Fix The MSVCR120.dll Is Missing On Windows

One of the biggest problems you could get on a Windows computer is when files are missing? Why? Because this can make installing programs and games impossible. A common scenario is when the MSVCR120.dll is missing on Windows. If you have encountered this error and would like to fix it, you have come to the right place.

In this article, I will go through everything you will need to do about this particular error including, of course, how you should go about fixing it.

I will start by discussing what makes this a serious problem for Windows users. Unlike other computer problems that we have discussed here in Error Codes Pro before, the MSVCR120.dll missing is not just annoying but it can make it almost impossible to use your Windows computer satisfactorily.

What Does MSVCR120.dll is missing on Windows Mean?

So, the first thing that you will need to know about this error is that when there are any files missing, you will not normally be able to install new games or programs on your Windows computer.

It is often the case that the missing files that prevent us from successfully installing new games and programs are .dll files such as the MSVCR120.dll and other similar files.

The problem that many users encounter is that often times this .dll files are so obscure and have such imprecise name that most people struggle to find out where the missing .dll file could possibly be missing.

So, knowing that a file is missing does not really help if you do not know where it is missing. The problem is complicated by how similarly these .dll files are named.

“The way to be successful in the software world is to come up with breakthrough software, and so whether it’s Microsoft Office or Windows, its pushing that forward. New ideas, surprising the marketplace, so good engineering and good business are one and the same.” – Bill Gates

At this point, you might be wondering what a .dll file is and what it is for. Well, .dll files are library files whose purpose is to either execute functions or to contain resources or variables.

Dll files belong to certain frameworks and they are associated with them. What this means is that if you are trying to install something (an application, game, program) that is also associated with the same framework that has any files missing, then you will not be able to carry out the installation successfully.

You can see right there how essential this would be. Because you need the same .dll file that you cannot figure out where it is missing is essential to the installation of a new application. You will be stuck until you are able to figure out where the file is missing and then work to replace it before you can go ahead and complete the installation.

How would you know if this is indeed the problem you are experiencing? Well, if at this point, you are not sure if this is indeed the problem you need to fix, here is how you will recognize it.

As I pointed out earlier, this error happens when you are installing a new program or game. In other more technical words, this error happens when you are in the middle of installing or executing an EXE file on a Windows computer. Suddenly, the installation or execution will be interrupted and you will get the following error message:

“MSVCR120.dll Is Missing From Your Computer.”

Most users will be stopped in their tracks when they get this error message. But there is not anything to worry about. As you will see in the next section of this article, I will go through what you will need to do in order to fix this error. So, don’t worry, you are already really close to fixing this error.

How To Fix MSVCR120.dll Is Missing on Windows?

According to Microsoft, the MSVCR120.dll file is part of the Microsoft Visual Studio 2013. It is not the only one, this file together with MSVCR110.dll file, which is part of the Visual Studio 2012, are owned and built by Windows.

Some users go ahead and download different versions of Microsoft Visual C++ but you will need to be careful and download the correct version of it.

As I said early, the difficulty with .dll files is knowing precisely where they are missing. It would take a long time or an expert to find out where MSVCR120.dll is actually missing.

Luckily for you, if you have been reading this article, you will already know where this is (and, if you have only skimmed read it and have possibly missed the part where I explain this, go back and read through it for more background or read on).

Because we have already done the hard work for you, you will already know that this file: MSVCR120.dll is associated with the Visual C++ Redistributable Packages for Visual Studio 2013.

So, what does it mean it this file is missing? Well, if you get the error message it just means that there has been a problem with the installation of that specific package.

Now, if you have researched this error before coming to the present article, you might have come across some websites that claim they have links to the missing file. We will not do that here and I would want to caution you strongly about those web pages that offer you third-party links.

I would strongly advise against clicking or tapping on any those links. The only solution to this error is the following:

If you want to fix this error, just follow these simple steps:

1. You will have to launch an Internet web browser (any would do: Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, etc.)
2. Next, head over to the Microsoft website. If you are not sure, you can always use a search engine to direct you to the right website.
3. Once you are at the Microsoft website, you will need to locate the Visual C++ Redistributable Package for Visual Studio 2013 all over again.

So, as you can see, resolving this problem is extremely simple. The only difficulty is working out what the problem is but, once you know what it is, fixing it could not be any easier.

At this stage, all you need is some patience because; of course depending on your Internet connection, installing this visual package can take quite some time. As you will find out, this time will be well spent because once the packaged has been fully installed the Visual Studio 2013, the error will be fixed.

The important thing is that you installed the correct package, so be careful you select the 2013 version from the Microsoft website and not any other.

If you get an error saying that you are missing MSVCR110.dll instead you will need to download and install a different package. In that case, Visual C++ Redistributable Package for Visual Studio 2012 version. Because the file names are extremely similar and very obscure, you should make sure that you check two things very carefully.

The first thing that you will have to check is the name of the file missing because it can be incredibly similar: MSVCR120.dll or MSVCR110.dll. Once you have checked the name of the file carefully, make sure that you download the right package that will contain it. Here is a summary of this:

• dll is to be found in the Visual C++ Redistributable Package for Visual Studio 2013 version.
• dll is to be found in Visual C++ Redistributable Package for Visual Studio 2012 version.

Although this tutorial article is really only about the MSVCR120.dll file missing error on Windows, I decided to include a bit about the MSVCR110.dll file missing error because it is, essentially the same error and has, therefore, the exact same solution.

Also, you might have come to this article tutorial because you have actually been affected by the MSVCR110.dll file missing instead of the MSVCR120.dll file missing. So, if nothing else, I have gone through both errors in order to avoid any possible misunderstandings.

The final thing that I would like to remind you off is never to download any of the Visual Studio packages from any third party websites. If you feel like you can trust the website in question, you can use your own discretion but I would always advise strongly against it. After all, when these packages are available on the Microsoft website, what would be the point of downloading it from a different third party website that might cause you all kinds of different problems such as virus or malware? The best and only download that we endorse is the official one from the Microsoft website.

Do you have any feedback on this article? Do you have any further questions about fixing error MSVCR120.dll Is Missing on Windows? Do you have any tips of your own dealing with this error? Would you like to share them with our readers? If your answer to any (or all) of these questions is “yes”, then please leave us a message in the comments section below!