2025 manual técnico: reparar el error de msvcr120.dll en Windows 10 y Windows 11

Summary

Is your favorite program suddenly crashing with a frustrating msvcr120.dll error on Windows 10 or 11? You’re not alone. This common but critical file issue can halt your work or gaming in an instant. This definitive 2025 guide cuts through the confusion. We provide clear, step-by-step solutions—from simple reinstalls to safe manual repairs—to get your applications running smoothly again. Let’s fix this for good.

Guía paso a paso de instalación y verificación

With the correct redistributable installers downloaded, the real work begins. This isn’t a casual double-click affair; precision here makes the difference between a lasting fix and recurring frustration. Follow this sequence to ensure a clean installation and proper verification.

First, close all running applications, especially the one that triggered the error. Locate your downloaded vcredist_x64.exe and/or vcredist_x86.exe files. Crucially, you must run these installers as an administrator. Right-click each file and select “Run as administrator” from the context menu. This grants the installer the elevated privileges needed to write to protected system directories and make vital registry changes—a step often missed in casual attempts.

If you are installing both versions, the order generally doesn’t matter, but starting with the x64 version is a common practice. The installer will present a license agreement; accept it to proceed. You will likely encounter one of two prompts:

1. Install: Proceed with a fresh installation.
2. Repair or Uninstall: If a version is already present, you may see options to repair or uninstall first. Choose “Repair.” This is often the golden ticket, as it systematically replaces corrupted or missing files within the package without disturbing your applications.

After the installation completes for each package, do not skip the next critical instruction: restart your computer. This reboot allows Windows to finalize the installation, register the DLLs correctly in its side-by-side assembly cache, and ensure all running services recognize the new runtime files.

Verification Check: After rebooting, verify the installation. Press Win + R, type appwiz.cpl, and press Enter to open the Programs and Features list. Look for “Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Redistributable (x64)” and “(x86)” entries. Their presence confirms the packages are registered with Windows. For a deeper check, you can navigate to C:\Windows\System32 and confirm msvcr120.dll exists there (for 64-bit), and to C:\Windows\SysWOW64 for the 32-bit version—but do not manually modify them.

Now, launch the application that was failing. In the vast majority of cases, this system-level reinstall of the core runtime libraries resolves the conflict, mending the broken link for all dependent software. If the program launches successfully, your mission is accomplished. If the stubborn error persists, it indicates a more isolated corruption—a scenario where the system-wide repair wasn’t enough, demanding a targeted, manual replacement of the specific DLL file itself.

Método 3: Reemplazar manualmente el archivo msvcr120.dll

Method 2 tackles the issue at its source, but what if the system-wide repair fails to reach a specific, corrupted instance of the file? This brings us to the final, most surgical approach: manually replacing the msvcr120.dll file. Consider this your precision tool, reserved for when broader fixes have fallen short. It’s a direct intervention, physically swapping a damaged or incorrect DLL with a verified, clean copy. The power here is matched by the risk; a misstep can destabilize other applications or introduce security threats. Therefore, this method demands strict adherence to safety protocols and is generally recommended only for advanced users or when a specific program’s folder contains a known-bad version.

The absolute rule is to never download a lone .dll from a “DLL repository” website. These are breeding grounds for malware and version mismatches. The only safe source is the official Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 redistributable installer itself. Here’s the secure workflow:
1. Use the official vcredist_x64.exe or vcredist_x86.exe installer (from Method 2) as an extraction tool. Run it, but instead of installing, use a command prompt (as admin) with the /extract switch to unpack its contents to a temporary folder. Within, you’ll find the pristine msvcr120.dll.
2. Identify the exact location of the faulty file. The error message or tools like Process Explorer can reveal which path the failing program is searching. It could be in the program’s own directory, System32, or SysWOW64.
3. Before replacing anything, back up the original file by renaming it (e.g., msvcr120.dll.old).
4. Copy the clean DLL from your extracted package to the target location, ensuring you match the architecture (x64 vs. x86).

Critical Caution: Never manually replace the files in C:\Windows\System32 or C:\Windows\SysWOW64 unless you are certain the redistributable installer’s repair function has failed. Manual replacement here is a last resort, as it bypasses Windows’ formal registration of the library.

This hands-on replace is a targeted strike, ideal for fixing a specific program that uses its own bundled, corrupted DLL. When done correctly, it severs the final link to the error. However, if the problem is more complex—perhaps involving registry issues or deeper system conflicts—even this may not be the end of the road. Let’s explore what to do when all standard methods seem to fail.

Conclusion

By following this step-by-step guide, you’ve learned to resolve the msvcr120.dll error from a targeted program reinstall to repairing its core dependency, the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable. For lasting stability, remember to always download official packages and verify your system architecture (x64 or x86) before any installation. Your applications should now run smoothly, free from the crashes that prompted your search for a fix.