You download and start up a program and you get a pop-up window that looks like this:

You’re instructed to reinstall the program, but it still doesn’t work. Why? What does msvcp140 dll missing mean?

What is a “Dll” anyway?

A “dll” is a “dynamically linked library”. It’s a standard “library” of functionality supplied, in this case, by Microsoft, on which third party programs depend. It can be routinely updated and improved upon by the original vendor, and the computer programmer merely tells the operating system “when you run this program, I need this library to be able to function correctly”.

It’s “dynamic” because it’s loaded when needed. The alternative is to link the code “statically” when the program is built, but that makes every program that needs it have it’s own copy, which not only could and should be updated by the vendor, a private copy of the same code that many programs might depend upon can create it’s own performance problems.

What is “mscvp140.dll” then?

The error message refers to a library created by Microsoft Visual C++, and is a common set of functionality upon which many programs depend. Many times, new software will “package” the run time system library with it, and install it as necessary (which is why running the installation a second time sometimes works). But if a program doesn’t include it, or replaces a good copy with a bad one, what can we do about it?

Maybe it was there and was deleted?

Here are some steps you can take if the file has been deleted:

– click the right mouse button on the “Trash” icon;
– select “Open”;
– look to see if the file is here;
– if so, right-click again and select the option “restore”.

Can’t I just download a new copy

Maybe. The computer is going to expect the copy to be in a certain location and to be registered as the correct version. One cannot expect to just find a copy of the file and put it anywhere and expect it to work

Using your favorite search engine, look for “Visual C++ Redistributable”, and make sure you have the version your program expects. Installing this package insures the right copy gets to the right location.

It’s possible you have to uninstall the program your trying to run, then install the dll, and reinstall the program, with as many restarts as necessary.

To uninstall a program, go to the Control Panel, select programs and Features, search for the problematic program, and unistall.

Isn’t there a simpler way to fix this?

A tool such as “CCleaner” is easier for some to use. Install, and go to the tools menu and look for “removing programs”.