"A Required File AMSVCR.DLL Cannot Be Found" Error Message Appears When Starting the Computer (312478)

The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to start your computer, an error message similar to the following may appear:

A required file AMSVCR.DLL cannot be found.

CAUSE

This problem can occur if you have removed America Online (AOL) software from your computer, but items that are associated with the America Online software still exist in the Startup group.

RESOLUTION

To work around this problem, remove all of the America Online-related items from the Startup group. To do this, follow these steps:

Click Start, and then click Run.
In the Open box, type msconfig, and then click OK.
In the System Configuration Utility box, click the Startup tab.
Clear each check box that is associated with an America Online component (such as the America Online tray icon).
Click Apply, and then click OK.
Restart your computer.

To resolve this problem, contact America Online for information about removing these items.

MORE INFORMATION

For information about how to contact America Online, click the appropriate article number in the following list to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

65416 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, A-K

60781 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, L-P

60782 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, Q-Z

Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.