Method 1: Copying the Portabledevice2.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 "Portabledevice2.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 "Portabledevice2.dll" file and paste it into the "C:\Windows\System32" folder.

   

6. If your operating system has a 64 Bit architecture, copy the "Portabledevice2.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 "Portabledevice2.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 up and press Enter key. This command will delete the problematic registry of the Portabledevice2.dll file (Nothing will happen to the file we pasted in the System32 folder, it just deletes the registry from the Windows Registry Editor. The file we pasted in the System32 folder will not be damaged).

   %windir%\System32\regsvr32.exe /u Portabledevice2.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 Portabledevice2.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 Portabledevice2.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 Portabledevice2.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 Portabledevice2.dll file that we deleted.

    %windir%\SysWoW64\regsvr32.exe /i Portabledevice2.dll

    

12. You may see certain error messages when running the commands from the command line. These errors will not prevent the installation of the Portabledevice2.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 Portabledevice2.dll File Into 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 "Portabledevice2.dll is missing", "Portabledevice2.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 Portabledevice2.dll file into the folder we opened.

   

4. The installation is complete. Run the software that is giving you the error. If the error is continuing, you may benefit from trying the 3rd Method as an alternative.

Method 3: Doing a Clean Reinstall of the Software That Is Giving the Portabledevice2.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 software that is giving you the dll error in this window that lists all the softwares on your computer and "Right-Click > Uninstall" on this software.

   

3. Uninstall the software from your computer by following the steps that come up 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 Portabledevice2.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. 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: Fixing the Portabledevice2.dll Errors 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