SetupDiGetClassDevsExW / setupapi.dll Error

Canuck is an administrator at Help2Go. Much of his computer knowledge has been acquired since joining Help2Go, from research, to learning from the wealth of knowledge of its members. He lives by the credo 'there is no such thing as a dumb question'.

A few users have received a pop-up box with the following error:

The procedure entry point SetupDiGetClassDevsExW could not be located in the dynamic link library SETUPAPI.dll

What does this mean and how can you fix it? 

This happens when the setupapi.dll file in Windows gets corrupted.

• First, go to this site http://www.dll-files.com/dllindex/dll-files.shtml?setupapi and download the zipped file to your desktop.
• Now go into C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 and rename setupapi.dll to oldsetupapi.dll
• Open the .zip file you downloaded and extract/copy the .dll and paste it in the system32 folder.
• Reboot your PC and hopefully all will work .. you can now delete the zip file.

Have a question? Need help? Get free, friendly person-to-person help with your computer questions or spyware questions in our help forums!