While following a tutorial, I searched the System32 folder for msvcp140.dll and found several results. I accidentally moved the wrong copy without noticing which directory it came from. The computer is still working, but I'm worried this could cause problems later. Where does msvcp140.dll normally belong, and what should I do to restore or repair anything that may be missing?
3 Answers
Moving a file can normally be undone with Ctrl+Z, although that may no longer work after other actions or once the original location is unclear. If Windows reports missing or corrupted system files, open an elevated Command Prompt and run DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth, followed by sfc /scannow. Those tools can restore protected Windows files without manually copying DLLs.
There can be multiple copies of this DLL, including copies stored with drivers and application components. The important system copy is normally located directly in C:WindowsSystem32. If that copy is still there and Windows is working normally, you may not have caused any immediate damage. The driver-store copies are generally used for driver installation or rollback.
You can reinstall or repair the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable packages, particularly the 2015–2022 versions. Download the current installers from Microsoft and install both the x64 and x86 versions if your system uses 64-bit Windows. That should restore the DLLs associated with the runtime.
Reinstalling the redistributable is usually safer than trying to guess which duplicate file was moved. It also fixes related runtime files if more than one was affected.
I tried undoing the move, but it didn’t work. I’ll use the Visual C++ repair or reinstall and run the Windows repair commands instead of moving files around manually.