Loadlibrary Failed with Error 126? Here’s How to Fix it

The ‘loadlibrary failed with error 126’ is an error that dates back to the earlier Windows versions (Vista and onwards) but is still reported. The issue is reported when launching an application/game or installing it.

How to Fix Loadlibrary Failed with Error 126

Many programs showed this error. Following are a few examples of such applications, games, utilities:

Rhinoceros 3D
Adobe Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.)
TrackIRv5
UltimateDefrag
Radar ScreenSaver
Logitech Gaming Keyboard and Headset
Minecraft
BluetStacks
Steam or Steam Games (like Stardew)
Virtual Box
PowerAttendantLite
Blender
Civilization VI
ANSYS
Microsoft Remote Desktop
MATLAB

Many factors can cause the ‘loadlibrary failed with error 126’ but the following can be regarded as the main culprits:

Missing Admin Privileges: If the application (like NetBeans) cannot access protected system files or directories due to the absence of admin privileges, it may result in a loadlibrary error.
Corrupt or Outdated Graphics Driver: If the system’s graphics driver is corrupt or outdated, then its incompatibility with the problematic application may lead to the error 126.
Dual Graphics Cards: If the system has two graphics cards i.e., a switchable graphics system with one built-in graphics card and the other dedicated, then it can cause the loadlibrary issue if the application modules try to use both cards at the same time.
Corrupt System Files: If the essential system files are corrupt, then an application may fail to access an essential directory or file, resulting in the loadlibrary failed with error 126.

Launch the Problematic Application as an Administrator

You may encounter the loadlibrary failed with error 126 when the problematic application does not have the privileges to access a protected system resource. In this case, launching the problematic application as an administrator may solve the problem.

Right-click on the shortcut icon of the problematic application (or in the search results of the start menu) like Adobe Illustrator.

Run Illustrator as Administrator
Now select Run as Administrator and check if the application launches fines.
If so, close the application and again launch it normally (not as administrator) and check if it is working fine.
If not, then right-click on the shortcut of the problematic application (like Adobe Photoshop) and select Properties. In case, the start menu search is used, select Open File Location, right-click on Illustrator, and select Properties.

Open File Location of Adobe Illustrator
Now head to the Compatibility tab and checkmark Run This Program as an Administrator.

Open Properties of Adobe Illustrator
Then apply the changes made and launch the application through the shortcut to check if it is clear of the loadlibrary failed error 126.

Check Run This Program as Administrator for Adobe Illustrator

Enable Virtual Super Resolution in the AMD Settings

VSR (or Virtual Super Resolution) is an AMD feature that lets an application or game render at higher resolutions (beyond the native display resolution). If the display resolution in use is not compatible with the game (like Civilization VI), then that may cause the loadlibrary error at hand. In this context, enabling the Virtual Super Resolution in the AMD Settings may solve the problem.

Open the AMD Software and click on Settings (near the top right corner).
Now head to the Display tab and under Display Options, enable Virtual Super Resolution.

Enable Virtual Super Resolution in AMD Settings
Then launch the problematic game (like Civilization VI) or application and check if the loadlibrary issue is resolved.

Copy the DLL File to the System32 Directory

You may encounter the issue under discussion if an essential DLL file is missing from the System32 directory and copying the same may solve the problem.

Right-click Windows and open Run.

Open the Run Command Box from the Quick Access Menu

Now navigate to the following:

C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\u0352938.inf_amd64_e098709f94aef08d\B352876

Then copy the atio6axx.dll file and paste it into the following directory:
```
C:\windows\system32
```
Now restart the system and upon restart, launch the problematic application (like ArcMap) to check if it is working fine.
If not, click Windows, search, right-click Command Prompt, and select Run as Administrator.

Open Command Prompt as Administrator
Then execute the following (copy/paste the command, otherwise, make sure the spacing is right):
```
C:\Windows\System32\ copy atio6axx.dll .dll
```
Copy atio6axx.dll File
Now restart the system and upon restart, check if the loadlibrary error is cleared.

Change the Main Monitor or Disconnect the External Display

In a multi-display environment, you may encounter the loadlibrary failed error if the main monitor is not the internal display (in case of a laptop) or if the external display is not connected to a dedicated graphics card port but to an on-board graphics card port (in a dual graphics cards setup) as this may cause incompatible resource hogging by the cards. In such a case, changing the main monitor of the system or disconnecting the external display may fix error 126.

Right-click Windows and open Settings.

Open Windows Settings
Now, in the System tab, open Display and expand Multiple Displays.

Open Display in the System Tab of the Windows Settings
Then select the Internal Display (you may use the Identify button to find out which display belongs to what) and checkmark Make This My Main Display.

Set the Laptop’s Internal Display as the Main Display
Now launch the application in question (like Adobe Photoshop) and check if it is operating fine.
If not, check if connecting the external display to another port (or swapping monitors’ ports) solves the problem.
If that did not work, disconnect the external monitor from the system and restart the system.
Upon restart, launch the problematic application and check if it is working fine. If so, then you may connect back the external monitor.

Perform an SFC Scan of the System

The loadlibrary may fail with error 126 if the essential system files are corrupt which may not let an application access an essential system directory or resource. In this case, you may fix the issue by performing an SFC scan of the system.

Perform an SFC scan of the system and wait till the scan is complete. Make sure to launch the Command Prompt as an administrator. Moreover, this scan may take some time to complete, so try it in your spare time (or overnight).

Perform an SFC Scan
Once the SFC scan is completed, check if the loadlibrary problem is solved.

Perform a Clean Boot of the System

The loadlibrary error might occur if a process/service on the system is interfering with the problematic application’s execution. In such a case, ending the conflicting processes in the Task Manager or performing a clean boot of the system may clear the error 126.

End Conflicting Tasks in the Task Manager

Right-click Windows and open Task Manager.

Open the Task Manager of the System Through the Quick Access Menu
Now end all the processes related to Intel and then check if the issue is resolved.

End Intel Related Processes in the Task Manager
If not, then check if ending all the non-essential processes or processes related to the problematic application (like Adobe processes if the issue is occurring with an Adobe application like Photoshop) solves the problem.

Perform a Clean Boot of the System

Perform a clean boot of the system (make sure to disable Radeon Software in the Startup tab of the Task Manager) and check if the loadlibrary issue is cleared. If so, then you may enable back the processes one by one till the problematic one is found. Once found, either keep it disabled or uninstall it.
If the issue persists, check if booting the system into the Safe Mode solves the problem.

Uninstall AMD Software

There are many applications (found by clean booting the system) reported to cause the loadlibrary issue but in many instances, users reported that the AMD Software triggered the error. Here, uninstalling the AMD Software may solve the problem.

Right-click Windows and open Apps & Features.

Open Apps & Features
Now, in front of AMD Software, click on three vertical ellipses and select Uninstall.

Uninstall AMD Software
Then confirm to uninstall AMD Software and follow the prompts on the screen to uninstall it.
Once uninstalled, restart the system, and upon restart, check if the loadlibrary problem is solved.

Disable the System’s Built-in Graphics Card

You may encounter loadlibrary error 126 if the system has two graphics cards (i.e., one built-in and the other dedicated) and the modules of the applications involved tried to use different cards simultaneously.

For example, if the issue occurs when an RDP session is used to launch Blender and the loadlibrary error is shown, then the issue might have occurred as the RDP session tried to use a built-in graphics card, whereas, Blender was trying to use the dedicated graphics card. In this scenario, disabling the built-in graphics card (after all, dedicated graphics is more powerful and useful) will force the usage of a single card and thus may fix the LoadLibrary error.

Right-click Windows and open Device Manager.

Open Device Manager Through the Quick Access Menu
Now expand Display Adapters and right-click on the built-in graphics device (like an Intel one).

Disable Intel Graphics Card in the Device Manager
Then select Disable Device and afterward, confirm to disable the graphics device.
Now launch the problematic application or pair of applications (like RDP and Blender) and check if the loadlibrary failed error is cleared. Keep in mind, you can enable the built-in graphics device afterward.
If that did not work, check if disabling and enabling the dedicated graphics card (like an AMD card) solves the problem.

Edit the System’s Group Policy for Remote Connections

If the issue is occurring when a remote connection is used to access the system, then the improper usage of graphics properties of the host may trigger the issue at hand. Here, editing the system’s Group Policy about the remote connection to force the proper usage of the graphics properties may solve the problem.

Click Windows, search, and open Edit Group Policy.

Open Edit Group Policy

Now navigate to the following path:

Computer Configuration>> Administrative Templates>> Windows Components>> Remote Desktop Services>> Remote Desktop Session Host>> Remote Session Environment

Then disable the option of Use WDDM Graphics Display Driver for Remote Desktop Connections and close the editor.

Disable Use WDDM Graphics Display Driver for Remote Desktop Connections in the Group Policy Editor
Now restart the system and upon restart, check if the loadlibrary error 126 is cleared.

If not, open the Group Policy Editor and make sure the following are set as Enabled:

Use Hardware Graphics Adapters for All Remote Desktop Services

Prioritize H.265/AVC444 Graphics Mode for Remote Desktop Connections

Configure H.264/AVC Hardware Encoding for Remote Desktop Connections

Enable Relevant Graphics Settings in the Group Policy Editor

Then close the Group Policy Editor and restart your system.
Upon restart, check if the loadlibrary issue is resolved.

Uninstall A Java Version

If an application (like Minecraft) requires JAVA but the system has two Java versions installed (like a 32-bit and other, 64-bit), then that may break the operation of the application and cause loadlibrary failed with error 126. In this case, uninstalling a Java version may solve the problem.

Right-click Windows and open Apps & Features.
Now check if there is more than one Java version installed.
If so, uninstall the 64-bit version and afterward, restart the system.

Uninstall Java 64-bit Version
Upon restart, check if the system is cleared of the libraryload error.

Update or Reinstall the Graphics Driver

You may encounter loadlibrary failed with error 126 if the system’s graphics driver is outdated or corrupt as it can lead to the incompatibility between the other OS modules (like the application showing the error) and the driver. In this scenario, updating the graphics driver to the latest build or reinstalling it may solve the problem.

Update the Graphics Driver Through the Device Manager

Right-click Windows and open Device Manager.
Now expand the Display Adapters tab and right-click on the problematic graphics card.
Then select Update Driver and click on Search Automatically for Drivers.

Update Driver of the Graphics Device in the Device Manager
If an updated driver is available, install it and then restart the system.

Search Automatically for Drivers of the Graphics Device
Upon restart, check if the system is clear of the loadlibrary error.
If not, right-click on the graphics driver in the Display Adapter tab of the Device Manager and select Update Driver.
Now choose to Browse My Computer for Drivers and click on Let Me Pick from a List of Available Drivers on My Computer.

Select Browse My Computer for Drivers When Updating the Touchpad Driver
Then select Microsoft Basic Display Adapter and click on Next.

Let Me Pick from a List of Available Drivers on My Computer
Once the driver is installed, restart your system and upon restart, check if the loadlibrary error 126 is cleared.

Select Microsoft Basic Display Adapter for the Graphics Card

Update the Graphics Driver Through the OEM Website

Launch a web browser and visit the graphics card OEM website (like AMD).
Now download the latest graphics driver as per your graphics card and then launch the downloaded driver as an administrator.
Then follow the prompts on the screen to complete the installation and once done, restart your system.
Upon restart, check if the loadlibrary issue is resolved.
If not, navigate to the support page of the OEM’s website (like AMD Support) and download the OEM utility that auto-detects and install updates for the graphics driver (like AMD Auto-Detect and Install Updates for Radeon Graphics and Ryzen Chipset Drivers for Windows).

Download AMD Auto-Detect Utility
Then install that utility as an administrator and afterward, restart your system.
Upon restart, check if the system is clear of the error 126.

Reinstall the Graphics Driver

If the above did not work, download the latest graphics driver from the OEM website.
Then right-click on the graphics card in the Display Adapters tab of the Device Manager and select Uninstall Device.

Uninstall the Graphics Driver in the Device Manager
Now checkmark Attempt to Remove the Drivers for This Device (Windows 10 user might see the option as Delete the Driver Software of This Device) and then click on Uninstall.

Select Attempt to Remove the Driver for This Device and Click on Uninstall for the Graphics Device
Once the driver is uninstalled, restart your system and upon restart, check if the system is clear of the loadlibrary problem.
If not, install the latest graphics driver (not the application like AMD Graphics Software, just install the driver) as an administrator (downloaded earlier) and make sure to select Perform a Clean Install.

Perform a Clean Installation of AMD Drivers
Afterward, restart your system and upon restart, check if the loadlibary failed error is cleared.
If that did not work, boot the system into the safe mode and uninstall the graphics driver (as discussed earlier).
Now boot the system into the normal mode and install the latest graphics driver as administrator (downloaded earlier).
Once done, restart your PC and upon restart, check if the system is clear of the loadlibrary error.
If the issue persists, check if uninstalling the driver with the OEM utility (like AMD Cleanup Utility) and then reinstall the latest graphics driver as administrator solves the problem.

Launch the AMD Clean Up Utility
If the issue is still there, check if using an older graphics driver (you may download the one from the OEM’s website) solves the problem.

Reinstall the Drivers of the Dual Graphics Cards

In case, the system is using dual graphics cards (like a built-in Intel card and a dedicated AMD card), then reinstalling both the drivers may solve the problem.

Firstly, make sure to download the latest graphics drivers from the related OEM websites (like Intel and AMD).
Now, uninstall both the graphics drivers from the system’s Device Manager (as discussed earlier) and right-click on Windows.

Uninstall Intel and AMD Drivers in the Device Manager
Now select Apps & Features and uninstall all applications related to both graphics cards.
Then install the driver of the built-in graphics card (like an Intel driver) and restart your system.
Upon restart, install the driver of the dedicated graphics card (like an AMD driver), and afterward, check if the loadlibrary failed issue is resolved.

Perform an In-Place Upgrade of the System’s Windows

If none of the above worked for you, then the issue could be the result of the corrupt installation of Windows (that is beyond repair). In this case, performing an in-place upgrade of the system’s Windows may solve the problem. For elucidation, we will discuss the process for a Windows 11 PC.

Launch a web browser and steer to the Windows 11 download page of Microsoft.
Now, in the section of Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO), select Windows 11 in the dropdown and click on Download.

Download the Windows 11 ISO File
Then wait till the download is complete and afterward, right-click on the downloaded ISO.
Now select Mount and then open the mounted drive through the File Explorer.

Mount Windows 11 ISO
Then right-click on the Setup file and select Run as Administrator.

Open Windows 11 Setup as Administrator
Now follow the prompts on the screen to complete the process but make sure to select Keep Files, Apps, and Settings.
Once the in-place upgrade is complete, restart the system and upon restart, hopefully, the system will be cleared of the loadlibrary issue.