to the desktop. In order to do this, you need to use the Winrar program. If you do not have this program, you can find and download it through a quick search on the Internet.

   

4. Copy the "Compress32.dll" library you extracted and paste it into the "C:\Windows\System32" directory.

   

5. If you are using a 64 Bit operating system, copy the "Compress32.dll" library and paste it into the "C:\Windows\sysWOW64" as well.

   NOTE! On Windows operating systems with 64 Bit architecture, the dynamic link library must be in both the "sysWOW64" directory as well as the "System32" directory. In other words, you must copy the "Compress32.dll" library into both directories.

   

6. In order to complete this step, you must run the Command Prompt as administrator. In order to do this, all you have to do is follow the steps below.

   NOTE! We ran the Command Prompt using Windows 10. If you are using Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista or Windows XP, you can use the same method to run the Command Prompt as administrator.

   1. Open the Start Menu and before clicking anywhere, type "cmd" on your keyboard. This process will enable you to run a search through the Start Menu. We also typed in "cmd" to bring up the Command Prompt.
   2. Right-click the "Command Prompt" search result that comes up and click the Run as administrator" option.

   

7. Let's copy the command below and paste it in the Command Line that comes up, then let's press Enter. This command deletes the Compress32.dll library's problematic registry in the Windows Registry Editor (The library that we copied to the System32 directory does not perform any action with the library, it just deletes the registry in the Windows Registry Editor. The library that we pasted into the System32 directory will not be damaged).

   %windir%\System32\regsvr32.exe /u Compress32.dll

   

8. If the Windows you use has 64 Bit architecture, after running the command above, you must run the command below. This command will clean the broken registry of the Compress32.dll library from the 64 Bit architecture (The Cleaning process is only with registries in the Windows Registry Editor. In other words, the dynamic link library that we pasted into the SysWoW64 directory will stay as it is).

   %windir%\SysWoW64\regsvr32.exe /u Compress32.dll

   

9. You must create a new registry for the dynamic link library that you deleted from the registry editor. In order to do this, copy the command below and paste it into the Command Line and hit Enter.

   %windir%\System32\regsvr32.exe /i Compress32.dll

   

10. Windows 64 Bit users must run the command below after running the previous command. With this command, we will create a clean and good registry for the Compress32.dll library we deleted.

    %windir%\SysWoW64\regsvr32.exe /i Compress32.dll

    

11. If you did the processes in full, the installation should have finished successfully. If you received an error from the command line, you don't need to be anxious. Even if the Compress32.dll library was installed successfully, you can still receive error messages like these due to some incompatibilities. In order to test whether your dll issue was fixed or not, try running the program giving the error message again. If the error is continuing, try the 2nd Method to fix this issue.

Method 2: Copying the Compress32.dll Library to the Program Installation Directory 

1. First, you need to find the installation directory for the program you are receiving the "Compress32.dll not found", "Compress32.dll is missing" or other similar dll errors. In order to do this, right-click on the shortcut for the program and click the Properties option from the options that come up.

   

2. Open the program's installation directory by clicking on the Open File Location button in the Properties window that comes up.

   

3. Copy the Compress32.dll library.
4. Paste the dynamic link library you copied into the program's installation directory that we just opened.

   

5. When the dynamic link library is moved to the program installation directory, it means that the process is completed. Check to see if the issue was fixed by running the program giving the error message again. If you are still receiving the error message, you can complete the 3rd Method as an alternative.

Method 3: Uninstalling and Reinstalling the Program that Gives You the Compress32.dll Error 

1. Push the "Windows" + "R" keys at the same time to open the Run window. Type the command below into the Run window that opens up and hit Enter. This process will open the "Programs and Features" window.

   appwiz.cpl

   

2. The Programs and Features screen will come up. You can see all the programs installed on your computer in the list on this screen. Find the program giving you the dll error in the list and right-click it. Click the "Uninstall" item in the right-click menu that appears and begin the uninstall process.

   

3. A window will open up asking whether to confirm or deny the uninstall process for the program. Confirm the process and wait for the uninstall process to finish. Restart your computer after the program has been uninstalled from your computer.

   

4. After restarting your computer, reinstall the program.
5. You can fix the error you are expericing with this method. If the dll error is continuing in spite of the solution methods you are using, the source of the problem is the Windows operating system. In order to fix dll errors in Windows you will need to complete the 4th Method and the 5th Method in the list.

Method 4: Fixing the Compress32.dll Error using the Windows System File Checker (sfc /scannow) 

1. In order to complete this step, you must run the Command Prompt as administrator. In order to do this, all you have to do is follow the steps below.

   NOTE! We ran the Command Prompt using Windows 10. If you are using Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista or Windows XP, you can use the same method to run the Command Prompt as administrator.

   1. Open the Start Menu and before clicking anywhere, type "cmd" on your keyboard. This process will enable you to run a search through the Start Menu. We also typed in "cmd" to bring up the Command Prompt.
   2. Right-click the "Command Prompt" search result that comes up and click the Run as administrator" option.

   

2. Paste the command below into the Command Line that opens up and hit the Enter key.

   sfc /scannow

   

3. This process can take some time. You can follow its progress from the screen. Wait for it to finish and after it is finished try to run the program that was giving the dll error again.

Method 5: Fixing the Compress32.dll Errors by Manually Updating Windows 

Some programs need updated dynamic link libraries. When your operating system is not updated, it cannot fulfill this need. In some situations, updating your operating system can solve the dll errors you are experiencing.

In order to check the update status of your operating system and, if available, to install the latest update packs, we need to begin this process manually.

Depending on which Windows version you use, manual update processes are different. Because of this, we have prepared a special article for each Windows version. You can get our articles relating to the manual update of the Windows version you use from the links below.

Guides to Manually Update the Windows Operating System 

1. Guide to Manually Update Windows 10
2. Guide to Manually Update Windows 8.1 and Windows 8
3. Guide to Manually Update Windows 7 and Windows Vista
4. Guide to Manually Update Windows XP