Method 1: Solving the DLL Error by Copying the Kernel32.dll File to the Windows System Folder 

1. The file you downloaded is a compressed file with the extension ".zip". This file cannot be installed. To be able to install it, first you need to extract the dll file from within it. So, first double-click the file with the ".zip" extension and open the file.
2. You will see the file named "Kernel32.dll" in the window that opens. This is the file you need to install. Click on the dll file with the left button of the mouse. By doing this, you select the file.

   

3. Click on the "Extract To" button, which is marked in the picture. In order to do this, you will need the Winrar software. If you don't have the software, it can be found doing a quick search on the Internet and you can download it (The Winrar software is free).
4. After clicking the "Extract to" button, a window where you can choose the location you want will open. Choose the "Desktop" location in this window and extract the dll file to the desktop by clicking the "Ok" button.

   

5. Copy the "Kernel32.dll" file and paste it into the "C:\Windows\System32" folder.

   

6. If you are using a 64 Bit operating system, copy the "Kernel32.dll" file and paste it into the "C:\Windows\sysWOW64" as well.

   NOTE! On Windows operating systems with 64 Bit architecture, the dll file must be in both the "sysWOW64" folder as well as the "System32" folder. In other words, you must copy the "Kernel32.dll" file into both folders.

   

7. 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.

   

8. Paste the command below into the Command Line window that opens and hit the Enter key on your keyboard. This command will delete the Kernel32.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 Kernel32.dll

   

9. 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 Kernel32.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 Kernel32.dll

   

10. We need to make a clean registry for the dll file's registry that we deleted from Regedit (Windows Registry Editor). In order to accomplish this, copy and paste the command below into the Command Line and press Enter key.

    %windir%\System32\regsvr32.exe /i Kernel32.dll

    

11. If the Windows version you use has 64 Bit architecture, after running the command above, you must run the command below. With this command, you will create a clean registry for the problematic registry of the Kernel32.dll file that we deleted.

    %windir%\SysWoW64\regsvr32.exe /i Kernel32.dll

    

12. 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 Kernel32.dll file was installed successfully, you can still receive error messages like these due to some incompatibilities. In order to test whether your dll problem was solved or not, try running the software giving the error message again. If the error is continuing, try the 2nd Method to solve this problem.

Method 2: Copying the Kernel32.dll File to the Software File Folder 

1. In order to install the dll file, you need to find the file folder for the software that was giving you errors such as "Kernel32.dll is missing", "Kernel32.dll not found" or similar error messages. In order to do that, Right-click the software'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 Kernel32.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 Kernel32.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 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. After restarting your computer, reinstall the software.
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 Kernel32.dll Error Using the Windows System File Checker 

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. 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 software giving you errors again.

Method 5: Getting Rid of Kernel32.dll Errors by Updating the Windows Operating System 

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 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