Registering a .dll

[CondorMan]

I have XP Pro SP2 and have just installed IIS. As part of the instructions, I had to download and register cdonts.dll. I've also had to register several .dll files when I've been trying to resolve a problem with MSN Messenger. I have several questions (so be gentle!):

1. What does it actually mean to "register" a .dll (I don't mean running the command <regsvr32 name_of_file.dll> at Start>Run)?

2. If I decide to uninstall IIS, I could remove cdonts.dll as it's clearly not needed by anything else. Is it necessary/possible to de-register it first, or could I just delete it? If I do so and then re-install IIS, would I have to re-register cdonts.dll?

3. As IIS is on the XP Pro installation disk, why isn't cdonts.dll there also? I had to download it from a website.

4. Is it possible to find out what programs etc. use a particular .dll (i.e. by running a command or examining a Windows facility, rather than by googling for generic information)?

Sorry to have so many questions but they all relate to the same topic and it seemed logical to do it this way, rather than have several individual posts.

Thanks for your time and patience.

 

[electronicsfreak]

First off im not really sure on why or what it means by registering but here is how you register them.
if using fat 32:
regsvr32 \windows\system32\filename.dll

if using ntfs
regsvr32 \WINNT\system32\filename.dll

As for the rest of your questions sorry to say but i have no answers for. I know nothing about the other stuff i just have a webpaged saved that shows how to register files for i have had to do it before.

 

[linney]

What is a DLL?

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;815065

I suppose that in simple terms, you register a .dll so it becomes known to Windows, otherwise it cannot be loaded into the library of .dlls, recognized and available to Windows. Un-registering will remove it from the library.

I suppose if you 100% sure a .dll is no longer required you can just delete it, it is only necessary to remove it from the library from a book keeping point of view.

In normal circumstances the install and uninstall processes of programs will take care of the registering and unregistering of required .dlls.

Description of CDONTS and how to troubleshoot CDONTS problems in Windows 2000 and in Windows NT 4.0

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;324649

The above article would tend to suggest that part of your networking setup has something to do with older systems?



"what programs etc. use a particular .dll"

Handle v3.1

http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/Handle.html

Process Explorer v9.25

http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/ProcessExplorer.html

Faber Toys

http://www.faberbox.com/fabertoys.asp?action=features

 

[CondorMan]

Thanks to both of you for the contributions. I had hoped there was a way to determine which processes were using a particular .dll without resorting to third party software. I wouldn't want to delete a .dll if it was being used by something.

I mentioned cdonts.dll and IIS only because this was my first involvement with loading and registering a .dll - hence my interest in knowing more.

 

[electronicsfreak]

N/p, I try to help when I can lol.