Windows Shell Common DLL Has Stopped Working

By Timothy Tibbetts

on 06/15/2023

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DLL (Dynamic Link Libraries) are an external part of an app that loads into memory when used. If that fails for some reason and a program does not load, one particular error that appears is "Windows Shell Common DLL has stopped working." Here are the know fixes to make this one go away.

1: Update Drivers and Windows Update

You've heard this one before. Be sure Windows Update is up to date as well as your drivers. We prefer Driver Booster for updating drivers. As for Windows Updates, press the Windows Key + S and begin typing Windows updates and click on Check for updates.

2: Run Windows Repair

Windows Repair can often fix most Windows errors if you're not in the mood to try numerous troubleshooting steps. Download from MajorGeeks here.

3: Re-Register shell32.Dll File

Press the Windows Key + R and type in regsvr32 /i shell32.dll. You might need to reboot to see if that worked.

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4: Allow Windows to Accept Certificates

As part of your security, Windows could be blocking certificates, which is required by your drivers.

Open PowerShell or the Command Prompt as admin and type in Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Scope CurrentUser. Reboot.

5: Run System File Checker

System File Checker may be able to restore a cached copy of a corrupted file, and it's easy to use.

Open PowerShell or the Command Prompt as admin and type in sfc /scannow. Scanning could take some time, and you will be notified if anything was repaired. If there were repairs, please reboot.