cfextension.dll is considered a type of Dynamic Link Library (DLL) file. Dynamic Link Library files, like cfextension.dll, are essentially a "guide book" that stores information and instructions for executable (EXE) files - like AppInstaller.exe - to follow. These files were created so that multiple programs (eg. PASW Statistics) could share the same cfextension.dll file, saving valuable memory allocation, therefore making your computer run more efficiently.
Unfortunately, what makes DLL files so convenient and efficient, also makes them extremely vulnerable to problems. If something happens to a shared DLL file, either it goes missing or gets corrupted in some way, it can generate a "runtime" error message. Runtime is pretty self-explanatory; it means that these errors are triggered when cfextension.dll is attempted to be loaded either when PASW Statistics is starting up, or in some cases already running. Some of the most common cfextension.dll errors include:
- Access Violation at address - cfextension.dll.
- cfextension.dll could not be found.
- Cannot find C:\Program Files\IBM\SPSS\Statistics\Subscription\ext\bin\spss.common\cfextension.dll.
- Cannot register cfextension.dll.
- Cannot start PASW Statistics. A required component is missing: cfextension.dll. Please install PASW Statistics again.
- Failed to load cfextension.dll.
- The application has failed to start because cfextension.dll was not found.
- The file cfextension.dll is missing or corrupt.
- This application failed to start because cfextension.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem.
Your cfextension.dll file could be missing due to accidental deletion, uninstalled as a shared file of another program (shared with PASW Statistics), or deleted by a malware infection. Furthermore, cfextension.dll file corruption could be caused from a power outage when loading PASW Statistics, system crash while loading cfextension.dll, bad sectors on your storage media (usually your primary hard drive), or quite commonly, a malware infection. Thus, it's critical to make sure your anti-virus is kept up-to-date and scanning regularly.