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

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 dynamic link library from within it. So, first double-click the file with the ".zip" extension and open the file.
2. You will see the library named "Sam.dll" in the window that opens. This is the library you need to install. Click on the dynamic link library with the left button of the mouse. By doing this, you select the library.

   

3. Click on the "Extract To" button, which is marked in the picture. In order to do this, you will need the Winrar program. If you don't have the program, it can be found doing a quick search on the Internet and you can download it (The Winrar program 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 dynamic link library to the desktop by clicking the "Ok" button.

   

5. Copy the "Sam.dll" library file you extracted.
6. Paste the dynamic link library you copied into the "C:\Windows\System32" directory.

   

7. If your system is 64 Bit, copy the "Sam.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 "Sam.dll" library.

   

8. 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".

   

9. Paste the command below into the Command Line that will open up and hit Enter. This command will delete the damaged registry of the Sam.dll library (It will not delete the file we pasted into the System32 directory; it will delete the registry in Regedit. The file we pasted into the System32 directory will not be damaged).

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

   

10. If you are using a 64 Bit operating system, after doing the commands above, you also need to run the command below. With this command, we will also delete the Sam.dll library's damaged registry for 64 Bit (The deleting process will be only for the registries in Regedit. In other words, the dll file you pasted into the SysWoW64 folder will not be damaged at all).

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

    

11. In order to cleanly recreate the dll library's registry that we deleted, copy the command below and paste it into the Command Line and hit Enter.

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

    

12. If you are using a 64 Bit operating system, after running the command above, you also need to run the command below. With this command, we will have added a new library in place of the damaged Sam.dll library that we deleted.

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

    

13. 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 Sam.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 Sam.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 "Sam.dll is missing", "Sam.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 Sam.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 Reinstall of the Program That Is Giving the Sam.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. On the Programs and Features screen that will come up, you will see the list of programs on your computer. Find the program that gives you the dll error and with your mouse right-click it. The right-click menu will open. Click the "Uninstall" option in this menu to start the uninstall process.

   

3. You will see a "Do you want to uninstall this program?" confirmation window. Confirm the process and wait for the program to be completely uninstalled. The uninstall process can take some time. This time will change according to your computer's performance and the size of the program. After the program is uninstalled, restart your computer.

   

4. After restarting your computer, reinstall the program.
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 Sam.dll Issue by Using the Windows System File Checker (scf 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 Sam.dll Error by Manually 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.

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