Method 1: Copying the Ctl3d32.dll Library to the Windows System Directory 

1. The file you will download is a compressed file with the ".zip" extension. You cannot directly install the ".zip" file. Because of this, first, double-click this file and open the file. You will see the library named "Ctl3d32.dll" in the window that opens. Drag this library to the desktop with the left mouse button. This is the library you need.

   

2. Copy the "Ctl3d32.dll" library and paste it into the "C:\Windows\System32" directory.

   

3. If you are using a 64 Bit operating system, copy the "Ctl3d32.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 "Ctl3d32.dll" library into both directories.

   

4. First, we must run the Windows Command Prompt as an administrator.

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

   1. Open the Start Menu and type in "cmd", but don't press Enter. Doing this, you will have run a search of your computer through the Start Menu. In other words, typing in "cmd" we did a search for the Command Prompt.
   2. When you see the "Command Prompt" option among the search results, push the "CTRL" + "SHIFT" + "ENTER
   " keys on your keyboard.
   3. A verification window will pop up asking, "Do you want to run the Command Prompt as with administrative permission?" Approve this action by saying, "Yes".

   

5. Paste the command below into the Command Line that will open up and hit Enter. This command will delete the damaged registry of the Ctl3d32.dll library (It will not delete the file we pasted into the System32 directory; it will delete the registry in Regedit. The file we pasted into the System32 directory will not be damaged).

   %windir%\System32\regsvr32.exe /u Ctl3d32.dll

   

6. If you are using a 64 Bit operating system, after doing the commands above, you also need to run the command below. With this command, we will also delete the Ctl3d32.dll library's damaged registry for 64 Bit (The deleting process will be only for the registries in Regedit. In other words, the dll file you pasted into the SysWoW64 folder will not be damaged at all).

   %windir%\SysWoW64\regsvr32.exe /u Ctl3d32.dll

   

7. In order to cleanly recreate the dll library's registry that we deleted, copy the command below and paste it into the Command Line and hit Enter.

   %windir%\System32\regsvr32.exe /i Ctl3d32.dll

   

8. If you are using a 64 Bit operating system, after running the command above, you also need to run the command below. With this command, we will have added a new library in place of the damaged Ctl3d32.dll library that we deleted.

   %windir%\SysWoW64\regsvr32.exe /i Ctl3d32.dll

   

9. 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 Ctl3d32.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 Ctl3d32.dll Library to the Program Installation Directory 

1. In order to install the dynamic link library, you need to find the installation directory for the program that was giving you errors such as "Ctl3d32.dll is missing", "Ctl3d32.dll not found" or similar error messages. In order to do that, Right-click the program's shortcut and click the Properties item in the right-click menu that appears.

   

2. Click on the Open File Location button that is found in the Properties window that opens up and choose the folder where the application is installed.

   

3. Copy the Ctl3d32.dll library into this directory that opens.

   

4. This is all there is to the process. Now, try to run the program again. If the problem still is not solved, you can try the 3rd Method.

Method 3: Doing a Clean Reinstall of the Program That Is Giving the Ctl3d32.dll Error 

1. Press the "Windows" + "R" keys at the same time to open the Run tool. Paste the command below into the text field titled "Open" in the Run window that opens and press the Enter key on your keyboard. This command will open the "Programs and Features" tool.

   appwiz.cpl

   

2. The Programs and Features window will open up. Find the program that is giving you the dll error in this window that lists all the programs on your computer and "Right-Click > Uninstall" on this program.

   

3. Uninstall the program from your computer by following the steps that come up and restart your computer.

   

4. After restarting your computer, reinstall the program that was giving the error.
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 Ctl3d32.dll Error Using the Windows System File Checker 

1. First, we must run the Windows Command Prompt as an administrator.

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

   1. Open the Start Menu and type in "cmd", but don't press Enter. Doing this, you will have run a search of your computer through the Start Menu. In other words, typing in "cmd" we did a search for the Command Prompt.
   2. When you see the "Command Prompt" option among the search results, push the "CTRL" + "SHIFT" + "ENTER
   " keys on your keyboard.
   3. A verification window will pop up asking, "Do you want to run the Command Prompt as with administrative permission?" Approve this action by saying, "Yes".

   

2. Paste the command in the line below into the Command Line that opens up and press Enter key.

   sfc /scannow

   

3. The scan and repair process can take some time depending on your hardware and amount of system errors. Wait for the process to complete. After the repair process finishes, try running the program that is giving you're the error.

Method 5: Getting Rid of Ctl3d32.dll Errors by Updating the Windows Operating System 

Some programs require updated dynamic link libraries from the operating system. If your operating system is not updated, this requirement is not met and you will receive dll errors. Because of this, updating your operating system may solve the dll errors you are experiencing.

Most of the time, operating systems are automatically updated. However, in some situations, the automatic updates may not work. For situations like this, you may need to check for updates manually.

For every Windows version, the process of manually checking for updates is different. Because of this, we prepared a special guide for each Windows version. You can get our guides to manually check for updates based on the Windows version you use through the links below.

Windows Update Guides 

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