Persistent pdh.dll issue

[Ivilliana]

Plan

Free

Country

 United States of America

Device

Desktop Computer

Operating System

Windows 10 Home edition

My Question or Issue

So, I've reinstalled spotify about four times now and tried every form of uninstallation I possibly could. Manual, Add and remove programs, Using an uninstallation software, none of these methods did anything for me. Every time I reinstalled I just got the exact same error. After getting the error so many times and continuous troubleshooting I just got sick of repeating the same process. Instead, I downloaded a pdh package directly from microsoft and dropped it into the spotify directory. While I had thought this to be the solution, it only deepened the mystery. The error no longer occured yet Spotify would not open. The only that happened was a brief loading icon and then nothing. I'm hoping someone with more knowledge and or experience than I will be able to help solve this problem because I know that I'm not the only person with this problem. 

[Sebasty]

Hey @Ivilliana

Could you tell what the error said exactly?

I'd suggest doing a system file check. It's a console-based command meant for checking and fixing corrupt system files.

Do this:

1. Open Command Prompt as administrator (right-click - Run as Administrator)
2. Type this:

sfc /scannow

3. Press Enter.

This process may take a while.

Let me know what it says 🙂

[Ivilliana]

I actually ran that yesterday and it ended up finding errors but my computer was unable to repair them. Here's an image for specifics, you'd likely know a lot more about CBS logs than I. Really the only thing I can think of is to delete spotify and then delete the dll so that spotify can just install a fresh dll with it. Hope this information helps, thanks for the assistance and quick response! Also the specific error is "Cannot find 'pdh.dll'. Please, re-install this application"

[Sebasty]

@Ivilliana

I suggest running malware scans on your computer. The corrupt/missing dll might be caused by a malware infection.

I recommend this blog on what and how to use. You don't really need to do the optional steps. 🙂

Did this error start happening recently or has it always been around?
If it's a recent issue, a system restore might help.

Let me know how it goes 🙂

[Ivilliana]

I can't really see Malware causing this issue as I literally just installed a new SSD at the beginning of this week along with a new version of windows 10. My previous hard drive was clean and I only transferred some files from blender, some images, a few text documents, and some engine files. I will run a Malware scan regardless but I operate two anti-virus programs and windows defender on my computer for maximum protection.

[Ivilliana]

Alright, I ran a full deep scan and nothing registered as malware. My software is also up to date.

[Sebasty]

@Ivilliana

And this error started happening after reinstalling Windows?

I suggest checking out this LifeWire site on what you can try.

I do not recommend registry cleaners. Since your Windows is such a new copy, then malware or corrupt registry is likely not a cause.

Let me know how it goes 🙂

[Ivilliana]

To list off all of the methods attempts and results:

Safe mode - Not needed, my computer starts fine in standard mode.

Restore file - I had just recently installed Spotify on my new, clean version of Windows 10. I had not fished around in any program files. The only thing I recall deleting is the Desktop shortcut because I like to keep my desktop tidy. I did try the file recovery method anyways but it held no results.

Virus/Malware scan - Ran a scan with all of my anti malware and virus programs, no red flags popped up.

System Restore - I have not tried this method but I don't feel like it would matter because I didn't mess with any serious program files, my windows is brand new and so is my SSD. I will try this at one point anyways.

Reinstall Program - As I stated in my first post, I have tried reinstalling spotify 4+ times and even tried manually adding a pdh.dll file to the spotify directory. This held no successful results.

Update Drivers - Since this is happening on a new SSD and a fresh install of Windows 10, I haven't really updated any drivers. I only installed drivers for my NVIDIA 1060GTX and my TP Link wifi stick. I didn't need to install any drivers for my mouse or keyboard.

Roll Back Drivers - New SSD, New windows copy, few driver installations, I don't see how drivers could be causing this issue though if you think it's a good idea to try and roll back my graphics card driver I'll try that.

sfc/scannow - I ran this about three times just for the sake of consistency checking and I got the same error every time. Windows found a corrupt file but was unable to repair it.

Windows Updates - As soon as I got my new windows and SSD up and running, I made sure to install any updates needed and to reinstall anything that had trouble installing the first time. There may be a new update recently but this issue had occurred at a time where my system was already up to date.

Memory Test - I ran tests on both my RAM and my SSD. My SSD actually did turn up the same corrupt file for the three times I did chkdsk and even though it said repaired, it did not fix my issue. I ran the memory diagnostic tool three times as well though this turned up absolutely no errors. I'll attach a image of the corrupt file that chkdsk registered at the end of this post.

Repair windows installation - I don't really think this is the issue but I'm going to try it anyways because it might be a 'cure all' solution. I just find it odd that a brand new version of windows 10 would be having a dll issue one week into usage.

Registry Cleaner - I always have a registry cleaner named CCleaner on my computer and I make sure to clean my registry from time to time.

Perform a Clean installation of Windows - Basically the same deal as repairing Windows. If nothing else works I will probably try this method but a brand new version of Windows 10 breaking is just weird to me but anything is possible, I suppose.

Troubleshoot a Hardware problem - This may be the issue because I'm running some older components but they're not extremely old. They're all fairly high end. I'll list some of my specs. [ Intel i7 920(quad core, supports hyperthreading), 20GB of DDR3 RAM, Nvidia Geforce 1060GTX, Asus 3.0 ATX Motherboard, Two large case fans and a single small fan on the back and obviously a CPU fan]. My computer is kind of a mixture of older parts and newer parts so performance is probably sort of bottlenecked but I've never had any serious issues with my setup until now. 

I also thought that it would be resourceful to include some stop errors I've been experiencing recently that I thought a new SSD would fix but they persisted.

[PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA, MEMORY_MANAGEMENT, SYSTEM_THREAT_EXEPTION_NOT_HANDLED] I've been getting the first two stop codes for over a month now and the last one just happened within this week but I've gotten it very very rarely in the past. Hopefully all of this is useful information, I really appreciate your help.

[Sebasty]

@Ivilliana

Thank you for your answer 🙂

These stop errors (especially the first two) definitely sound like something's wrong with your system. I'd suggest looking up these errors to see what you can try:

This is for 'page fault in nonpaged area' stop.

It may be helpful running the sfc in safe mode. You can easily go to safe mode through msconfig. You'll have to set the boot mode back to normal when you want to return to normal Windows.

You can also try running the following command in Command Prompt (Run as Administrator):

chkdsk /f /r

It will schedule the check for next time you restart the machine (to answer what the command asks, type Y).

Since these errors you've been getting didn't go away with a Windows reinstall, then it's very likely hardware failure.

Let me know how it goes 🙂

[Ivilliana]

I'm pretty sure it's my RAM though I don't have any spare ram to test it. I'll get back to you on that when I can, as for the .dll issue do you think this could be causing it?

[Sebasty]

@Ivilliana

Your stop errors indicate to a failing RAM as well (out of other possibilities).

It is possible for faulty RAM or hard drive (well, unlikely in your case because you have a new SSD) to produce missing dll errors as they fail.

You can try simply reseating the RAM too. Turn off the machine, then remove your RAM modules and put them back in. Remove any dust that may be there with canned air or something (but do not use a vacoom cleaner!).

 
All the best 🙂