Method 1: Fixing the DLL Error by Copying the Ds04_darkness_returns.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 "Ds04_darkness_returns.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 "Ds04_darkness_returns.dll" library you extracted and paste it into the "C:\Windows\System32" directory.

   

3. If your operating system has a 64 Bit architecture, copy the "Ds04_darkness_returns.dll" library and paste it also into the "C:\Windows\sysWOW64" directory.

   NOTE! On 64 Bit systems, the dynamic link library must be in both the "sysWOW64" directory as well as the "System32" directory. In other words, you must copy the "Ds04_darkness_returns.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 window that opens and hit the Enter key on your keyboard. This command will delete the Ds04_darkness_returns.dll library's damaged registry (It will not delete the file you pasted into the System32 directory, but will delete the registry in Regedit. The file you pasted in the System32 directory will not be damaged in any way).

   %windir%\System32\regsvr32.exe /u Ds04_darkness_returns.dll

   

6. If you have a 64 Bit operating system, after running the command above, you must run the command below. This command will clean the Ds04_darkness_returns.dll library's damaged registry in 64 Bit as well (The cleaning process will be in the registries in the Registry Editor< only. In other words, the dll file you paste into the SysWoW64 folder will stay as it).

   %windir%\SysWoW64\regsvr32.exe /u Ds04_darkness_returns.dll

   

7. 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 Ds04_darkness_returns.dll

   

8. 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 Ds04_darkness_returns.dll library we deleted.

   %windir%\SysWoW64\regsvr32.exe /i Ds04_darkness_returns.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 Ds04_darkness_returns.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 Ds04_darkness_returns.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 "Ds04_darkness_returns.dll is missing", "Ds04_darkness_returns.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 Ds04_darkness_returns.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: Uninstalling and Reinstalling the Program That Is Giving the Ds04_darkness_returns.dll Error 

1. Open the Run tool by pushing the "Windows" + "R" keys found on your keyboard. Type the command below into the "Open" field of the Run window that opens up and press Enter. 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.
5. This method may provide the solution to the dll error you're experiencing. If the dll error is continuing, the problem is most likely deriving from the Windows operating system. In order to fix dll errors deriving from the Windows operating system, complete the 4th Method and the 5th Method.

Method 4: Fixing the Ds04_darkness_returns.dll Error using the Windows System File Checker (sfc /scannow) 

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. After typing the command below into the Command Line, push Enter.

   sfc /scannow

   

3. Depending on your computer's performance and the amount of errors on your system, this process can take some time. You can see the progress on the Command Line. Wait for this process to end. After the scan and repair processes are finished, try running the program giving you errors again.

Method 5: Fixing the Ds04_darkness_returns.dll Error by Updating Windows 

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.

Guides to Manually Update for All Windows Versions 

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