0x8007007E Windows Origin: Platform & cloud Last updated 13 Oct 2026

0x8007007E: The specified module could not be found

A DLL that a program, driver or COM component needs isn’t on disk or on the DLL search path.

Exact message you may see The specified module could not be foundDLL load failed while importing
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Seen on: Windows

Meaning

ERROR_MOD_NOT_FOUND appears when loading native modules (Python/Node extensions, ODBC drivers, Outlook add-ins), during updates, or with Excel/Office COM add-ins. The missing DLL is often a dependency of the DLL you named.

Common causes

  • Dependency DLL missing (VC++ runtime, native library)
  • 32/64-bit mismatch
  • PATH doesn’t contain the DLL’s folder
  • Corrupt installation

⚡ Quick fix

  1. Find missing dependencies with Dependencies (lucasg) or dumpbin /dependents
  2. Install the right runtime/architecture
  3. Add the folder to PATH or use os.add_dll_directory (Python)

Detailed fix by platform

Python

  1. python
    import os
os.add_dll_directory(r"C:\\Program Files\\MyLib\\bin")
import mylib

How to diagnose

  1. Dependencies — Which DLL is missing?
  2. Bitness — 32 vs 64-bit
  3. PATH — Includes the folder?

🔧 Still not fixed?

Many errors look alike. If the steps above didn’t solve it, one of these is probably what you’re facing:

Where this error sits

Origin: Platform & cloud. Errors that are often confused with or caused by this one (click to open):

0xC000007B — The application was unable to start correctly (0xc000007b) (Windows)0xC000007B0xC0000142 — The application was unable to start correctly (0xc0000142) (Windows)0xC0000142api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll — The program can't start because api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll is missing from your computer (Windows)api-ms-win-crt-runtim…ClassNotFoundException — java.lang.ClassNotFoundException / NoClassDefFoundError (Java)ClassNotFoundExceptionCocoaPods compatible versions — CocoaPods could not find compatible versions for pod (iOS)CocoaPods compatible …Composer conflict — Your requirements could not be resolved to an installable set of packages. (PHP)Composer conflictCould not resolve — Gradle: Could not resolve all files for configuration / Could not resolve dependency (Android)Could not resolveDEP0040 — DeprecationWarning: The `punycode` module is deprecated (DEP0040) (Node.js)DEP00400x8007007E

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