Winlogon lnk did not find the specified module. Ways to resolve RunDLL error
If you are receiving a "RunDLL - The specified module was not found" error every time you start a Windows 8.1 operating system that has been upgraded from Windows 8, you may find a solution here.
Although clean install modern versions Windows only takes a few minutes; in any case, you will have to spend additional time to subsequently install all the programs you need.
The main advantage of a clean installation is that during this process, unlike an upgrade, there are guaranteed to be no corrupted or incorrect entries left inside the system. So, it is obvious that a clean installation of Windows is a better option than upgrading from an old version to a newer one.
On the official Microsoft support forum, there are quite a few messages from users who, after upgrading from Windows 8 to 8.1, receive the following error message after booting their computer:
RunDll
An error occurred during startup
C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\System\SYSPLA~2.DLL
The specified module was not found.
As you can see above, the message does not contain any error code that could help you understand which way to dig. However, users can see up to three such dialogs when starting their updated system.
To get started, you can try running the SFC /SCANNOW command in command line running with administrator rights. If this doesn't fix the problem, try the next method, but create a system restore point first, just in case.
1. Download the Autoruns tool from Sysinternals. This tool is recommended by IT specialists from Microsoft themselves for analyzing the system and various processes. You can read more about it on TechNet. After downloading, unpack the archive using any program for working with compressed files.
2. After unpacking the downloaded file, in the "Autoruns" folder you will see two executable file, namely "autoruns" and "autorunsc". Launch the first one.
3. In the program window, on the “Everything” tab, find the entries highlighted in yellow. All you have to do is delete them individually. To do this, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+D, or simply right-click on the entry and then select "Delete".
Once all these entries are deleted, close Autoruns and restart the machine. The problem should be fixed.
If at Windows startup an error appeared on the screen about some strange library SySMenu.dll, then in this case you, like thousands of other users, have become victims of PUP programs or potentially unwanted programs.
Once installed on your computer, they download and install various advertising programs without your knowledge, which in some cases cause the error rundll C:\PROGRA~1\General~1\System\SysMenu.dll at startup.
An error occurred during startup
C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\System\SysMenu.dll
The specified module was not found
SysMenu.dll detected by some antiviruses as a malicious program (scan results on VirusTotal). Antiviruses classify it as either an unwanted program or an adware application, however, it is worth noting that the detection ratio is quite low, only 21 out of 56, which means that most users will not be warned when installing such an application on their computer.
So how could you install this application for yourself? Distributing such programs is a business and a very profitable one. Such programs are distributed along with ordinary popular software. Often there is a small check mark that confirms your consent to the installation.
How to get rid of sysmenu.dll error
Firstly, you should not try to download sysmenu.dll from the Internet; on the contrary, you need to get rid of the program that uses it. Potentially unwanted programs, as a rule, are very simple in design and do not use hiding technologies and the like that are used in full-fledged viruses. So they are just like ordinary applications and therefore just go to “Add or Remove Programs” and uninstall recently installed applications. If the SysMenu.dll error continues to appear, please use the guide below to remove it. If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.
When loading the operating system, the error “An error occurred while starting...dll. The specified module was not found." The error can be found at operating system Windows 7, Windows 8 and 8.1 (Windows 10 is not yet known).
This is what the error might look like:
Interestingly, in some cases it does not cause problems for the user, but not in all. Thus, some users complain that when they try to launch any application, the same error appears and the application does not start. Sometimes the problem is further complicated by the fact that the error number is not shown, so the user does not know what to do.
How to fix the error? Solution
There are several types of solutions to the difficulty that has arisen.
First- This is a reinstallation of the operating system. Of course, there is little good in this method, since Windows installation It takes a lot of time, and the programs will have to be re-installed.
Second— system update. Some users claim that the banal helped them Windows update. Although how this can help if the updates have nothing to do with the appearance of the error, I honestly don’t understand. But you can still try.
Finally, third This is the type of solution that I recommend using. It was actively discussed by the Russian-speaking Windows community, but, as far as I know, it came from abroad. Be that as it may, you need to use a utility called Autoruns from Sysinternals (you can even find it on the official Microsoft website). Just before you start using the program, just in case.
So, download the program to your computer as an archive, unpack it and go to the folder. Here you see several files. Select the Autoruns file and double-click on it with the left mouse button to launch it.
Yes, yes, you need to delete these processes. After removing them, you need to restart your computer and look at the effect - it should help. The main thing is not to remove other processes that may affect the operation of the operating system.
That's all. If you have a different solution for this error, be sure to share it with site users.
Many users, after upgrading from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1, receive the following error: “RunDLL encountered an error while starting. The specified module was not found." If this happens every time you start the system, then you can try to find a solution in this article.
There are several solutions, for example, . Moreover, this is done quite quickly these days, but installing some programs still requires you to spend a little time.
The advantage of this installation as opposed to updating the old one Windows version to a newer one, is that there is no damage to the system and no unnecessary records are left, so this method is very effective and preferable.
On the Microsoft forums, from users, messages about this error appear. It looks like this:
As you can see, there is nothing in the error message that could solve this problem, that is, it is not known in which direction to dig. Also, users can even see up to 3 messages about this error.
You can, of course, check the disk using the command, which must be entered in the command line as an administrator. This may or may not fix the problem. Therefore, we will move on to the next method, just create a restore point first so that there are no even bigger problems later.
- Download a utility called Autoruns To do this, go here. This tool is recommended by the Microsoft developers themselves, as it does a good job of analyzing the system and can identify any problems. After downloading, open the archive with any archiver.
- Once you have unpacked the tool, you can see two files, from which we run Autoruns.
- Great. Now, in the window that opens, look for the tab Everything and in the window below, find the entries that are highlighted in yellow. Next, simply delete them by right-clicking on them and then Delete.
- After deleting all these entries, close the Autoruns program and restart your computer. Most likely, the problem will be fixed.
Sometimes rundll.exe and other EXE system errors can be related to problems in the Windows registry. Several programs can use the rundll.exe file, but when those programs are uninstalled or modified, sometimes "orphaned" (incorrect) EXE registry entries are left behind.
Basically, this means that while the actual path of the file may have changed, its incorrect former location is still recorded in the Windows Registry. When Windows tries to look up these incorrect file references (file locations on your PC), rundll.exe errors can occur. Additionally, a malware infection may have corrupted registry entries associated with SharePoint Portal Server. Thus, these corrupt EXE registry entries need to be fixed to fix the problem at the root.
Manually editing the Windows registry to remove invalid rundll.exe keys is not recommended unless you are PC service professional. Mistakes made when editing the registry can render your PC inoperable and cause irreparable damage to your operating system. In fact, even one comma placed in the wrong place can prevent your computer from booting!
Because of this risk, we highly recommend using a trusted registry cleaner such as %%product%% (Developed by Microsoft Gold Certified Partner) to scan and repair any rundll.exe-related registry problems. Using a registry cleaner, you can automate the process of finding corrupted registry entries, missing file references (like the one causing the rundll.exe error), and broken links within the registry. Before each scan, a backup copy, which allows you to undo any changes with one click and protects you from possible damage to your computer. The best part is that eliminating registry errors can dramatically improve system speed and performance.
Warning: If you are not experienced user PC, we DO NOT recommend manually editing the Windows registry. Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems and require Windows reinstallation. We do not guarantee that problems resulting from incorrect use of Registry Editor can be corrected. You use Registry Editor at your own risk.
Before manually restoring Windows registry, you need to create a backup by exporting a portion of the registry associated with rundll.exe (for example, SharePoint Portal Server):
- Click on the button Begin.
- Enter " command" V search bar... DON'T CLICK YET ENTER!
- While holding down the keys CTRL-Shift on your keyboard, press ENTER.
- A dialog box for access will be displayed.
- Click Yes.
- The black box opens with a blinking cursor.
- Enter " regedit" and press ENTER.
- In the Registry Editor, select the rundll.exe-related key (eg. SharePoint Portal Server) you want to back up.
- On the menu File select Export.
- On the list Save to Select the folder where you want to save the backup SharePoint Portal Server key.
- In field File name Enter a name for the backup file, such as "SharePoint Portal Server backup."
- Make sure the field Export range value selected Selected branch.
- Click Save.
- The file will be saved with extension .reg.
- You now have a backup of your rundll.exe-related registry entry.
The following steps for manually editing the registry will not be described in this article, as they are likely to damage your system. If you would like more information about manually editing the registry, please check out the links below.
