What's Going On
This error means Windows tried to load a DLL that's already in memory. The culprit here is almost always a registry entry under AppInit_DLLs that lists the same DLL twice, or a driver like SbieDrv.sys (from Sandboxie) that hooks into every process and confuses things. I've seen this most often after a failed Sandboxie uninstall or a botched app update.
Skip the event viewer deep dive — it rarely pinpoints the exact DLL. Start with the 30-second fix. If that doesn't work, you're looking at a registry edit.
30-Second Fix: Reboot and Check Known Offenders
First, reboot. Yes, really. If the DLL is stuck in a zombie state, a clean restart clears it. If the error comes back immediately, you've got a persistent offender.
If you have Sandboxie installed, disable it. Run services.msc, find SbieSvc, right-click and stop it. Then open an admin command prompt and run:
sc delete SbieDrv
If the error stops, Sandboxie was the problem. Don't bother reinstalling it — the driver is glitchy on Windows 10 22H2 and newer. Switch to Windows Sandbox if you need isolation.
If you don't have Sandboxie, move to the 5-minute fix.
5-Minute Fix: Clear AppInit_DLLs
This is the most common cause. A third-party installer (often from security software or screen readers) adds a DLL path to the global AppInit_DLLs key, and sometimes duplicates it. Here's how to check:
- Open Regedit as admin.
- Go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows. - Look at the AppInit_DLLs string value. It should be empty or contain a single path. If it has two or more paths separated by a space or comma, that's your problem.
- Double-click the value, copy the text to Notepad, remove duplicates, and paste the cleaned list back. If you're unsure, just delete the entire value (set it to blank). Some apps like COMODO or Malwarebytes inject here, but blanking it won't break anything critical — they'll just lose a minor performance optimization.
- Also check
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows— same key, same fix.
After clearing, reboot. If the error still shows up, we go deeper.
Advanced Fix (15+ Minutes): Use Process Monitor to Find the Duplicate
When the registry is clean and you're still getting the error, a specific driver or service is loading the DLL twice. Process Monitor from Sysinternals will catch it.
- Download Process Monitor from Microsoft's site.
- Run it as admin. Hit Ctrl+E to stop capture, then Ctrl+X to clear the log.
- Set a filter:
Result>contains>already loaded. ThenPath>ends with>.dll. - Hit Ctrl+E to start capture, then reproduce the error (launch the failing app).
- Stop capture. Look for the last event before the crash — it will show the DLL name and the process that tried to load it.
Once you have the DLL name, check what service or driver loads it. Use this command in an admin prompt:
tasklist /m <dllname.dll>
If it's a system DLL (e.g., ntdll.dll), you've got a corrupted install — run sfc /scannow. If it's a third-party DLL (e.g., sbiedll.dll from Sandboxie), either update or uninstall that software.
Last resort: boot into safe mode. If the error disappears, it's a non-Microsoft driver or service. Use msconfig to disable all non-Microsoft services and restart — then re-enable them one by one until the error comes back.
When to Give Up and Repair Install
If you've done all this and the error still shows on boot (not just one app), your Windows image is likely hosed. Don't waste hours — run an in-place upgrade using the Windows 10/11 Media Creation Tool. It keeps your files and apps but replaces system files. I've seen this fix the error in cases where every other check passed.
One more thing: if you're running an old game from the 2000s that throws this error, it's usually a copy protection driver conflict. Uninstall any disc emulation software like Daemon Tools or Alcohol 120%. Those tools load SCSI drivers that break modern DLL loading.