Method 1: Installing the Shell20.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 "Shell20.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 "Shell20.dll" library and paste it into the "C:\Windows\System32" directory.

   

6. If your operating system has a 64 Bit architecture, copy the "Shell20.dll" library and paste it also into the "C:\Windows\sysWOW64" directory.

   NOTE! On 64 Bit systems, the dynamic link library must be in both the "sysWOW64" directory as well as the "System32" directory. In other words, you must copy the "Shell20.dll" library into both directories.

   

7. In order to complete this step, you must run the Command Prompt as administrator. In order to do this, all you have to do is follow the steps below.

   NOTE! We ran the Command Prompt using Windows 10. If you are using Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista or Windows XP, you can use the same method to run the Command Prompt as administrator.

   1. Open the Start Menu and before clicking anywhere, type "cmd" on your keyboard. This process will enable you to run a search through the Start Menu. We also typed in "cmd" to bring up the Command Prompt.
   2. Right-click the "Command Prompt" search result that comes up and click the Run as administrator" option.

   

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 Shell20.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 Shell20.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 Shell20.dll registry for 64 Bit (The cleaning process only involves the registries in Regedit. In other words, the dynamic link library you pasted into the SysWoW64 will not be damaged).

   %windir%\SysWoW64\regsvr32.exe /u Shell20.dll

   

10. We need to make a new registry for the dynamic link library 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 Shell20.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 Shell20.dll library that we deleted.

    %windir%\SysWoW64\regsvr32.exe /i Shell20.dll

    

12. If you did all the processes correctly, the missing dll file will have been installed. You may have made some mistakes when running the Command Line processes. Generally, these errors will not prevent the Shell20.dll library from being installed. In other words, the installation will be completed, but it may give an error due to some incompatibility issues. You can try running the program that was giving you this dll file error after restarting your computer. If you are still getting the dll file error when running the program, please try the 2nd method.

Method 2: Copying the Shell20.dll Library to the Program Installation Directory 

1. First, you need to find the installation directory for the program you are receiving the "Shell20.dll not found", "Shell20.dll is missing" or other similar dll errors. In order to do this, right-click on the shortcut for the program and click the Properties option from the options that come up.

   

2. Open the program's installation directory by clicking on the Open File Location button in the Properties window that comes up.

   

3. Copy the Shell20.dll library into the directory we opened.

   

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

Method 3: Uninstalling and Reinstalling the Program That Is Giving the Shell20.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 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.
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 Shell20.dll error with the Windows System File Checker 

1. In order to complete this step, you must run the Command Prompt as administrator. In order to do this, all you have to do is follow the steps below.

   NOTE! We ran the Command Prompt using Windows 10. If you are using Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista or Windows XP, you can use the same method to run the Command Prompt as administrator.

   1. Open the Start Menu and before clicking anywhere, type "cmd" on your keyboard. This process will enable you to run a search through the Start Menu. We also typed in "cmd" to bring up the Command Prompt.
   2. Right-click the "Command Prompt" search result that comes up and click the Run as administrator" option.

   

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 program that is giving you're the error.

Method 5: Fixing the Shell20.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.

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