If you are receiving an error message regarding the 32.dll file, or if your Windows operating system is failing to boot, there’s a good chance that you’re infected with a boot sector virus or that your critical system files have become corrupted at some point.

A 32.dll error typically illustrates a problem with the kernel of your system, so any such problem is to be considered a major threat to the stability of Windows. If you have an anti-Virus suite installed, you should be able to avoid the issue entirely by blocking out virus threats and countering any hackers before they gain access to the actual kernel.

Of course, if you’ve already been affected, it’s likely that you’ve been faced with the blue screen of death and a long error code, marked by the 32.dll message.

Be sure to run a thorough scan of your hard drive to locate the virus at the root of the problem. It could be one, it could be two, or it could be many. Either way, the severity of a kernel virus is not to be taken lightly.

In some cases, failure for the 32.dll files to initialize will result in a locked operating system. What does that mean exactly? It means that you will be locked out of Windows XP and the computer will boot in cycles, meeting blue screen after blue screen and continuing until you lose patience altogether and shut the power down.

If this happens, try booting in to safe mode to counter the virus threat. Even this is sometimes not enough to get rid of the most damaging kernel viruses.

In the worst case scenario, you may find that your 32.dll has been deleted completely. This might not be the case. It could be simply corrupted beyond recognition. But either way, it’s almost guaranteed to leave you in a situation where a full Windows Repair and Install is necessary to fix the problem.

If you can’t access Windows at all to run a virus removal utility, you will have to re-format and load up Windows again. This is the unfortunate reality of viruses which attack the kernel.

If you are suffering from 32.dll errors, rather than a full blown file corruption, it’s still likely that you’re suffering from a virus infection. The difference is that while you have access to the operating system layer, you can use existing software to neutralize the threat.

Download a system cleaning utility to weed out all of the corrupted files, and make a habit of using the clean-up tool on a regular basis, especially if you don’t have a commercial industry-standard anti-Virus suite on your system.

Another must is a registry cleaner. These are great at correcting invalid registry entries, and sorting through the invalid DLL files. It’s possible to replace and repair, without having to resort to a full system restore. Once again however, we must stress the importance of being careful when editing the Windows Registry. One wrong edit and you’ll be worse off than when you started!

A damaged 32.dll file is never good news, but the level of the damage varies considerably. If the problem is deeply routed in to the kernel itself, you will have more repair work to do. Count yourself lucky if you have 32.dll errors while still maintaining access to Windows.