dsound.dll missing, cannot seem to repair it
My dad's aging PC (6+ yrs old; running WinXP Home with all updates available installed) is not playing any music CDs because it gives the message:
dsound.dll not installed, cannot run program.
This message comes up when trying to run Windows Media Player 10 or 11, and foobar. Curiously, he can play wav files without problem. Similarly, the CD drive can be used to explore all contained files, so its obviously seeing them just fine.
I've downloaded and installed DirectX 9c from MS, and it fails to completely install, because apparently it can't FIND dsound.dll, which makes no sense to me whatsoever.
I've removed and re-installed the built-in sound hardware, using the original drivers from the restore disks that came with the Dell computer.
I performed a System Restore to a point thought to be well before this issue arose. No change (other than swapping in the previously deleted WMP 11 for the WMP 10 I'd tried to replace it with)
No viruses or spyware found. The only program installed close to the time Dad thinks he began having problems is Adobe Photoshop Elements. Uninstalling that hasn't help.
I realize this is pretty esoteric, hardly germane to gaming, but wondered if anyone had any insight to this odd problem.
"I am a cipher; a cipher, wrapped in an enigma, and smothered in secret sauce!" - Jimmy James
Are you running a virus scanner? If dsound.dll was infected before the scanner was updated, it could potentially be blocking all access to the file.
I had a bunch of problems from F-Prot recently... I ended up removing it, it was throwing false positives and really making my life difficult. Won't be renewing that product.
Another thought would be to manually extract the dsound.dll file from the DirectX installer, and copy it to c:\windows\system32. WinRAR should be able to open the EXE and extract the dll for you.
Yeah I dumped F-Prot too and finally went to Kaspersky, which I deem to be better than, well, anything else in existence including BitDefender.
F-Prot has become so sh*tty, it even leaves behind enough registry entries and DLLs so that there's a FProttray.exe process left in Task Manager and an error message 'cause Outlook can't find F-Prot mail filter on startup...
Agent: "Why do you think she's known as the Black Widow ?"
Chuck: "Because... she's African American and her husband died ?"