Running into Windows Error code 126 can slow up your day. Searching out this guide will help you take care of the problem once and for all.

The Problem

If you are doing server or computer maintenance that requires you to start or restart a particular service and the service is having issues, you may get the Windows error code 126 displayed on your screen and keeping you from starting the service.

Solution

Your computer needs certain services running in order to operate efficiently. Software and hardware both rely on services to keep their functionality going. If a service fails or if you need to start a service for a new application to work, you need that service to come up. Unfortunately, there are other things that might play into the scenario of starting a service that could cause error code 126 to occur.

In order to prevent error code 126 from happening and to successfully start the needed service on your computer, you should take the following steps.

• The following steps will involve editing the registry. Make sure that you know what you are doing or have qualified help before you attempt this.
• Click on Start then click on Run. Type in regedit.exe and hit Enter.
• Browse to the HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\%ServiceName%\Parameters key.
• Check for the DLL value of ServiceDLL.
• The Service DLL will show you a file location for the DLL. Check that location by using Windows Explorer to make sure that it exists.
• If you do not find the file mentioned in the registry key, you will need to make a copy from another Windows server that is on the same OS version and at the same level for Service packs.
• After you have the file copied to the location mentioned in step 5, try to start the service again.

These steps should resolve the error code 126. Remember to always be careful when working in the registry of your Windows machine.

TipFor more information, please see: How to fix Service error #126