Method 1: Installing the Mshvhw.dll Library to the Windows System Directory 

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

   

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

   

4. Copy the "Mshvhw.dll" library you extracted and paste it into the "C:\Windows\System32" directory.

   

5. If your system is 64 Bit, copy the "Mshvhw.dll" library and paste it into "C:\Windows\sysWOW64" directory.

   NOTE! On 64 Bit systems, you must copy the dynamic link library to both the "sysWOW64" and "System32" directories. In other words, both directories need the "Mshvhw.dll" library.

   

6. 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".

   

7. Paste the command below into the Command Line window that opens up and press Enter key. This command will delete the problematic registry of the Mshvhw.dll library (Nothing will happen to the library we pasted in the System32 directory, it just deletes the registry from the Windows Registry Editor. The library we pasted in the System32 directory will not be damaged).

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

   

8. If you have a 64 Bit operating system, after running the command above, you must run the command below. This command will clean the Mshvhw.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 Mshvhw.dll

   

9. 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 Mshvhw.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 Mshvhw.dll library we deleted.

    %windir%\SysWoW64\regsvr32.exe /i Mshvhw.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 Mshvhw.dll library. 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 program that was giving the dll error again. If you continue to get the errors when running the program after the installation, you can try the 2nd Method as an alternative.

Method 2: Copying The Mshvhw.dll Library Into 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 "Mshvhw.dll is missing", "Mshvhw.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 Mshvhw.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 Install of the program That Is Giving the Mshvhw.dll Error 

1. Open the Run window by pressing the "Windows" + "R" keys on your keyboard at the same time. Type in the command below into the Run window and push Enter to run it. This command will open the "Programs and Features" window.

   appwiz.cpl

   

2. The programs listed in the Programs and Features window that opens up are the programs installed on your computer. Find the program that gives you the dll error and run the "Right-Click > Uninstall" command on this program.

   

3. Following the instructions that come up, uninstall the program from your computer 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 Mshvhw.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. Paste the command below into the Command Line that opens up and hit the Enter key.

   sfc /scannow

   

3. This process can take some time. You can follow its progress from the screen. Wait for it to finish and after it is finished try to run the program that was giving the dll error again.

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

Most of the time, programs have been programmed to use the most recent dynamic link libraries. If your operating system is not updated, these files cannot be provided and dll errors appear. So, we will try to fix 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.

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