NetFAQs: Windows - Dial Up Connections

WINSOCK.DLL Repair For Win95a (pre-OSR2)

Overview of WINSOCK.DLL

WINSOCK.DLL is a major networking component in the Windows 95a (pre-OSR2) operating system. If it is missing or damaged then you will be able to connect but you won't be able to surf or do e-mail. You will also have problems if there are multiple copies of winsock.dll installed on your computer. Reinstalling dial-up networking, the dial-up adapter or TCP/IP won't fix this problem. This page will tell you how to find and fix that file.

Your fix will depend upon whether you have the Win95 installation CD or cab files on your computer.

Warning: If you are used to repairing wsock32.dll for Win95b then please note that winsock.dll is installed in C:\Windows rather than C:\Windows\System.

There are 5 steps to this process:
    1) Locate winsock.dll on your computer
    2) Delete any extra copies of winsock.dll
    3) Locate .cab files either on your computer or on your Win98 CD
    4) Extract winsock.dll from the .cab files
        4a) You can use the .cab files on your CD
        4b) Or, you can use the .cab files on your computer
    5) Replace your old winsock.dll with the newly extracted copy of winsock.dll

Note: There are multiple ways to do this. We've tried to pick the easiest and safest route.

Step 1: Locating WINSOCK.DLL on Your Computer:

Let's begin with locating the WINSOCK.DLL on your computer.

Click the Start button, then choose Find, then choose Files or folders, as pictured below.

The "Find" window is pictured below. Make sure that the Look in box is pointing to the C: drive (or whatever drive letter is assigned to your hard drive). If not, click the drop-down arrow at the right side of that box to choose the C: drive.

In the Named box, type winsock.dll and hit the Find Now button. You will get a response similar to the one pictured below. In this example, you can see that the "in folder" column shows that winsock.dll is located in "C:\Windows". Write this down, as you'll need that address soon.

The winsock.dll file will probably be about 42 kb in size if it is uncorrupted.

Step 2: Delete any extra copies of WINSOCK.DLL

The winsock.dll file will probably be about 42 kb in size if it is uncorrupted. Remove any extra copies of winsock.dll so that there is only one copy. Restart your computer and see if you can surf the Web now.

If you still cannot surf or do e-mail then put in a new copy of that file as described below. Your fix will depend upon whether you have the Win95 installation CD or cab files on your computer. Choose the correct option.

Step 3: Locating .cab files

Let's begin with locating the "cab" files to see if we even need the Win98 installation CD.

Click the Start button, then choose Find, then choose Files or folders, as pictured below.

In the Named box, type win95_02.cab and hit the Find Now button. You will get a response similar to the one pictured below. In this example, you can see that the "In Folder" column points to a a cab file in "C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\Cabs" so write that down. You'll need that address soon.

If the .cab files are not located on your computer, you will have to use the .cab files on your Windows 95 CD. Click the drop-down arrow at the right side of the "Look in" box to choose the D: drive (or whatever letter your CD-ROM drive happens to be), and repeat the search. In this case, you should find the win95_02.cab file in the "D:\Win95" folder.

Step 4: Extracting WINSOCK.DLL from .cab Files on your CD or Hard Drive

How you extract WINSOCK.DLL depends on whether your .cab files are located on your Hard Disk or you Win95 CD.
Step 3 above explained how to find whether the .cab files are located on the CD or Hard Disk.
Step 4a covers extracting from the Win95 CD. Step 4b covers extracting from the Hard Drive.

Option A: Extracting WINSOCK.DLL from the Windows 95 CD:

The following assumes that your CD-ROM drive is the D: drive.

Go to Start -> Programs -> MS-DOS Prompt, as shown below.

You will be presented with an MS-DOS prompt, as below.

At the C:\> prompt type the following four commands (the smiley face J represents a space):

    D:
    CD J \WIN95
    EXTRACT J /A J WIN95_02.CAB J WINSOCK.DLL J /L J C:\
    EXIT

WINSOCK.DLL has been extracted from the .cab files on your CD and placed onto your C: drive.

Go to step 5.

Option B: Extracting WINSOCK.DLL from the Hard Drive:

The following assumes that your Hard Drive is the C: drive.

Go to Start -> Programs -> MS-DOS Prompt, as shown below.

You will be presented with an MS-DOS prompt, as below.

At the C:\> prompt type the following three commands (the smiley face J represents a space):

    CD J WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS
    EXTRACT J /A J WIN95_02.CAB J WINSOCK.DLL J /L J C:\
    EXIT

WINSOCK.DLL has been extracted from the .cab files on your computer and placed onto your C: drive.

Go to step 5.

Step 5: Replacing the Old WINSOCK.DLL with the Newly Extracted WINSOCK.DLL

Click Start, then Shutdown, as shown below.

Choose the last option to Restart in MS-DOS mode. Then click OK.

After your computer restarts, you will be presented with an MS-DOS prompt, as below.

At the C:\> prompt type the following four commands (the smiley face J represents a space):

    CD J \WINDOWS
    REN J WINSOCK.OLD J WINSOCK.DLL
    MOVE J C:\WINSOCK.DLL J C:\WINDOWS
    RESTART

Reboot the computer into regular Windows mode after you've made these changes to make them take effect.

Your WINSOCK.DLL is now completely refreshed.