Method 1: Installing the Ddraw.dll File to the Windows System Folder 

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 dll file from inside it. So, double-click the file with the ".zip" extension that you downloaded and open the file.
2. You will see the file named "Ddraw.dll" in the window that opens up. This is the file we are going to install. Click the file once with the left mouse button. By doing this you will have chosen the file.

   

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

   

4. Copy the "Ddraw.dll" file and paste it into the "C:\Windows\System32" folder.

   

5. If your system is 64 Bit, copy the "Ddraw.dll" file and paste it into "C:\Windows\sysWOW64" folder.

   NOTE! On 64 Bit systems, you must copy the dll file to both the "sysWOW64" and "System32" folders. In other words, both folders need the "Ddraw.dll" file.

   

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 Ddraw.dll file's problematic registry in the Windows Registry Editor (The file that we copied to the System32 folder does not perform any action with the file, it just deletes the registry in the Windows Registry Editor. The file that we pasted into the System32 folder will not be damaged).

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

   

8. If you are using a Windows version that has 64 Bit architecture, after running the above command, you need to run the command below. With this command, we will clean the problematic Ddraw.dll registry for 64 Bit (The cleaning process only involves the registries in Regedit. In other words, the dll file you pasted into the SysWoW64 will not be damaged).

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

   

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

   %windir%\System32\regsvr32.exe /i Ddraw.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 Ddraw.dll file we deleted.

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

    

11. You may see certain error messages when running the commands from the command line. These errors will not prevent the installation of the Ddraw.dll file. In other words, the installation will finish, but it may give some errors because of certain incompatibilities. After restarting your computer, to see if the installation was successful or not, try running the software that was giving the dll error again. If you continue to get the errors when running the software after the installation, you can try the 2nd Method as an alternative.

Method 2: Copying the Ddraw.dll File to the Software File Folder 

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

   

2. Open the software's file folder by clicking on the Open File Location button in the Properties window that comes up.

   

3. Copy the Ddraw.dll file into the folder we opened up.

   

4. That's all there is to the installation process. Run the software giving the dll error again. If the dll error is still continuing, completing the 3rd Method may help solve your problem.

Method 3: Uninstalling and Reinstalling the Software that Gives You the Ddraw.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 softwares listed in the Programs and Features window that opens up are the softwares installed on your computer. Find the software that gives you the dll error and run the "Right-Click > Uninstall" command on this software.

   

3. Following the instructions that come up, uninstall the software from your computer and restart your computer.

   

4. 4. After restarting your computer, reinstall the software that was giving you the error.
5. You can solve 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 solve dll errors in Windows you will need to complete the 4th Method and the 5th Method in the list.

Method 4: Solving the Ddraw.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. Type the command below into the Command Line page that comes up and run it by pressing Enter on your keyboard.

   sfc /scannow

   

3. The process can take some time depending on your computer and the condition of the errors in the system. Before the process is finished, don't close the command line! When the process is finished, try restarting the software that you are experiencing the errors in after closing the command line.

Method 5: Solving the Ddraw.dll Error by Updating Windows 

Some softwares require updated dll files 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.

Explanations on Updating Windows Manually 

1. Explanation on Updating Windows 10 Manually
2. Explanation on Updating Windows 8.1 and Windows 8 Manually
3. Explanation on Updating Windows 7 and Windows Vista Manually
4. Explanation on Updating Windows XP Manually