xlive.dll is missing or fails to load: what the file is and how to fix it
xlive.dll is the Games for Windows - LIVE library from Microsoft, the component older PC games use for sign-in, achievements, saves tied to a profile and online play. It is not part of Windows itself: the game's setup installs the Games for Windows - LIVE Redistributable, and that package puts xlive.dll into the Windows system folder. When a game says the file is missing, that package was never installed, was only partly installed, or the file was removed, and the game's own setup can put it back.
Prefer to fix it yourself? The manual steps follow.
How to fix xlive.dll errors
The file belongs to Games for Windows - LIVE, which the game installs as a separate package. Open Settings, Apps, Installed apps (or Control Panel, Programs and Features) and look for Microsoft Games for Windows - LIVE Redistributable and Microsoft Games for Windows Marketplace. If they are there, uninstall both, restart the PC, and then install them again from the game: run its setup from the disc or the game folder, or, for a game bought on Steam, start it from the Library so Steam runs its first-time setup again. A reinstall of the game does the same in one step. If xlive.dll disappears again afterwards, your security software is removing it: look at its protection history before you do anything else.
An xlive.dll from a DLL download site, from another PC or from a game folder is not the fix. You cannot tell which build it is or whether it is Microsoft's at all, and a copy dropped next to the game's .exe is loaded before the real one in the Windows folder, so a wrong or modified file there breaks the game or does things you never agreed to.
Which games and programs use xlive.dll
Microsoft gave Games for Windows - LIVE to game publishers as a runtime they ship with their games. The game does not keep xlive.dll in its own folder: its setup installs the redistributable, and the redistributable places one shared copy in the Windows system folder for every GFWL game on the PC. These are the cases you will meet.
| Program | Made by | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Games for Windows - LIVE Redistributable | Microsoft Corporation | The runtime package that installs xlive.dll. On 64-bit Windows the 32-bit file goes into C:\Windows\SysWOW64, on 32-bit Windows into C:\Windows\System32. It shows in the list of installed apps under its own name, which is how you can tell it is there. |
| Microsoft Games for Windows Marketplace | Microsoft Corporation | The client program installed next to the redistributable. When the runtime is half installed, the setup may skip straight to its last screen; uninstalling both and installing again makes it copy the files once more. |
| GFWL games bought on disc or as a boxed download | The game's publisher, with Microsoft's runtime | The game's setup runs the Games for Windows - LIVE installer as one of its steps. If you skipped or cancelled that step, run the game's setup again, or look in its install media for the folder that holds the redistributables. |
| GFWL games bought on Steam or another store | The game's publisher, installed through the store | The store runs the GFWL setup the first time you start the game. A Microsoft Q&A thread about Batman: Arkham City on Steam shows that step and the missing xlive.dll that follows when it fails. Starting the game from the store, or reinstalling it, repeats that step. |
| Games updated to work without GFWL | The game's publisher | Some publishers have released versions of their games without Games for Windows - LIVE. If the store offers such an update for your game, installing it can remove the need for xlive.dll entirely. Only the publisher's own update counts here. |
| Cracked or modified copies of GFWL games | Unknown | They often put their own xlive.dll in the game's folder in place of Microsoft's runtime, so the game skips the GFWL sign-in. That file is not Microsoft's, and the download it came with is the real risk. That is a security question, covered on the page linked below. |
Step by step
- Find out whether Games for Windows - LIVE is installed. Open Settings, Apps, Installed apps, or Control Panel, Programs and Features, and search for Games for Windows. You should see Microsoft Games for Windows - LIVE Redistributable and usually Microsoft Games for Windows Marketplace. If neither is there, the game's GFWL step never ran: go to step 4.
- Look at your security software's protection history. In Windows Security open Virus and threat protection, Protection history; other security programs have a quarantine or a history list of their own. If xlive.dll from C:\Windows\SysWOW64 or C:\Windows\System32 is listed, you know why it is gone. Check the full path of the entry before you decide anything: a copy from the system folder is the runtime, a copy from a game folder is something else.
- Uninstall both Games for Windows - LIVE entries. Uninstall Microsoft Games for Windows - LIVE Redistributable and Microsoft Games for Windows Marketplace, then restart the PC. A half installed runtime is the most common reason the setup reports success while xlive.dll stays missing: removing it first makes the next install copy every file again.
- Install the runtime again from the game. For a disc or boxed game, run its setup again and let it install Games for Windows - LIVE. For a game on Steam or another store, start it from the store's library, so the store runs the game's first-time setup, and accept the GFWL installer when it appears. Then check that xlive.dll is in C:\Windows\SysWOW64 on 64-bit Windows or C:\Windows\System32 on 32-bit Windows.
- If the file was removed again, deal with the detection. Only for a runtime you installed from the game's own setup: when the security program removes Microsoft's xlive.dll from the system folder a second time, it is a false positive. Restore the file from quarantine, allow that one file, and report it to the maker of the security program as a false detection. Never allow an xlive.dll that came with a cracked copy of a game.
- Remove extra copies from the game folder. Search the game's folder for xlive.dll. A legitimate GFWL game leaves it to the system folder, so a copy next to the .exe, often with a .ini file beside it, was added by a mod or a crack and is loaded instead of the real one. Remove the mod with its own uninstaller, or reinstall the game so its folder is clean again.
- Reinstall the game. Uninstall it, check that its folder is gone (move your own save files first if the game keeps them there), and install it again. A clean install runs the GFWL step from the start and removes files that a mod or a damaged update left behind. If the store offers a version of the game without GFWL, install that one.
What not to do
Do not download xlive.dll from a DLL site.
The catalogue below lists several Microsoft builds of very different sizes, and a download site tells you nothing about which one you get or whether it is Microsoft's at all. A file of unknown origin that every GFWL game loads runs with your rights each time you play.
Do not copy xlive.dll into the game folder.
Windows looks in the program's own folder before the system folders, so a copy there wins over the runtime's file. If it does not match the runtime that is installed, the game fails with an ordinal error or crashes at the sign-in screen. Keep the file where the redistributable puts it.
Do not copy the file between System32 and SysWOW64.
xlive.dll is a 32-bit library. On 64-bit Windows it belongs in SysWOW64, which is where 32-bit programs look when they ask for the system folder. A game that reports System32 in its message on 64-bit Windows is still reading SysWOW64; putting a second copy into the 64-bit System32 folder fixes nothing and stays behind.
Do not restore a quarantined xlive.dll from a cracked game.
Cracked copies of GFWL games often replace the runtime with their own xlive.dll in the game folder, and downloads of such copies often carry real malware. A detection there may be correct. Restoring the file and switching protection off is how infections from free game downloads start.
Do not install the runtime from a random mirror.
Install Games for Windows - LIVE from the game's own setup, disc or store. A repackaged installer from an unknown site can carry anything, and you have no way to tell it apart from the real one until it has run.
Check the copy on your PC
Choose the xlive.dll from C:\Windows\SysWOW64 (or the copy you found elsewhere). Its checksum is calculated in your browser and compared with 9 copies of the file collected from PCs, all reporting Microsoft Corporation.
The file stays on your computer. Nothing is uploaded: the checksum is computed locally.
Found an xlive.dll inside a game folder, with a .ini file next to it, or in a game you did not get from its publisher or a store? Then the question is whether it is Microsoft's file at all, and that is a security question rather than a missing-file one. Is xlive.dll Microsoft's file or a crack? On 2-Spyware
The error messages and what each one means
The wording points to the cause: a runtime that was never installed, a file of the wrong build, or a file that is damaged. These are the texts Windows and games show, with the file name filled in.
The code execution cannot proceed because xlive.dll was not found. Reinstalling the program may fix this problem.
Windows 10 and Windows 11 wording. The Games for Windows - LIVE runtime is not installed, is half installed, or its file was quarantined. Check the protection history, then uninstall both GFWL entries and install them again from the game.
The program can't start because xlive.dll is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem.
The same situation in the older Windows wording. Same fix: reinstall the GFWL runtime from the game's setup, or reinstall the game.
File Not Found: Windows/System32/xlive.dll
A message from the game itself rather than Windows, reported in a Microsoft Q&A thread. On 64-bit Windows the 32-bit game is redirected to SysWOW64, so check that folder. If the file is not there either, the GFWL setup did not complete: uninstall both entries, restart, and install again.
The ordinal ... could not be located in the dynamic link library xlive.dll.
An xlive.dll was found, but it lacks a function the game asks for by number. Typical when a copy from another source sits in the game folder or the installed runtime does not match what the game expects. Remove extra copies from the game folder and reinstall the runtime from the game.
xlive.dll is either not designed to run on Windows or it contains an error.
Windows found the file but it is damaged or not a valid library, often after an interrupted install or a disk error. Uninstall and reinstall the GFWL runtime. If other files show the same message, check the drive.
Faulting module name: xlive.dll
A line from the Application log in Event Viewer after a crash. Look at the Faulting module path of the same event: a path inside the game folder points to a mod or a replaced file, a path in SysWOW64 or System32 to the runtime itself. In the second case, reinstall the runtime from the game.
File facts
xlive.dll is the 32-bit library of Games for Windows - LIVE, Microsoft's service for PC games that linked them to an Xbox profile. A game loads it at start-up, and through it reaches sign-in, achievements, friends, profile-bound saves and online play. Because one copy in the system folder serves every GFWL game on the PC, removing or damaging it stops all of them at once, which is a quick way to tell a runtime problem from a problem with one game. What the catalogue copies of the file report:
- Description in the file
- Games for Windows - LIVE DLL
- Company in the file
- Microsoft Corporation
The Games for Windows - LIVE Redistributable installs xlive.dll into C:\Windows\SysWOW64 on 64-bit Windows and into C:\Windows\System32 on 32-bit Windows; every copy in the catalogue is a 32-bit build. The genuine file describes itself as Games for Windows - LIVE DLL from Microsoft Corporation (Properties, Details) and is large for a DLL, about 7 MB to 15 MB across the copies listed below. One catalogue copy describes itself as SDK Debug LIVE DLL, a developer build that a normal game install does not need. A copy in a game folder is not part of the runtime.
Copies of xlive.dll found on PCs
Public DLL catalogues have collected 9 copies of xlive.dll uploaded from PCs, from version 1.0.6027.0 to 3.5.92.0, all reporting Microsoft Corporation as the company. The table lists them with their checksums, so you can tell whether your file is one of them.
Each copy came from the Games for Windows - LIVE runtime installed on some PC, in the build that PC had. The newest copy here, 3.5.92.0, is not something to drop into a folder by hand: install the runtime from your game, and it brings the build it was made to work with.
| Version | Build | Size | MD5 | SHA-1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
3.5.92.0 | 32-bit | 14.7 MB | 6b78ebb4ddba9000bdbd2973f0e6cd85 | b481743270ca1a9b2a22e26f765bb7e4733974f5 |
3.5.88.0 | 32-bit | 14.7 MB | 0db5f0c1759148f1bf187fa2f87871e7 | 9de2d9d4d1d7a4da74f9d4063da4eabbcdcf9889 |
3.5.88.0 | 32-bit | 10.3 MB | 1b0be61862d5eabfd7a105af9c5516fb | 45b7f22c478df3990d4389ba819b1f05d143a58d |
3.1.99.0 | 32-bit | 14.7 MB | cbf527d9e83e00915d2d49c9ac203bb2 | c0bd7978d42f62bdbad735577af168ad64adf2c6 |
3.0.19.0 | 32-bit | 11.1 MB | d0966f4d9f4bb1811e5c9829cc722825 | 9563b80a9ea54f66f499ed9b3c831e2871d71511 |
3.0.17.0 | 32-bit | 14.6 MB | e6652e8fa5a48e0d930ae15cad167b35 | dfb59f32b09a5b3dd565668512771c33ae0bab2a |
2.0.687.0 | 32-bit | 13.6 MB | 8add582a45abb1b430d697281eded3b6 | 121bec16a467e8f8d9ce5ccf48f9742da3eecf6b |
2.0.673.0 | 32-bit | 13.6 MB | 390d9a1c1fbf422d654a5e708082fbea | 39e5d8c7511f1fd852143f416fda034dd84d6831 |
1.0.6027.0 | 32-bit | 7.3 MB | c61f401bdfd611c514909f5642634f45 | 718cf04ae07cc76ef84e9fb5768ccd64d10fc234 |
Copies uploaded by users to a public DLL catalogue, read on 17 October 2026. We list their checksums so you can identify a file; we do not offer them for download and we did not verify each one against Microsoft's signature.
Questions people ask
Is xlive.dll a virus?
Microsoft's xlive.dll, installed by the Games for Windows - LIVE runtime into the system folder, is a harmless library. Cracked copies of GFWL games put a modified xlive.dll into the game folder, and downloads of such copies often carry real malware, which is why the name shows up in detections. Read the security page linked above for a copy of unknown origin.
Where should xlive.dll be?
In C:\Windows\SysWOW64 on 64-bit Windows, because it is a 32-bit library, and in C:\Windows\System32 on 32-bit Windows. The Games for Windows - LIVE Redistributable puts it there. A legitimate GFWL game does not need its own copy in the game folder.
Can I download xlive.dll and put it in the game folder?
You should not. A copy in the game folder is loaded before the runtime's file, so a wrong build breaks the game even when the runtime is fine, and a downloaded file is of unknown origin. Install Games for Windows - LIVE from the game's setup or store instead; it puts the right file in the right place.
Why do all my GFWL games fail at once?
Because they share one xlive.dll in the system folder. When that copy is missing, damaged or quarantined, every game that uses Games for Windows - LIVE fails in the same way. Check the protection history, then uninstall and reinstall the runtime from any one of the games.
The GFWL installer says it finished, but xlive.dll is still missing. Why?
The installer saw an existing, half installed runtime and skipped the copy step. Uninstall both Microsoft Games for Windows - LIVE Redistributable and Microsoft Games for Windows Marketplace, restart, and run the installer from the game again. Also check the protection history: security software may have removed the file during the install.
Can I play a game without xlive.dll?
A game built with Games for Windows - LIVE loads the library at start-up and stops if it is missing, even for single-player. Some publishers released versions of their games without GFWL; if your store offers one, that version does not need the file. Taking the file away from a GFWL game only stops it from starting.
Related guides
xlive.dll is missing or fails to load: what the file is and how to fix it
FixHow to fix xlive.dll missing or not found error in Windows?
FixHow to fix Entry Point Not Found error in Windows?
FixHow to fix Grounded "Hosting Game Error" in Windows?
Sources
- Microsoft Q&A: GFWL installer does not install xlive.dll to System32 (SysWOW64 on 64-bit Windows)
- Microsoft Learn: Dynamic-link library search order
- Microsoft Learn: File System Redirector (System32 and SysWOW64)
File data read on October 17, 2026.
The editors who write and check uGetFix guides and reference pages. File facts are read from Microsoft's own installers and documentation, and every page shows the date its data was read.
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