Method 1: Installing the W3di3d_dd.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 "W3di3d_dd.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 "W3di3d_dd.dll" library and paste it into the "C:\Windows\System32" directory.

   

6. If your system is 64 Bit, copy the "W3di3d_dd.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 "W3di3d_dd.dll" library.

   

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 that will open up and hit Enter. This command will delete the damaged registry of the W3di3d_dd.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 W3di3d_dd.dll

   

9. 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 W3di3d_dd.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 W3di3d_dd.dll

   

10. 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 W3di3d_dd.dll

    

11. If you are using a Windows with 64 Bit architecture, after running the previous command, you need to run the command below. By running this command, we will have created a clean registry for the W3di3d_dd.dll library (We deleted the damaged registry with the previous command).

    %windir%\SysWoW64\regsvr32.exe /i W3di3d_dd.dll

    

12. 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 W3di3d_dd.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 W3di3d_dd.dll Library to 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 "W3di3d_dd.dll is missing", "W3di3d_dd.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 W3di3d_dd.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: Doing a Clean Reinstall of the Program That Is Giving the W3di3d_dd.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 screen will come up. You can see all the programs installed on your computer in the list on this screen. Find the program 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 program. Confirm the process and wait for the uninstall process to finish. Restart your computer after the program has been uninstalled from your computer.

   

4. 4. After restarting your computer, reinstall the program that was giving you the error.
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 W3di3d_dd.dll Error using the Windows System File Checker (sfc /scannow) 

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 W3di3d_dd.dll Errors 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.

Guides to Manually Update the Windows Operating System 

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