Method 1: Fixing the DLL Error by Copying the Vcmshl.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 "Vcmshl.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 "Vcmshl.dll" library you extracted and paste it into the "C:\Windows\System32" directory.

   

5. If your operating system has a 64 Bit architecture, copy the "Vcmshl.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 "Vcmshl.dll" library into both directories.

   

6. 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.

   

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 Vcmshl.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 Vcmshl.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 Vcmshl.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 Vcmshl.dll

   

9. 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 Vcmshl.dll

   

10. 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 Vcmshl.dll library that we deleted.

    %windir%\SysWoW64\regsvr32.exe /i Vcmshl.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 Vcmshl.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 Vcmshl.dll Library Into The Program Installation Directory 

1. First, you need to find the installation directory for the program you are receiving the "Vcmshl.dll not found", "Vcmshl.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 Vcmshl.dll library.
4. Paste the dynamic link library you copied into the program's installation directory that we just opened.

   

5. When the dynamic link library is moved to the program installation directory, it means that the process is completed. Check to see if the issue was fixed by running the program giving the error message again. If you are still receiving the error message, you can complete the 3rd Method as an alternative.

Method 3: Uninstalling and Reinstalling the Program That Is Giving the Vcmshl.dll Error 

1. Push the "Windows" + "R" keys at the same time to open the Run window. Type the command below into the Run window that opens up and hit Enter. This process will open the "Programs and Features" window.

   appwiz.cpl

   

2. The Programs and Features window will open up. Find the program that is giving you the dll error in this window that lists all the programs on your computer and "Right-Click > Uninstall" on this program.

   

3. Uninstall the program from your computer by following the steps that come up and restart your computer.

   

4. After restarting your computer, reinstall the program that was giving the error.
5. You may be able to fix the dll error you are experiencing by using this method. If the error messages are continuing despite all these processes, we may have a issue deriving from Windows. To fix dll errors deriving from Windows, you need to complete the 4th Method and the 5th Method in the list.

Method 4: Fixing the Vcmshl.dll Error using the Windows System File Checker (sfc /scannow) 

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. 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 Vcmshl.dll Error by Updating Windows 

Some programs need updated dynamic link libraries. 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.

Windows Update Guides 

1. Windows Update Guide
2. Windows 8.1 and Windows 8 Update Guide
3. Windows 7 and Windows Vista Update Guide
4. Windows XP Update Guide