When you are trying to open a program or file in Windows PC but getting an error saying ‘The program can’t start because api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll is missing from your computer’. This error either means that Universal CRT (part of visual C++ redistributable package) has failed to install properly or the api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll file is not in the PC or has been corrupted.
Well, there is no need to panic as it is not that big of an error. You’re not the only one who has encountered this error, and it’s pretty easy to fix. Read on the complete post to know more about the api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll file missing error.
The api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll file is included in Microsoft Visual C++ redistributable for visual studio 2015, and if you don’t have that, you may encounter this problem.
How to fix api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0-dll is Missing Error
Fixing this problem in your Windows-based PC depends on whether you currently have visual C++ redistributable installed on your system.
Let’s look at all the scenarios in detail and then look for solutions.
When you don’t have Visual C++ redistributable
If you don’t have Visual C++ redistributable installed on your system, there are two ways you can install it. Both ways are listed here, and you can install it using either of these two.
Windows Updates – Visual C++ redistributable is built in the Microsoft windows updates, and you can download and install them. Once you install the latest updates, visual C++ redistributable will be automatically installed on your system.
- First, open Control Panel and then click on the Windows Update option from the list.
- Now, you have to click on the Check for Updates button from the page, and it will check for the updates pending for your system.
- Windows 10 will automatically install the available once you click on that button, but you will have to click on the Install Updates button in the Windows 7 version.
- Then, you need to restart the computer and then repeat these steps until that is no update available for your system.
Now, you will be able to open that same program without any trouble.
Directly from Microsoft website – You can download visual C++ redistributable directly from Microsoft website as it is available as a package. Here are the steps:
- You have to open the Microsoft Download page in your browser.
- And search for Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 and then hit the download button.
- Then, you have to select your system architecture such as x64 or x86 and then click Next.
- Now, the downloading of the file will start, and you have to locate the downloaded file in the local system.
- Double click on that file and follow the simple on-screen instructions to install it on your system.
Now, you will be able to open the same program without any trouble.
When you have visual C++ redistributable
If visual C++ redistributable is already installed on your system, then you need to repair it or replace the copy of the api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll file.
Repair Visual C++ Redistributable – If visual C++ redistributable is already installed on your system, then you can follow these steps to repair it on your system.
- Open the Start Menu and type Control Panel and then hit Enter to open it.
- Now, you have to view all icons and then click on the Programs and Features option.
- Then, click on the Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable and click on the Change option from the above bar.
- Now, a new window will open, click on the Repair button from there and click yes if User Account Control is prompted.
Replaced the api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll file – The easy api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll fix is that you replace the file. You can get the file from a system that runs the same version of Windows as yours. First, you need to check the windows system type on your computer.
- Open Start Menu and type System Information and hit Enter.
- Now, you can check the system in the System Summary section.
Then you have to look for a system that runs the same architecture, and then you can copy the api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll file from there. You have to open the System32 folder in that computer and look for an api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll file. Copy that file and paste it into your computer in the same folder.
Once you replace the api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll file, you will be able to open any program without any issue. But you have to know that not every computer with the same system type has that file. So, this method of replacing the api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll file may work for all computers.
Windows is the longest-running operating system we use today, but if you are fed up with the old technology and want to try something new, you can try Chrome OS, Linux Distros, or Unix. Most of these Distros will work just like your windows would. So, there should not be any problem in the operations.
