w32.dll is considered a type of Dynamic Link Library (DLL) file. Dynamic Link Library files, like w32.dll, are essentially a "guide book" that stores information and instructions for executable (EXE) files - like replace.exe - to follow. These files were created so that multiple programs (eg. XAMPP) could share the same w32.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 w32.dll is attempted to be loaded either when XAMPP is starting up, or in some cases already running. Some of the most common w32.dll errors include:
- Access Violation at address - w32.dll.
- w32.dll could not be found.
- Cannot find C:\xampp\perl\vendor\lib\auto\Imager\Font\W32\w32.dll.
- Cannot register w32.dll.
- Cannot start XAMPP. A required component is missing: w32.dll. Please install XAMPP again.
- Failed to load w32.dll.
- The application has failed to start because w32.dll was not found.
- The file w32.dll is missing or corrupt.
- This application failed to start because w32.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem.
Your w32.dll file could be missing due to accidental deletion, uninstalled as a shared file of another program (shared with XAMPP), or deleted by a malware infection. Furthermore, w32.dll file corruption could be caused from a power outage when loading XAMPP, system crash while loading w32.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.
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