Method 1: Copying the Winsctrs.dll Library to the Windows System Directory 

1. The file you downloaded is a compressed file with the ".zip" extension. In order to install it, first, double-click the ".zip" file and open the file. You will see the library named "Winsctrs.dll" in the window that opens up. This is the library you need to install. Drag this library to the desktop with your mouse's left button.

   

2. Copy the "Winsctrs.dll" library you extracted and paste it into the "C:\Windows\System32" directory.

   

3. If you are using a 64 Bit operating system, copy the "Winsctrs.dll" library and paste it into the "C:\Windows\sysWOW64" as well.

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

   

4. 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.

   

5. Paste the command below into the Command Line window that opens and hit the Enter key on your keyboard. This command will delete the Winsctrs.dll library's damaged registry (It will not delete the file you pasted into the System32 directory, but will delete the registry in Regedit. The file you pasted in the System32 directory will not be damaged in any way).

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

   

6. 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 Winsctrs.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 Winsctrs.dll

   

7. You must create a new registry for the dynamic link library 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 Winsctrs.dll

   

8. 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 Winsctrs.dll library that we deleted.

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

   

9. 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 Winsctrs.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 Winsctrs.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 "Winsctrs.dll is missing", "Winsctrs.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 Winsctrs.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 Winsctrs.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. After restarting your computer, reinstall the program.
5. This process may help the dll problem you are experiencing. If you are continuing to get the same dll error, the problem is most likely with Windows. In order to fix dll problems relating to Windows, complete the 4th Method and 5th Method.

Method 4: Fixing the Winsctrs.dll Issue by Using the Windows System File Checker (scf 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 Winsctrs.dll Errors 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