api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll Download & how to fix it if it’s missing

Best Fix to api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll missing System Error

By April Cai in Common Errors



When you try to open a program or a file on your Windows computer, you may get the api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll missing error. The complete error message is saying: 

The program can’t start because api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem.

Don’t worry. You can easily fix it. In this article, you’ll learn the correct ways to download api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll to solve this problem.

IMPORTANT: Do not download dll file from any dll download website! Not only the dll files on them are not up-to-date, but also the source isn’t approved. And there are other reasons your should not do that. But if you have already downloaded one, please remove it completely. 

Why does api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll missing?

The api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll file is including in Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015. If there’s no this software, or your existing one is missing, incompatible or corrupted, you could probably then encounter this problem. 

How do I fix the api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll missing error?

Since the api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll file is including in the software, we can solve this problem through (re)installing the software:

Note: If you already have Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Stadio 2015 on your computer, follow the 3rd way to repair the software.
  1. Install the software via Windows update
  2. Download Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 from Microsoft directly
  3. Repair the Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 on your computer

Way 1: Install the software via Windows Update

Microsoft has built Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 in Windows Update KB2999226. So you can install it through Windows Update.

1) Type Update in the search box from Start. Then click Check for updates (Windows 10) or Windows Update (Windows 7) from the result.



2) Click Check for updates .

Windows should then check for updates automatically.

3) If you use Windows 10, Microsoft will install the detected updates automatically;
If you use Windows 7, click Install Updates.



4) Restart your computer. Then repeat the steps above again until no more updates are available.

5) Open the same program or the file to see if the problem is solved.

If unfortunately not, go on with Way 2 to download the software directly.

Way 2: Download Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 from Microsoft directly 

1) Go to Microsoft Download website.

2) Click Download.


3) Select your system type x64 or x86(x32), then click Next.

NOTE: If you’re not sure what system type your Windows runs, check like these: type system in the search box from the Start menu, then click System (Windows 10) or System Information (Windows 7) from the result. You should then see your system type in the open window.

4) It should then start to download the file.

5) When it’s done, double-click the downloaded .exe file and follow the on-screen instructions to complete installation.

Way 3: Repair the Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 on your computer

If you already have the Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 on your computer, you can try to repair it to solve this problem.

Follow these steps please:

1) Type control in the search box from the Start menu. Then click Control Panel.

2) Click Programs and Features under the Small icons pane.

3) Click Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable, then Change.

4) Click Repair.

5) Click Yes when prompted by User Account Control and continue to follow the on-screen instructions to complete the repair.

 

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Help Us Improve Article
  • Banana Joe

    Thanks for helping us out buddy!! I’m just wondering I can see 2 Visual C++’s { (x64) and (x86) } on my system, Is that ok? or I need to eliminate one of them?

  • Mohad Imran

    Thank you so much ,solved my problem

    • April Cai

      No problem. Have a nice day! 🙂

  • dasari mohan
  • Mohad Imran

    there are two Microsoft Visual c++ 2015 .should i both uninstall or what?

    • April Cai

      Hi Mohad. Uninstall both, please.

  • Mohad Imran

    Hi I repaired Microsoft visual c++ but i face the same problem during installing DW

    • April Cai

      Hi Mohad. Sorry for what happened. If it’s failed to repair the Microsoft Visual C++ on your computer, I recommend you to uninstall it from your computer and then follow the Way 2 here to download and install a new one. Please feel free to let me know if you have more questions.

  • Arth Bhadhani

    what to do….
    I even uninstal visual C++ 2017 and other all but still saying this
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/306e32af09354ae1eb498185a87c3402f3719878cbd77f7959d0ab3cef9197fd.png

  • Anon W’Gama

    Thanks for your information you share to me. it works and I successfully running Adobe Lightroom CC… GBU

  • Henry Harris

    somebody…anybody please help???

  • Muhammad Hendri Ariadi
    • Henry Harris

      im having the same problem…somebody help me fix it???

  • Muhammad Hendri Ariadi

    how i can fix it ?

  • nilesh kumar

    sir, i wamt to remove this runtime error so,if i will download visual c++,then will it lead to any change in system.

  • emak astig

    i already have the file on my computer. this api-ms-crt-runtime dll but it still wont work

  • April Cai

    You’re welcome. 🙂

    • Henry Harris

      im having the same problem can u plz plz plz help me???

  • Hawbir Abdullah

    HELLO I GOT YHIS PROBLEM HOW CAN I SOLVE IT .

  • Hawbir Abdullah
  • Adam Fabry

    not working

  • Arhangga

    I try the way 2 and it’s really works i don’t believe it 😀 thanks so much! if you have visual studio before, uinstalled first, then install again 😀

  • Giannis Gama

    tnx

  • zakaria tanzim

    so i tried to install adobe after effect. whenever i try to install it. it says api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll missing. i tried windows update, then manually uninstall Microsoft visual c++ then download it from their website and reinstall it. but it says Setup failed 0x80240017 – Unspecified error” what to do ?

  • Dee Tarantino

    This is amazing!!! I have struggled with that error message for a long time. Thought it was gone and when I did an update
    of ITunes it was back. I chose Way 2 and went directly to the Microsoft website and after installing the error message is gone.
    THANK YOU!!!

    • April Cai

      No problem. Have a good day!

  • SATYENDRA KUMAR

    Can I solve this by installing windows 10

  • Shah Alom

    Thanks a lot. It works. I followed the 2nd way. It was very easiest way. Thanks again.

    • April Cai

      Glad to hear that. Have a nice day.:)

  • Friday Meshach

    i am having the same issue as MAZZ MXE it`s doesn’t allow complet installation

  • Micha Shrum

    Thank you SO much!!! I thought my laptop was FUBAR. Much APPRECIATED!!

    • April Cai

      Bravo!:)

  • Steph Jayne Horstead

    mine still wont happen ive done virtual c check for updates everything and still nothing orgin wont install or work

  • Károly Végh

    Honestly thanks!

  • incess gonzaga
  • psycho

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/56f1bd619fcb1ac16ea0a3e5cbfb14c16083955214990744ad98c7398b766ee8.jpg

    I had the same problem (the api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll missing error) and I tried unistall Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 and reinstall and had

    “Setup failed 0x80240017 – Unspecified error”

    Here what I did to solve it.
    I downloaded “Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) update” from here:
    https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=5842

    Either (windows6.1-KB976932-X64) or (windows6.1-KB976932-X86) file according to your system and installed it.

    Then downloaded “Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015” from here:
    https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=52685

    Either (vc_redist.x64) or (vc_redist.x86) file according to your system. I uninstalled Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 first then reinstalled it and it was installed properly and had no (the api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll missing error) when running the program.

    Hope this will help you too.

  • Miro

    Thank you for the post. I have the same problem as some of the other commenters. I’ve manually downloaded the installers from the microsoft website for both (x64) and (x86) versions of 2015. Each time I’ve tried to install them however I get the Setup Failed error. It says that’s due to. Now, I have decided that I want to uninstall it first, then reinstall it. But in my list of programs I have two versions of (x64) and (x86):
    Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable (x64) – 14.0.23918
    Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable (x64) – 14.0.24210
    Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable (x86) – 14.0.23918
    Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable (x86) – 14.0.24210
    I don’t know which of the two I need to uninstall and reinstall, or if I need to only have one of these. Maybe having more than one version at the same time is causing the error in the first place?
    Should I delete one, repair the other? Or should I delete both and install the file downloaded form the microsoft website?
    I feel so lost, I hope you can help!

    • April Cai

      Hi, Miro. You can uninstall all the existing ones, and then reinstall a new one base on your Windows System Type. If unfortunately it still fails, please try these several things:
      1. Try to perform a clean boot for your Windows. Here we have a guide about how to perform a clean boot on Windows 10.https://www.drivereasy.com/knowledg…
      2. Make sure that the date and time are correct on your Windows.
      3. Try to delete the temporary files on your Windows through these:
      (1) Press the Windows logo key + “R” at the same time to invoke the Run box.
      (2) Type %temp% and click “OK”.
      (3) In temp folder location select all files and delete.
      4. Try to reregister the Windows Installer service through these:
      (1) Press the Windows logo key + “R” at the same time to invoke the Run box.
      (2) Type msiexec /unregister and press enter, it will not show anything.
      (3) Again in the Run box, type msiexec /regserver and press Enter, it will register but not show anything.
      Hope these can help you.

      • Miro

        Thank you for the reply. Unfortunately none of these helped. I uninstalled the old files and attempted to install the new ones(downloaded from the Microsoft website just now). But the Setup Failed error appeared again. This time not due to another existing version, but because of an Unspecified Error:
        0x80240017 – Unspecified error
        It does appear in my list of programs afterwards, but it’s still broken and prevents me from using other programs that demand it.
        I guess there’s no fixing it, which is very, very unfortunate.Thanks again for offering help.

        • April Cai

          Hi, Miro. Sorry to hear that you still get the error again. But may I ask you that if you make your Windows versions up-to-date? If you’re not sure, please follow the Way one in this post to install all the available updates for your Windows. Hope it works.Good luck.

  • Indika

    Thank you so much. It really worked.
    Guys I got the same problem installing visual C++
    Then I tried downloading the 86 bit version and it really worked.

    • April Cai

      You’re welcome！

  • raja kumar

    will the programme work on unlicensed version of windows

  • lester
  • lester

    Hope it work, i been trying all possible way, and i uninstall skype because other tutorial said and here i am again, uninstalling visual c++ 😀 ,

  • Flowers Orange

    Please help me with this, I’m so confused. I got the “api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll is missing error” when trying to install a wacom driver. My system type is 32 bit, so I downloaded the “vc_redist.x86.exe”, but it says that another version of it is already downloaded, so I can’t install it.
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2e929ea938246c856895b61b70db2c9b104f1f30d0e7a90f3488eac681743bbd.png
    I looked for it in the control panel and here’s what I found:
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0892df7d2a6a009a8205eb27e72055b53e5f40e3ad92f59093845df598c14457.png
    It seems like it is installed already, but then I don’t understand why I got the error message.. What am I supposed to do?
    This is pretty urgent, I would really appreciate your help.

    • April Cai

      Hi, Flowers.
      Sorry for what happened.
      Whenever you see the err saying dll file is missing, please DONOT download dll file from any dll download website. Not only the dll files on them are not up-to-date, but also the source isn’t approved. Moreover, it cannot solve the problem simply like that.
      If you’ve download one, please remove it completely.
      Now you can uninstall your Microsoft Visual C++ 2015, then reinstall a new one through the Way 2.
      Hope it works for you. Good luck.

      • Flowers Orange

        Thank you for your reply! I managed to fix it! Now it works. Thank you.

        • Claire

          hpw dd u fix it?can u teach me pls

          • Flowers Orange

            ahh this was a while ago.. I’m not entirely sure since that was on another laptop, but I think I just uninstalled all the previous versions then downloaded it straight from Microsoft.
            But I’m not a 100% sure sorry

  • Mirage

    Hey!
    I downloaded a game and installed it but when i start the game it gave errors like at first it gave xinput1_3.dll is missing then I reinstalled the game 1-2 times but still the same error so I checked my PC and I found out that my PC did not had Microsoft visual C installed so I installed VC (64 bit) through the file vc_redist.x64.exe (It came with the game) then it gave some other dll files errors so I went to download these files from internet but when I tried to paste them in C drive I found out that all the dll files were present there after this I tried to solve the problem by googling ways to fix this and now it’s giving another dll error api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll which is not present in my PC so should i just download it or is there another way to solve this? can anyone help me on this?
    FYI I have Intel Core i5 Windows 7 (64 bit).

  • Aurel Ion

    Thank You!

  • Amanda Siddiqa Prawiranata

    thankyou somuch, i try to download Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 from Microsoft directly, and it’s worked!!

  • Natasha Musumeci

    The setup progress has been sitting like this for an hour, i’m assuming its not meant to take that long? https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/90c939b747d5ddd37fe825910aa8b676460999c6e666389d25b9ff14df1652bd.jpg

    • Ash

      I am also having this same problem. Please help us.

      • Silver

        Hi!
        I have same problem. Do you have any idea, how to fix it. I uninstalled the previous version and then installed the new one from your page, but it freezes in state Windows7_MSU_x64

      • Silver

        Finally, after half an hour waiting, i got message 8024001e- unspecified error

      • Το καψερό

        yes me too i look at it right now freeze what we do ?

  • Rahmuddin Azizi

    I installed Microsoft Visual Studio 2014 but when i wanna to RUN it, it shows to me SQL server configuration management how to solve this problem can you help?
    rahmuddin.azizi208@gmail.com

  • Nancy Castro

    It’s giving me an error that it can only be downloaded on window xp. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6a1b8d26d458faf3009ba41343defebfbf5903703963d84ced4189c43e2f5202.jpg

    • April Cai

      Hi, Nancy. Sorry that you get this problem. Microsoft Visual C++ has two version X86 and X64 as for these two system types of your Windows. May I ask you that you download the correct version for your computer? If you’re not sure your system type, follow these to check:
      Go to Control Panel, than find and click System, then you’ll see your system type on the pop-up window. Here I show you the result page of my Windows 10. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c99c78a1a6cc438e315c6006a1c29ee97d246cc0641ff5dc543d52c3c010aa11.jpg So, for me, I should download the vc_redist.x64.exe in the Microsoft page.

  • kim LU NA

    j’ai deja installer microsoft visual c++ et les mise a jours mais ça ne fonctionne pas
    est ce qu’il y a une autre methode pour corriger ce probleme

    • April Cai

      Hi, Kim. Sorry that I don’t speak French. So I am replying you in English. If you already have Microsoft Visual C++ but you also have this problem, maybe some of C++ files have been corrupted. You can uninstall the program and then install a new one as the instructions we posted. Hope this works.

      • kim LU NA

        It’s ok
        Now its working thank you so much

        • April Cai

          Glad to hear that and it’s my pleasure to help you.
          Have a nice day. ?

  • Flor Juarez

    I HONESTLY I AM SO FREAKING THANKFUL I LOVE YOU THANKS i had installed the updates b ut my windows was fake so i hade to get my pc repaired and now with the 2 option i can play. bless

  • Silver Zee

    thank you!

  • AsiM ChauhaN

    Yes it works.. Thanxx Alot man

  • Mazz Mxe

    i uninstalled the Microsoft Virtual C++ 2015 and then install it again it did not worked
    Note: A pop up msg saying “Setup failed 0x80240017 – Unspecified error” https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6395e1bf5f45630ff96064d1edd634a314154ac223d862a1e59e4ed93322f178.jpg

    • raghav mahajan

      i m facing the same thing
      whats the solution for this ??

      • Martha Marpaung

        i’m got this problem too 🙁 how to fix it

        • George

          This is what I’m getting as well : no luck

          • Abhishek websterz

            same here

    • raghav mahajan

      dude can u help me out with this thing
      what is the solution for this???

    • April Cai

      Hi, Mazz. Sorry for the late responding. There are several things you can try to fix your problem:
      1. Try to perform a clean boot for your Windows. Here we have a guide about how to perform a clean boot on Windows 10.https://www.drivereasy.com/knowledge/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows-10/
      2. Make sure that the date and time are correct on your Windows.
      3. Try to delete the temporary files on your Windows through these:
      (1) Press the Windows logo key + “R” at the same time to invoke the Run box.
      (2) Type %temp% and click “OK”.
      (3) In temp folder location select all files and delete.
      4. Try to reregister the Windows Installer service through these:
      (1) Press the Windows logo key + “R” at the same time to invoke the Run box.
      (2) Type msiexec /unregister and press enter, it will not show anything.
      (3) Again in the Run box, type msiexec /regserver and press Enter, it will register but not show anything.
      Hope these can help you.

      • nicole

        hello so i did this and at the end when i got to the last step and typed in msiexec/regserver it said can not find ive tried almost every way to fis this issue that u guys posted and none are working. please help

      • M Sapuwan

        still not work 🙁 same problem here

    • Matteo Petitti

      Hi Mazz, I had the same problem. What I did was to uninstall Visual C++ first, then re-installing it.

    • Add Red

      unistalleonce C++ Redistributable from your system and restart setup again

  • Mayank Jain

    I downloaded the exe file related to KB article# KB2999226 frommicrosoft download centre (It was <1 MB) and it worked fine.

  • Cris Mariano

    I tried the fist option but my internet was too slow to update around 800+mb so I jumped out to the second option and it actually works! Thanks a lot!

  • Okta

    I have installed it, But the message still appear.
    What should I do ?

  • Vignesh K

    The above two methods aren’t work in my Pc

    1.
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d8eb470cc628928de50a47e04f5f21fda46b562d18d148b002908fddea8a3422.png

    2. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b8c753ba8d6c65b35f81621f9bfac4ea62fe3409803e1b47a47115f48b901b93.png

    In second method i can’t know how to uninstall the current version (i can’t found it)
    What can i do?

  • Emilyy _ox

    Recently, I have to clear my laptop and uninstalled a few programs, I did uninstall the ‘api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0-dll’ program without realising what it actually was. I did try the first one (check for updates) but it didn’t work, so I try the second and it works. So thank you for this!

  • Owen Harvey Leal

    i tried installing the file but it always says access denied

  • Jessica Gignac

    I already have the 2015 version according to my control panel…what do I do ?

    • son1tus

      repair, or uninstall/reinstall

      • Himanshu Gaur

        how to reinstall it ?

        • Okta

          Download the Visual C++ Redistributable file, then run it !
          There’s a Choice to UNINSTALL, the after that You can Install it again!