Blue Screen STOP Message C0000135 Appears at Startup

• Microsoft Windows NT Workstation versions 3.51 and 4.0
• Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 3.51 and 4.0

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information on how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" online Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" online Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

When you start Windows NT 4.0, the system stops and displays the following message:

   Stop: c0000135 {Unable to Locate DLL}
   The dynamic link library FILE_NAME could not be found in the specified
   path Default Load Path."

CAUSE

This error can occur for either of the following reasons:

• File_name.dll is missing from the %SystemRoot%\system32 directory.

  -or-

• If File_Name.dll exists, the software hive may be corrupted and, therefore, cannot load.

RESOLUTION

The method for checking whether File_name.dll exists varies, depending on the file system in use.

For NTFS file systems, install a parallel copy of Windows NT into an unused directory, and then verify that File_name.dll exists in the %SystemRoot%\System32 directory.

For FAT File Systems, an MS-DOS installation disk can be used.

If the file exists, it is possible that the registry software hive has been corrupted. Check the integrity of the software hive by using the following procedure:

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" online Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" online Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it.

NOTE: In every case tested in which the software hive could not be loaded, the File_name was Winsrv.dll.

1. From a parallel installation of Windows NT, click Start, and then click Run.

2. In the dialog box, type Regedt32.

3. On the toolbar for Registry Editor, click Window, and then click the window with the following name:

         HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE ON LOCAL MACHINE
   

4. Select the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE key in the left pane of the window.

5. On the menu bar, click Registry, and then click Load Hive.

6. Browse to %SystemRoot%\System32\config, where %SystemRoot% is the correct installation of Windows NT that you want to check.

7. Click the file software. In Windows NT 4.0, this will be the software file with the generic Windows icon next to it, not the file with the Notepad icon. In Windows 3.51, the file will appear as System.

8. The system will prompt for a key-name to use in loading the hive. You can type whatever you prefer in the dialogue box; Work would be a good choice.

9. The hive is corrupted if you receive the following error message:

         Registry Editor could not load the key.  The file is not a valid
         Registry file.
   

NOTE: Windows NT 4.0 requires the Setupdd.sys file to be copied to disk 2 of the Windows NT Setup disks to perform this repair without a CD-ROM. This file can be found in Service Pack 2 or later. For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q150497
   TITLE     : How to Repair Windows NT System Files Without a CD-ROM
               Attached