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wow64.dll Corruption - from Aug 2011 Windows 7 Patches ?

Answered wow64.dll Corruption - from Aug 2011 Windows 7 Patches ?

  • Saturday, September 03, 2011 4:59 PM
     
     
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    After a late August 2011 patch update to Windows 7, nothing would run, due to an apparent corruption of wow64.dll.  I restored my system back to 18 August and everything worked.  When I updated the system with Microsoft patches, the problem reappeared.  Now, I don't even think a complete system wipe will fix it, because it would just reappear when I update the patches.

    Of course, I have a fresh copy of wow64.dll available, but Window no longer lets even an administrator replace a dll.  What's up with THAT??

    Anybody got any ideas?  (Besides never update this machine?)

    Error message (appears 3x at boot, and whenever running any 32-bit program, which is most of them):
    ( X )   C:\Windows\SYSTEM32\wow64.dll is either not designed to run on Windows or it contains an error. Try installing the program again using the original installation media or contact your system administrator or the software vendor for support.
    [  OK  ]

    Patches installed:
    KB 2570791 Update for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems
    KB 2563227 Update for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems
    KB 2560656 Security Update for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems
    KB 2553008 Security Update for Microsoft Visio 2010, 32-Bit Edition
    KB 2536276 Security Update for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems
    KB 2562937 Update Rollup for ActiveX Killbits for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems
    KB 2539635 Security Update for Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5.1 on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 for x64-based Systems
    KB 890830  Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool x64 - August 2011
    KB 2533523 Update for Microsoft .NET Framework 4 on Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2 for x64-based Systems
    KB 2567680 Security Update for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems
    KB 982726  Definition Update for Microsoft Office 2010, 32-Bit Edition
    KB 2468871 Update for Microsoft .NET Framework 4 on Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2 for x64-based Systems
    KB 2487367 Security Update for Microsoft .NET Framework 4 on Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2 for x64-based Systems
    KB 2563894 Security Update for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems
    KB 2539636 Security Update for Microsoft .NET Framework 4 on Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2 for x64-based Systems
    KB 2559049 Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 9 for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems
    KB 2500170 Security Update for Microsoft Chart Controls for Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1
    KB 2556532 Security Update for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems
    KB 2570791 Update for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems

     

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  • Tuesday, September 06, 2011 3:31 AM
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    Hi,

     

    Wow64.dll is an essential file component of Microsoft windows Operating System. It allows the interior emulation infrastructure for the entry-point functions of Ntoskrnl.exe. Wow64.dll is a 64bit Windows file that needed to play 32bit Windows program.

     

    You can try to back up the wow64.dll to USB drive, after finish updating, replace this file, and open CMD with administrator, run

    regsvr32 /s wow64.dll

     

    Furthermore, you can run sfc /scannow to check if any system file was corrupted.

     

     

    Regards,

    Leo   Huang

     

     

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  • Wednesday, November 23, 2011 9:48 AM
     
     
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    Can you please be more specific on how to fix this error?
     
  • Friday, March 16, 2012 2:42 PM
     
     
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    I'll restate it in different terms. Copy and paste the wow64.dll file to a USB drive to make a copy. After the patches are complete, copy and paste the file back to replace the corrupt file. Then press Start, and in the search bar, type "cmd" with no quotes. Once cmd pops up in the results, right click it and choose "Run as administrator". Once the prompt is open, type "regsvr32 /s wow64.dll" without the quotes, and then press enter. That will register that dll file with the system, so the system knows to use that file when needed. After that, he advised running an sfc /scannow in the command prompt to ensure that there's no file corruption on your hard drive. To do that, just type that in exactly as it's written into that command prompt that was open before, and press enter. This command will take some time, but will find and fix file corruption issues.
    • Edited by Junior Cole Thursday, March 22, 2012 12:53 PM
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