FIX: “(Application Name).exe – Bad Image” is either not designed to run on Windows or it contains an error
Bad Image error’s is an error which comes up when Windows cannot run the programs you tried running mainly due to the files and libraries needed to run the program are corrupted due to an update.
Every version of the Windows Operating System starting with Windows 8 is configured to automatically check for, download and install available updates from time to time. However, sometimes, installing specific Windows updates can lead to different kinds of problems. One of these problems is the (name of application).exe – Bad Image error message that starts appearing very often after either downloading and installing a defective update for Windows or updating a Windows computer to an iteration of Windows 8/10 that has the defective update pre-installed. The entire error message reads, for example:
Users affected by this issue see quite a large number of these aggravating error 0xc000012f error message in a pretty small window of time, and having a number of the applications on your computer not work, along with having to constantly dismiss each of these messages, can be quite the pickle. Many believe that the only way to fix this issue is to restore your entire Windows computer to an earlier point in time, a point at which the defective update was not installed. However, that is not entirely true as this issue can also be fixed by simply uninstalling the defective update that has given birth to it. In order to solve this problem, you need to:
Right-click on the Start Menu button to launch the Win X Menu.
Click on Control Panel.
With the Control Panel configured to Category view, click on Programs.
Click on Programs and Features.
Click on View installed updates in the left pane.
In the right pane, you will now see a list of all the Windows Updates that have been installed on your computer.
Locate and right-click on the Cumulative Security Update for IE 10 for Windows 8 x64 systems (KB2879017), and click on Uninstall
Note: If you find that no such update has been installed on your computer, locate and right-click on the Cumulative Security Update for IE 10 for Windows 8 x64 systems (KB2936068) instead, and then click on Uninstall.
You may not necessarily have the above mentioned updates installed, if that is the case then sort the updates by the date installed and look for any “Security Updates” that were installed and uninstall them.
Go through the update uninstallation wizard, and once the update has been uninstalled, restart your computer.
Once your computer boots up, you will see that those pesky error 0xc000012f error messages no longer pop up on your screen every few minutes.
If you only uninstall the defective update, Windows will simply reinstall it the next time it runs a check for available updates and installs them. In order to make sure that the defective update is not reinstalled later on, simply launch Windows Update, click on Check for updates, wait for Windows Update to display a list of all available updates for your system, sift through the list to locate the defective update, right-click on the defective update and click on Hide update. This will ensure that the defective update is not reinstalled the next time Windows Update checks for and install updates for your system. If you are using Windows 10 then see this (guide) to disable and hide updates.
If the above methodology doesn’t work for you then i do a system restore see steps (here).
Fix Bad Image Error – Application.exe is either not designed to run on Windows or it contains an error
Last updated on June 15, 2020 By adityafarrad
Fix Bad Image Error – Application.exe is either not designed to run on Windows or it contains an error: Windows 10 Bad Image Error is seriously a very annoying issue because you can’t open any application. And as soon as you open any program the error may appear with a description like: “C:\Program Files\Windows Portable Devices\xxxx.dll is either not designed to run on Windows or it contains an error. Try installing the program again using the original installation media or contact your system administrator or the software vendor for support.” Well, that’s a very long message with no or very little information and which leads us to several possibilities as to why this error is occurring.
Fix Bad Image Error – Application.exe is either not designed to run on Windows or it contains an error
Without wasting any time let’s see how to fix this issue:
Method 1: Run CCleaner and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
2. Double-click on the setup.exe to start the installation.
3. Click on the Install button to start the installation of CCleaner. Follow on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
4. Launch the application and from the left-hand side menu, select Custom.
5. Now see if you need to checkmark anything other than the default settings. Once done, click on Analyze.
6. Once the analysis is complete, click on the “Run CCleaner” button.
7. Let CCleaner run its course and this will clear all cache and cookies on your system.
8. Now, to clean your system further, select the Registry tab, and ensure the following are checked.
9. Once done, click on the “Scan for Issues” button and allow CCleaner to scan.
10. CCleaner will show the current issues with Windows Registry, simply click on the Fix selected Issues button.
11. When CCleaner asks “Do you want backup changes to the registry?” select Yes.
12. Once your backup has completed, select Fix All Selected Issues.
13. Reboot your PC to save changes.
If this doesn’t fix the issue then run Malwarebytes and let it scan your system for harmful files.
Method 2: Run System File Checker (SFC) Tool
1. Press Windows Key + X then click on Command Prompt (Admin).
2. Now type the following in the cmd and hit enter:
3. Let the system file checker run and then restart your PC.
Method 3: Run Microsoft safety scanner
If it’s a virus infection then it is recommended to run the Microsoft safety scanner and check if it helps. Make sure to disable all antivirus and security protection when running the Microsoft safety scanner.
If this doesn’t help then in some cases where the system is affected because of the malware. It is recommended to remove malware from your system.
Method 4: Run Startup/Automatic Repair
1. Insert the Windows 10 bootable installation DVD and restart your PC.
2. When prompted to Press any key to boot from CD or DVD, press any key to continue.
3. Select your language preferences, and click Next. Click Repair your computer in the bottom-left.
4. On choose an option screen, click Troubleshoot.
5. On Troubleshoot screen, click Advanced option.
6. On the Advanced options screen, click Automatic Repair or Startup Repair.
7. Wait till the Windows Automatic/Startup Repairs complete.
8. Restart and you have successfully Fix Bad Image Error – Application.exe is either not designed to run on Windows or it contains an error, if not, continue.
Method 5: Fix Chrome.exe Bad Image error message
1. Click on three dots icon available at the top right corner.
2. Click on the Settings button from the menu opens up.
3. Scroll down at the bottom of the Settings page and click Advanced.
4. As soon as you click on Advanced, from the left-hand side click on “Reset and clean up“.
5. Now u nder Reset and clean up tab, click on Restore settings to their original defaults.
6. Below dialog box will open up which will give you all the details about what restoring Chrome settings will do.
Note: Before proceeding read the given information carefully as after that it may lead to loss of some important information or data.
7. After making sure that you want to restore Chrome to its original settings, click on the Reset settings button.
8. If above doesn’t solve your problem then navigate to the following folder:
9. Next, find the folder Default and rename it to Default backup.
10. Again open Chrome to check if the problem is resolved or not.
11. Click Chrome Menu then select Help and click on About Google Chrome.
12. Make sure it’s up to date or else update it.
13. If nothing helps, then you may have to consider uninstalling Chrome and installing a fresh copy.
Method 6: Repair Microsoft Office Bad Image Error
1. Search for Control Panel in Windows Search then click on the search result.
2. Now click on Uninstall a program.
3. From there find Microsoft Office and then right-click on it and select Change.
4. Select Repair and click Next.
5. Let the repair run in the background as it can take some time to complete.
6. Once done click close and restart your PC to save changes.
Method 7: Run System Restore or Windows Repair Install
Sometimes using System Restore can help you repair problems with your PC, so follow this guide to restore your computer to an earlier time.
If the System Restore doesn’t work then you need to use Windows Repair Install as a last resort because if nothing works out then this method will surely repair all problems with your PC. Repair Install just using an in-place upgrade to repair issues with the system without deleting user data present on the system. So follow this article to see How to Repair Install Windows 10 Easily.
«.dll is either not designed to run on Windows or it contains an error.» Help me fix this please.
Welcome to Microsoft Answers Forums.
• When do you receive the error message?
• Do you remember making any changes to the computer recently?
• Do you have any security software installed on the computer?
This error message might occur if there are some corrupt system files on the computer. Would suggest that you run a SFC scan which would scan for corrupt system files on the computer and replace them.
Steps to perform SFC scan:
1. Click the Start button
2. From the Start Menu, Click All programs followed by Accessories
3. In the Accessories menu, Right Click on the Command Prompt option
4. From the drop down menu that appears, Click on the ‘Run as administrator’ option
5. If you have the User Account Control (UAC) enabled you will be asked for authorization prior to the command prompt opening. You may simply need to press the Continue button if you are the administrator or insert the administrator password etc.
6. In the Command Prompt window, type: sfc /scannow and then press Enter
7. A message will appear stating that ‘the system scan will begin’
8. Be patient because the scan may take some time
9. If any files require replacing SFC will replace them. You may be asked to insert your Vista DVD for this process to continue
10. If everything is okay you should, after the scan, see the following message «Windows resource protection did not find any integrity violations»
11. After the scan has completed, Close the command prompt window restart the computer and check.
The scan may take some time, so be patient. Windows will repair any corrupted or missing files that it finds. If information from the installation CD is needed to repair the problem, you may be prompted to insert your Windows Vista.
For more information refer the below link.
How to use the System File Checker tool to troubleshoot missing or corrupted system files on Windows Vista or on Windows 7
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929833
If the above step fails I would suggest that you check if you have similar issue in the safe mode.
Steps to boot to Safe mode
1. Restart your computer if it is powered on.
2. Tap the F8 key after your computer initially powers on.
3. Once you see the Advanced Boot Options menu you can stop tapping.
4. Use the up/down arrow keys to highlight your selection.
5. Select Safe Mode and press Enter.
6. You should see drivers loading, and then Please wait.
7. You should then be at the Welcome Screen.
8. Logon to your computer using an account with Administrator privileges.
If you do not face similar issue in the safe mode I would suggest that you try the clean boot procedure and check if it works.
How to troubleshoot a problem by performing a clean boot in Windows Vista or in Windows 7
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135
Reset the computer to start as usual
After you have finished troubleshooting, follow these steps to reset the computer to start as usual:
Click Start, type msconfig.exe in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.
If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type your password, or click Continue.
On the General tab, click the Normal Startup option, and then click OK.
When you are prompted to restart the computer, click Restart.
Halima S — Microsoft Support.
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