Best Solutions to Fix MSVCR120.dll is missing in Windows

When loading games or launching programs in Windows, you may get the error below. Don’t panic. This is a common Windows issue and you can fix msvcr120.dll is missing easily and quickly.

The program can’t start because MSVCR120.dll is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem.

How do I fix msvcr120.dll is missing?

To know how to fix MSVCR120.dll is missing, follow the given solutions below. You don’t need to try them all; just work your way down until your problem is solved.

1. Reinstall the Visual C++ Redistributable Packages
2. Do a clean installation of the program
3. Copy the file from trusted computer
4. Run a virus scan for your system
5. Bonus Tip

What is the MSVCR120.dll file? MSVCR120.dll is an essential file for the Window Operating System. The file is used to extract the valuable application resources required at runtime by the third party installation program. MSVCR120.dll is the corresponding C++ library. If MSVCR120.dll is missing, you won’t be able to launch games or other programs in the C++ programming languages.

Note: All the screenshots below are on Windows 10, but the fixes apply to Windows 7 & 8 as well.

Fix 1: Reinstall the Visual C++ Redistributable Packages

The MSVCR120.dll file belongs to the Visual C++ Redistributable Packages for Visual Studio 2013. If it’s missing on your computer, something went wrong installing this package. The easiest way to fix msvcr120.dll is missing is to re-download the packages from Microsoft. 

Important: Download the file from the official websites to avoid potential risks. In addition, DO NOT download the .dll files from the unofficial websites, in attempt to replace your missing files. Those are unapproved sources for DLL files, and may be infected with viruses. So it’s recommended not to do that to ensure your computer security.

1) Go to Microsoft download website.

2) Click Download.

3) Select the file according to your system type ( x64 for 64-bit and x86 for 32-bit). Then click Next.

Tips: You can check if you are running 32-bit or 64-bit via cmd in your Windows: Open cmd.exe, and type systeminfo, and press Enter, and then you can see your system type is x86-based or x64-based.

4) After downloading, double click the downloaded .exe file, and follow the instructions to install.

5) Restart your Windows. Then open the same program to see if it works.

This should resolve your problem. If not, try the following steps.

Fix 2: Do a clean installation of the program

As suggested in the  error message, you can try to reinstall the program to fix it. The program file may be corrupted when installing, so a clean reinstallation to have a complete and correct file may solve the problem.

1) On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key + R at the same time.

2) Type appwiz.cpl in the Run box, and press Enter.

3) Right click the program that gives the error, then click Uninstall. In my case, the program that gives the error is Python, so I right click Python and click Uninstall.

4) Follow the popup instructions to confirm the delete.

5) Restart your computer, reinstall the program, and open it to see if it works.

Fix 3: Copy the file from another computer

You can also fix this error by copying the same file from another computer and paste it to your own. To do so:

1. Find another computer that runs the same operating system as yours.
   The versions (Windows 10/8/7) and architectures (32-bit/64-bit) of both operating systems must be the same.
2. On that computer, open File Explorer (by pressing the Windows logo key and E on your keyboard), then go to C:\Windows\System32 and copy the msvcr120.dll there.
   

   

3. Paste the copied file to the same location (C:\Windows\System32) on your own computer. (You may need an external storage device, like a flash drive.)

Fix 4: Run a virus scan for your system

A virus or malware infection in your system could also stop the .dll file from running. Some errors like dll not found or dll is missing, are related to malware, such as Trojan, that pretends to be the dll files.

To check this possibility, run a full system check with your anti-virus program. Windows Defender alone might not be able to help, so you can try other anti-virus programs, such as Norton and AVG AntiVirus Free.

Run a complete virus scan for your entire Windows system, and this could take a few minutes. A quick system scan may not include many parts of your Windows, so please ensure to check every part of your computer.

After scanning, restart your PC. If unfortunately, your Windows has been infected by malware, follow the instructions shown by the anti-virus program to fix it. Then restart your computer and see if the problem is solved.

Bonus Tip: Update drivers in your Windows

A missing or outdated device driver can bring various problems to your computer, so updating device drivers should be an always go-to option to prevent your computer from further issues. 

You can update your drivers manually or automatically. The manual process is time consuming, technical and risky, so we won’t cover it here. Nor do we recommend it unless you have excellent computer knowledge.

If you don’t have time or patience to manually update drivers, you can automatically update drivers with Driver Easy.

Driver Easy will automatically recognize your system and find the correct driver for your computer.

1) Download and install Driver Easy.

2) Run Driver Easy and click Scan Now. Driver Easy will then scan your computer and detect any problem drivers.

3) Click the Update button next to a flagged driver to automatically download and install the correct audio driver (You can do this with the FREE version).

Or click Update All to automatically download and install all the latest correct drivers that is missing or outdated (This requires the Pro version. You will be prompted to upgrade when you click Update All).

4) Restart your computer to take effect.

These are the best solutions to fix msvcr120.dll is missing in your computer. Hope this can help. You can share with us which solution helps. If your problem still persists, feel free to let us know and we will see what more we can do to help.