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Get the fix for the error  <strong>KERNEL32.dll not found</strong> on <strong>Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10.</strong>
<h2>About "KERNEL.dll not found"</h2>
[kbintro]
<h3><span id="Description_and_Symptoms">Description and Symptoms</span></h3>
The error messages, alerts, warnings, and symptoms below are tied to this error.
<h3>Symptom 1: "KERNEL32.dll not found" error screen on startup</h3>
The KERNEL32.dll file is a 32-bit dynamic link library file used in Windows to handle memory management, input/output operations, interrupts, synchronization, and process creation. It also exposes most of the Win32 base API's to applications, and if this file becomes missing or corrupt, the "KERNEL32.dll not found" error screen appears.

Here is an example of "KERNEL32.dll not found" error screen for Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7:

<a href="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/06/WinXP-Kernel32-dll-not-found.png"><img class="alignnone wp-image-4309 size-full" src="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/06/WinXP-Kernel32-dll-not-found.png" alt="Windows XP, Vista, 7 Kernel32 dll not found error screen" width="640" height="480" /></a>
<pre>STOP: c0000135 (Unable To Locate Component)
This application has failed to start because KERNEL32.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may fix the problem.</pre>
On Windows 8 this error generates a more generic "Your PC did not start correctly" error screen:

<a href="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/06/Win8-Kernel32-dll-not-found.png"><img class="alignnone wp-image-4310 size-large" src="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/06/Win8-Kernel32-dll-not-found-1024x768.png" alt="Windows 8 Kernel32 dll not found error screen" width="980" height="735" /></a>
<pre>Automatic Repair

Your PC did not start correctly
Press "Restart" to restart your PC, which can sometimes fix the problem. You can also press "Advanced options" to try other options to repair your PC.
</pre>
While on Windows 10, it also causes a slightly different error screen to appear:

<a href="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/06/Win10-Kernel32-dll-not-found.png.png"><img class="alignnone wp-image-4311 size-large" src="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/06/Win10-Kernel32-dll-not-found.png-1024x768.png" alt="Windows 10 Kernel32 dll not found error screen" width="980" height="735" /></a>
<pre>Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart. We're just collecting some error info, and then we'll restart for you(45% complete)
If you'd like to know more, you can search online later for this error: 0xc0000135</pre>
<h2>Causes of this Error</h2>
This error has been known to occur as a result of one of the following causes:
<h3>Cause 1: KERNEL32.dll file is corrupt or missing</h3>
Virus attacks, power outages and disk write errors may cause files to become missing or corrupt. If that's the case, then the operating system can't find the KERNEL32.dll file, and the boot process is halted with a "KERNEL32.dll was not found " error.
<h2><span id="Fixing_8220Fatal_INT18_Boot_failure8221_on_Windows">Fixing “KERNEL32.dll not found” on Windows</span></h2>
[setupcd]
<h3>Fix #1: Replace KERNEL32.dll</h3>
[setupcd]

[partial name="partial_restorefile_xp" file="kernel32.dll" command="expand D:\\i386\\kernel32.dl_ C:\\Windows\\system32\\"]

Here is an example of what the PC's console output should look like once the KERNEL32.dll file is properly restored:

[caption id="attachment_4312" align="alignnone" width="720"]<a href="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/06/Kernel32.dll-restored-WinXP.png"><img class="wp-image-4312 size-full" src="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/06/Kernel32.dll-restored-WinXP.png" alt="KERNEL32.dll restored from Win XP install CD" width="720" height="396" /></a> KERNEL32.dll restored from Win XP install CD[/caption]
<h3>Fix #2: Repair corrupted system files with the SFC command</h3>
On Windows Vista and Windows 7, it is possible to use the built-in Windows SFC(system file checker) tool to automatically scan a computer's system files and repair them if necessary.

Here are the steps to run SFC:
<ol>
 	<li>Boot from your Windows install disc</li>
 	<li>Click on <strong>Repair your co</strong><strong>mputer</strong> after selecting proper language, time and keyboard input.</li>
 	<li>Select the Windows installation drive, which is usually <code>C:\</code>, and click <strong>Next</strong></li>
 	<li>Choose Command Prompt when the System Recovery Options box appears</li>
 	<li>Write the following command and press <kbd>Enter</kbd> afterwards:
<pre>sfc /scannow /offbootdir=D:\ /offwindir=D:\Windows\</pre>
Replace D: with the letter of the driver where Windows is installed, and D:\Windows with the Windows folder location.</li>
</ol>
Here is an example of what the PC's console output should look like once the sfc.exe scan is complete and missing files are successfully restored:

[caption id="attachment_4233" align="alignnone" width="800"]<a href="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/08/sfc_result.png"><img class="wp-image-4233 size-full" src="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/08/sfc_result.png" alt="KERNEL32.dll restored by the SFC utility" width="800" height="600" /></a> KERNEL32.dll restored by the SFC utility[/caption]
<h3>Fix #3: Check the hard drive with CHKDSK utility</h3>
If the hard drive has its file integrity compromised, it is possible to use built-in Windows CHKDSK utility to scan the disk and fix the file system errors.

Here are the steps to run CHKDSK:
<ol>
 	<li>Boot from your Windows install disc</li>
 	<li>Click on <strong>Repair your co</strong><strong>mputer</strong> after selecting proper language, time and keyboard input.</li>
 	<li>Select the Windows installation drive, which is usually <code>C:\</code>, and click <strong>Next</strong></li>
 	<li>Choose Command Prompt when the System Recovery Options box appears</li>
 	<li>Write the following command and press <kbd>Enter</kbd> afterwards:
<pre>chkdsk C: /f</pre>
Replace C: with the letter of the driver where Windows is installed.</li>
</ol>
Here is an example of what the PC's console output should look like once the chkdsk.exe is complete:

[caption id="attachment_3697" align="alignnone" width="800"]<a href="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/04/VirtualBox_Win7_clean_21_04_2016_03_58_48.png"><img class="wp-image-3697 size-full" src="https://neosmart.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/04/VirtualBox_Win7_clean_21_04_2016_03_58_48.png" alt="Chkdsk utility results screen" width="800" height="600" /></a> Chkdsk utility results screen[/caption]
<h2>More Information</h2>
<h3>Linked Entries</h3>
<ul>
 	<li><a href="https://neosmart.net/wiki/chkdsk/">chkdsk</a></li>
</ul>
[partial name="partial_moreinfo" versions="xp,vista,7,8,10"]