Method 1: Installing the System.drawing.design.dll File to the Windows System Folder 

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

   

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

   

4. Copy the "System.drawing.design.dll" file file you extracted.
5. Paste the dll file you copied into the "C:\Windows\System32" folder.

   

6. If your operating system has a 64 Bit architecture, copy the "System.drawing.design.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 "System.drawing.design.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 that will open up and hit Enter. This command will delete the damaged registry of the System.drawing.design.dll file (It will not delete the file we pasted into the System32 folder; it will delete the registry in Regedit. The file we pasted into the System32 folder will not be damaged).

   %windir%\System32\regsvr32.exe /u System.drawing.design.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 System.drawing.design.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 System.drawing.design.dll

   

10. You must create a new registry for the dll file 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 System.drawing.design.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 System.drawing.design.dll file that we deleted.

    %windir%\SysWoW64\regsvr32.exe /i System.drawing.design.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 System.drawing.design.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 System.drawing.design.dll File to the Software File Folder 

1. First, you must find the installation folder of the software (the software giving the dll error) you are going to install the dll file to. In order to find this folder, "Right-Click > Properties" on the software's shortcut.

   

2. Open the software file folder by clicking the Open File Location button in the "Properties" window that comes up.

   

3. Copy the System.drawing.design.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: Uninstalling and Reinstalling the Software that Gives You the System.drawing.design.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 screen will come up. You can see all the softwares installed on your computer in the list on this screen. Find the software giving you the dll error in the list and right-click it. Click the "Uninstall" item in the right-click menu that appears and begin the uninstall process.

   

3. A window will open up asking whether to confirm or deny the uninstall process for the software. Confirm the process and wait for the uninstall process to finish. Restart your computer after the software has been uninstalled from your computer.

   

4. After restarting your computer, reinstall the software that was giving the error.
5. This method may provide the solution to the dll error you're experiencing. If the dll error is continuing, the problem is most likely deriving from the Windows operating system. In order to fix dll errors deriving from the Windows operating system, complete the 4th Method and the 5th Method.

Method 4: Solving the System.drawing.design.dll error with 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: Fixing the System.drawing.design.dll Errors by Manually Updating Windows 

Some softwares need updated dll files. When your operating system is not updated, it cannot fulfill this need. In some situations, updating your operating system can solve the dll errors you are experiencing.

In order to check the update status of your operating system and, if available, to install the latest update packs, we need to begin this process manually.

Depending on which Windows version you use, manual update processes are different. Because of this, we have prepared a special article for each Windows version. You can get our articles relating to the manual update of the Windows version you use from 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