Within just 2 months, the face of gaming in 2021 became entirely unpredictable. Unlike the tumultuous previous year, with massive AAA dropping to either complete acclaim or utter disapproval, this one seems better. January gave us the much-awaited final chapter in an iconic trilogy, Hitman 3. February, although coming to a close, saw the meteoric rise of Valheim, a game that despite its incomplete state, wins our respect. And, if you paid close enough attention, you’ll remember that another highly anticipated title dropped a demo in the past few days: Outriders.
In all fairness, Outriders as a complete title won’t come out for another month. This demo, much like Valheim’s Early Access version, is not fully represented of the entire game. But the few hours’ worth of content that the demo gives us leaves many impressed. You can expect a beautiful open-world, played with third-person shooter mechanics, in a sci-fi setting. Given the character-creation options and branching dialogue choices, the game seems like it’ll become the Mass Effect: Andromeda we deserved. With the full release, developers People Can Fly and Square Enix may have 2021’s Game of The Year.
However, unofficial releases of an incomplete title rarely go perfectly on the first try. Within hours of the title’s demo going live on PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox, and Stadia, some encountered a certain error. While the issue is sure to be addressed before the main release, it is leaving millions of fans on PC frustrated.
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The Outriders PC demo error causes the game to fail to launch
Players on the PC version of the game demo have the short end of the stick. While the game is slated to launch on Stadia and GeForce Now, the basic Windows version appears to face this issue. When players facing the Outriders demo error try to launch the game, they face an error notification informing them of a missing .dll file. And, worse, the issue isn’t a one-off glitch that can be waved away and ignored. The Outriders missing dll error is persistent, meaning a simple retry won’t accomplish anything. The error message typically says something along the lines of “The code execution cannot proceed because VCRUNTIME140_1.dll was not found. Reinstalling the program might fix this problem.”
After reinstalling the game and drivers multiple times, I am still getting the same error:
"The code execution cannot proceed because VCRUNTIME140_1.dll was not found. Reinstalling the program might fix this problem."
— Charles M. Johnson (@CharlesMJohnso6) February 26, 2021
The issue stems from several possible factors. The first is a system error when launching the .exe program. Other theories circulating online include incompatible gaming software, outdated DirectX/Visual C++ files, and even bugs in installation directories. Don’t worry, we have taken the time to address all of these, along with effective ways to resolve them, in this guide. Also, keep in mind that the developers may be aware of this PC error by now. Hopefully, they’ll release a subsequent patch or update to officially fix the issue within a few weeks. Until then, we give you the best fixes for the Outriders demo missing .dll error.
1) Restart your PC, then try to run the game again
The main thing to remember when trying to troubleshoot your PC is that not all errors become apparent. Some stem from elaborate issues deep within the system’s code. Like all computers, your PC comprises many intricate processes running in tandem. These processes can start up abnormally at times, and develop corrupted data sets. These errors can snowball into larger, system-wide failures, which negatively affect your PC’s performance. This can lead to glitches, game crashes and even misreading of installed files. Put simply: your computer can fail to acknowledge the presence of all necessary installed files, like the .dll file.
When this happens, you’ll want to restart your system. This kills off malfunctioning processes, and ensures they run properly at rebooting. It can also clear up bad data caches, eliminating odd errors. Once you try this, you can attempt to run the Outriders demo again.
2) Check the official Microsoft website for the latest DirectX and Visual C++ bundles
When Microsoft began supporting gaming on Windows, it needed a good way to store all of the necessary files and data packages. That way, a regular PC user who didn’t want to waste valuable hardware space with gaming software could avoid installing it. They also needed a set of tools and data sets that they could routinely update and improve upon through the internet, keeping your hardware relevant. The solution? Place all of the multimedia and gaming programs into two essential bundles, called DirectX and Visual C++, and make them free to download on the official website.
However, as gaming requirements change, so too to do the programs within the bundles. Therefore, Microsoft updates DirectX (which contains all the .dll files you’d need) every few years. If you need a .dll file to run your game, head to the website and install the latest versions of DirectX and Visual C++ so everything is fully compatible.
3) Make sure your game drivers are up-to-date
Like the aforementioned multimedia bundles, your graphics card (GPU) also requires the latest updates to its firmware to run smoothly. Your GPU relies on software packages called drivers to function optimally when running AAA titles. The GPU manufacturer, Nvidia or AMD, will probably release regular game driver updates. These include file additions, game improvements and bug fixes. Therefore, a driver update can even help resolve the Outriders .dll error if you apply it. Make sure to regularly check the GeForce Experience app or the AMD site for appropriate driver updates.
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4) Update your Windows version, or rollback to a previous version
Microsoft aims to improve its OS with every update. This includes improvements to game frameworks, and better file management. If your .dll is missing, a Windows update may help. This is because it can often verify the integrity of your DirectX folder, and add whatever is missing or replace broken files.
However, the converse can also occur. Sometimes, the updates (filled with bad code) can create even more errors or bugs. This includes deleting existing .dll files. Therefore, you may want to try reverting back to a previous Windows version and DirectX version.
If all of these fixes still don’t fix the error, your best bet is to reinstall the demo. Sure, it may take a while depending on your internet connection speed, but it will definitely help. The new installation will contain all the required files, minus any corrupted data or broken files.
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