What does RUNDLL mean?

Question

When i turn on my computer, a small message appears on my desktop saying that it couldn't run dll that it's lost in my documents and settings\desktop\system.dll. I haven't gotten rid of anything, so what does the message mean?

Answer 1

ERRORS with RUNDLL and RUNDLL32

If you get error messages with Rundll or Rundll32, you should first make sure if they are random or not. "Random" means that the errors are caused in different files or applications. This could mean that one of the Rundll files is corrupt. If the error is caused in the same file over and over (likely candidates are for instance Setupapi.dll, Setupx.dll, Rnaui.dll and Shell32.dll), this file could be the culprit. To replace a corrupt file, extract it from the Windows CD. Rundll and Rundll32 must be extracted to your Windows folder.

Hard to fix are Rundll errors during Windows setup, mostly after the second reboot. No real "fix" here: pressing the Reset button of your computer is usually the only way out, and sometimes the error will reproduce, forcing you to reset fifty times, untill suddenly the error stays away. Not a real solution and demanding on your patience, but it almost always works out in the end.

Microsoft site:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/164787

Hope this helped.
daveo5624

Answer 2

RUNDLL is Actually "Run DLL as An Application"
First Intorduced As RUNDLL.exe Back On Windows 3.1, Now As RUNDLL32 On Windows 95-Vista, RUNDLL is Required for Windows Apps, such as Add/Remove Programs, If It Does Not Work, Run SFC.EXE, Or Re-Install Windows, Or Restore A Backup/System Restore File....
RUNDLL is a nessesity for windows.

--The FZ

Answer 3

rundll is for windows 95 systems .. however your detail leads me to believe is is "system.dll" which The solution to these problems is to go back to the system that preceded the DLL system. Every application should place as many DLL files as possible in its own directory (some DLL files are part of Windows itself, these must be accessed in common). No application should assume that it can copy DLLs into the system directory or that its newer version of a system DLL is safe to copy solely because it is newer. Many applications (including Microsoft's own) have rendered systems unstable or unusable through this reasoning.

Answer 4

rundll is an ececutable file that basically allows registered DLL files to run as applications.

I am sure that is greek to you.

From the location the file is telling you about, I get the feeling that it may be spyware/adware/malware related. There should be no DLL files on your desktop.

Make sure you run scans for all that stuff and hopefully it will eliminate the problem.

If not, you are probably going to want to bring it in to have someone look at it. Either that, do a roll back to a previous date, or do a system restore after backing up all your data.