Fix Missing Msnp32.dll Error On Windows 98 or 95

The following error message may be displayed when you start your Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98 or Microsoft Windows 98 SE computer.

Unable to load the dynamic link library:

msnp32.dll

The system cannot find the file specified.

Some or all of the following features are not available:

Microsoft Network

When you click the OK button in the message to continue loading Windows, you may find the icon for Network Neighborhood missing from the Desktop. Additionally, you will not be able to access other computers and resources on the network.

Cause of the Error

This error message is generated when the Msnp32.dll file is corrupt, not registered, or missing from your computer

Resolution Method

You can solve the missing msnp32.dll error in this case by extracting a new copy of the DLL file from the Windows installation disk, and then copying it to its location on the hard disk.

To do this task on Window 98, perform the following steps:

  1. Open Start menu, select Run, type sfc and then press Enter.
  2. In the System File Checker dialog box, select the Extract one file from installation disk option.
  3. In the Specify the system file you would like to restore box, type the path to the original msnp32.dll file.
  4. Click Start.
  5. In the Extract File dialog box, click the Browse button for the Restore from dialog box.

    6. Here, browse to the location where the Windows installation files are located. If you have Windows 98 or 98 SE OEM version on your computer, then you maybe able to locate the files in the C:\Cabs folder on your hard disk. Otherwise, provide the path to the Windows setup files on the Windows Setup CD.

  6. Click OK, and then follow the screen instructions to extract the msnp32.dll file to your computer.

Note: This is the path to the folder where your Windows operating system is installed.

On Windows 95, perform the following steps to extract the msnp32.dll file to your computer:

  1. Use the Find command in the Start menu to locate the folder in which the Cabs files are located. By default, the folder is C:\Cabs. If you are unable to locate this folder, insert the Windows 95 setup disk in the CD-drive.
  2. Next, perform a search to find the location for the Extract.exe file. In case you do not find this file on the system, then copy the file from Windows 95 setup floppy disk 1 or the Windows 95 CD-ROM to the root folder of your computer. By default, C: is the root folder. To copy the file at MS-DOS Prompt, type the following commands-assuming that your CD-drive is represented by E:

    3. copy E:\extract.exe C:\

    If you are extracting from the floppy, then use the following command:

    copy A:\extract.exe C:\

  3. Now, use the extract command to replace msnp32.dll file to your computer.

    4. If you are extracting from C:\Cabs folder, use the following command at MS-DOS prompt:

    extract C:\Cabs\msnp32.dll /L c:\windows\DLLFilePath

    If you are extracting from CD-drive, use the following command at MS-DOS prompt:

    extract E:\Cabs\msnp32.dll /L c:\windows\DLLFilePath

    To prevent missing DLL errors from occurring on your computer, it is essential that you maintain a healthy and error-free Windows registry. To do this, you may use a compatible and user-friendly registry cleaner tool, such as RegServe to regularly scan and clean your Windows 95 or 98 registry.