nialink.dll is considered a type of Dynamic Link Library (DLL) file. Dynamic Link Library files, like nialink.dll, are essentially a "guide book" that stores information and instructions for executable (EXE) files - like MpSigStub.exe - to follow. These files were created so that multiple programs (eg. Network Inventory Advisor) could share the same nialink.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 nialink.dll is attempted to be loaded either when Network Inventory Advisor is starting up, or in some cases already running. Some of the most common nialink.dll errors include:
- Access Violation at address - nialink.dll.
- nialink.dll could not be found.
- Cannot find C:\Program Files (x86)\ClearApps\Network Inventory Advisor\nialink.dll.
- Cannot register nialink.dll.
- Cannot start Network Inventory Advisor. A required component is missing: nialink.dll. Please install Network Inventory Advisor again.
- Failed to load nialink.dll.
- The application has failed to start because nialink.dll was not found.
- The file nialink.dll is missing or corrupt.
- This application failed to start because nialink.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem.
Your nialink.dll file could be missing due to accidental deletion, uninstalled as a shared file of another program (shared with Network Inventory Advisor), or deleted by a malware infection. Furthermore, nialink.dll file corruption could be caused from a power outage when loading Network Inventory Advisor, system crash while loading nialink.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.