Method 1: Solving the DLL Error by Copying the Gifreader.dll File to the Windows System Folder 

1. The file you downloaded is a compressed file with the ".zip" extension. In order to install it, first, double-click the ".zip" file and open the file. You will see the file named "Gifreader.dll" in the window that opens up. This is the file you need to install. Drag this file to the desktop with your mouse's left button.

   

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

   

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

   NOTE! On 64 Bit systems, the dll file must be in both the "sysWOW64" folder as well as the "System32" folder. In other words, you must copy the "Gifreader.dll" file into both folders.

   

4. In order to run the Command Line as an administrator, complete the following steps.

   NOTE! In this explanation, we ran the Command Line on Windows 10. If you are using one of the Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista or Windows XP operating systems, you can use the same methods to run the Command Line as an administrator. Even though the pictures are taken from Windows 10, the processes are similar.

   1. First, open the Start Menu and before clicking anywhere, type "cmd" but do not press Enter.
   2. When you see the "Command Line" option among the search results, hit the "CTRL" + "SHIFT" + "ENTER" keys on your keyboard.
   3. A window will pop up asking, "Do you want to run this process?". Confirm it by clicking to "Yes" button.

   

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 Gifreader.dll file's damaged registry (It will not delete the file you pasted into the System32 folder, but will delete the registry in Regedit. The file you pasted in the System32 folder will not be damaged in any way).

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

   

6. 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 Gifreader.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 Gifreader.dll

   

7. We need to make a new registry for the dll file in place of the one we deleted from the Windows Registry Editor. In order to do this process, copy the command below and after pasting it in the Command Line, press Enter.

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

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

   

9. You may see certain error messages when running the commands from the command line. These errors will not prevent the installation of the Gifreader.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 Gifreader.dll File Into The Software File Folder 

1. First, you must find the installation folder of the software (the software giving the dll error) you are going to install the dll file to. In order to find this folder, "Right-Click > Properties" on the software's shortcut.

   

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

   

3. Copy the Gifreader.dll file.
4. Paste the dll file you copied into the software's file folder that we just opened.

   

5. When the dll file is moved to the software file folder, it means that the process is completed. Check to see if the problem was solved by running the software 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 Software that Gives You the Gifreader.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 screen will come up. You can see all the softwares installed on your computer in the list on this screen. Find the software 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 software. Confirm the process and wait for the uninstall process to finish. Restart your computer after the software has been uninstalled from your computer.

   

4. After restarting your computer, reinstall the software that was giving the error.
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: Solving the Gifreader.dll Problem by Using the Windows System File Checker (scf scannow) 

1. In order to run the Command Line as an administrator, complete the following steps.

   NOTE! In this explanation, we ran the Command Line on Windows 10. If you are using one of the Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista or Windows XP operating systems, you can use the same methods to run the Command Line as an administrator. Even though the pictures are taken from Windows 10, the processes are similar.

   1. First, open the Start Menu and before clicking anywhere, type "cmd" but do not press Enter.
   2. When you see the "Command Line" option among the search results, hit the "CTRL" + "SHIFT" + "ENTER" keys on your keyboard.
   3. A window will pop up asking, "Do you want to run this process?". Confirm it by clicking to "Yes" button.

   

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 software that is giving you're the error.

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

Most of the time, softwares have been programmed to use the most recent dll files. If your operating system is not updated, these files cannot be provided and dll errors appear. So, we will try to solve the dll errors by updating the operating system.

Since the methods to update Windows versions are different from each other, we found it appropriate to prepare a separate article for each Windows version. You can get our update article that relates to your operating system version by using 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