Missing DLL Balks Install

Sometimes when I try to install a program, I receive a message that reads “Unable to locate component: this application has failed to start because framedyn.dll was not found. Reinstalling the application may fix this problem.” But when reinstalling the program the problem is still there.

When a system DLL turns up missing, you can often restore it from a spare copy that Microsoft Windows keeps. But you have to know where to put it! I used Google to search for the name of your missing file; results reveal that it should be in the wbem folder below the System32 folder.

Launch Windows Explorer, enter in itsAddress bar %systemroot%\system32\wbem, and press Enter. Look for the file in the right-hand pane. If it’s not present, launch another Windows Explorer window and enter %systemroot%\system32\dllcache. Find the file framedyn.dll in this folder. Right-click the file and choose Copy. Now switch to the other Windows Explorer window, right-click in the right-hand pane (but not on a file) and choose Paste.

What if the file is present but Windows says it can’t find it? The problem may be that the PATH environment variable, which tells Windows where to look, is corrupted or missing. Right-click My Computer and choose Properties. Click the Advanced tab in the System Properties dialog that appears, and click the Environment Variables button. In the System Variable section (the lower section), double-click the PATH variable. Carefully scan the data for this variable (it will be a pain—long text in a small box!). You’re looking for the text %SystemRoot%\System32\wbem. If this is not present, append a semicolon at the end of the path and then add %SystemRoot%\System32\wbem. One or the other of these techniques should cure the problem.