The “Steam Controller procedure entry point could not be located in the dynamic link library” error in Windows 7/8/10 is caused by a corrupt, damaged, or incompatible DLL file.
The error is synonymous with games, but it’s actually present in a host of other apps as well.
The core of the error is that the application in question (in your case, Steam) will not be able to load a particular DLL file, which will cause the system to crash with the error cited in your message. For any of the variants of this error, the problem lies in having a DLL that does not have the valid functionality required for the application to function correctly.
The error will be displayed with the following message:
- [x].exe – Entry point not found
The SteamController procedure entry point could not be located in the dynamic link library steam_api.dll
Causes
The problem you are experiencing is the result of calling a DLL, but not having a function available from within.
While many people will simply tell you to replace the DLL (which is a valid strategy), there may be deeper issues with Windows or the application that is generating the error. Therefore, in order to properly resolve the issue, you must be absolutely sure that you have fixed any of the possible errors that may be causing it to show up, which may be with Windows or other applications on your system.
The root cause of the error is that another program overwrote the DLL your application is trying to access.
This could be due to an accident or the other program could have been designed to do it (in the case of antivirus applications). In either case, the solution is to make sure that your underlying system is working properly and then that any of the DLL files/settings your computer has are working properly as well. The following should help you fix the various errors you are experiencing.
To be more specific about the steam_api.dll error itself, every time you use a Steam-enabled game, it has to connect to Steam via its “API”. An API is an application programming interface, which in technical terms refers to a set of links/actions that can be called by another program, for a standalone application.
For example, if you try to load COD and log in with Steam, COD will use the Steam API to log into your service. Ultimately, what it means is that even though the error cites Steam, Steam is *not* likely to be the problem. The biggest problem is that your game overwrote the original steam_api.dll with one that didn’t work so well. Either way, the fixes are listed below…
Solution
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reinstall steam
The first step is to reinstall Steam
While I mentioned that Steam is not the problem, the core problem is that your game will have overwritten steam_api.dll. As such, you need to make sure that you can recover the original version, which means reinstalling it. Doing this is quick and simple:
– Press the “Windows” + “R” keys on your keyboard
– Type “control.exe appwiz.cpl” and press “OK”
– From the displayed list select “Steam”, right click and select “Uninstall”
– Wait for the uninstall to complete and restart your PC
After the system restarts, you should be able to download and install the latest version of Steam. To do this, simply head over to the Steam website and download the latest version of the client.
Download and install it. After doing this, reboot your system again and try to load the game. Since reinstallation replaces all Steam files, steam_api.dll should be replaced with the latest version.
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Reinstall the affected software
If you don’t have Steam, or the reinstall doesn’t work, you’ll need to reinstall any of the affected programs.
The error you are experiencing is usually displayed when you are running a game (which is based on Steam). As such, the best way to ensure that you don’t have any corrupted files or settings is to simply reinstall said game. This is done by following these steps:
– Press the “Windows” + “R” keys on your keyboard
– Type “control.exe appwiz.cpl” and press “OK”
– From the list displayed, select the game, right click and select “Uninstall”
– Wait for the uninstall to complete and restart your PC
Once restarted, you’ll want to try reinstalling the game, preferably by downloading a fresh copy from the internet. After doing this, reboot again and see if the error still occurs. If so, continue with the next steps.
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windows update
The next step is to update Windows.
This may seem trivial, but the number of people running dangerously out-of-date systems is remarkable (check out WannaCry for proof of this). Updating Windows is free, and for me at least, there’s no reason I shouldn’t want to. The process is very simple and ensures that any potential errors within your system are properly resolved…
windows 7
– Click on the “Start” button (bottom left)
– Click on “Control Panel”
– Click on “System and Security”
– Under the “Windows Update” heading, select “Check for updates”
– Download and install any updates it finds
windows 10
– Right click on the “Start” button (bottom left taskbar)
– Select “Settings”
– Click on “Update and security”
– Click on “Check for updates”
– Let the system download and install any of the updates it requires
This may require a reboot.
And honestly, it probably won’t fix your error… but it should ensure that the system works as smoothly as possible (fixing most of the bugs that could cause it to show up). The next step should resolve the error if it is still displayed.
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Download and replace steam_api.dll on your system
Finally, you will want to download and replace steam_api.dll on your system.
Most tutorials will recommend this from the start. While it is ok, there might be other issues at play that’s why we try to reinstall it first. It is much better to obtain the “official” file from the software vendor by installing the software than simply downloading a DLL from the Internet. Since they didn’t work, we’ll have to follow the steps outlined here to replace the DLL on your system:
– Go to Google and search for “steam_api.dll” download
– There will be a number of sites listed at the top (usually dll-files.com or similar)
– Choose one and then browse to download the applicable steam_api.dll for your system (be careful to choose the correct x86/x64 version)
– Once you find a good site, download the ZIP to your hard drive
– Open the ZIP and extract the DLL contained within
– Right click on the DLL and select “Copy”
– Go to c:/Windows/System32, right click on a blank space and select “Paste”
– If the system asks to overwrite an existing file, select “OK”
– From here, you need to press the “Windows” + “R” keys on your keyboard
– In the “Command Prompt”, type the following, pressing “Enter” after each one: regsvr32 /u steam_api.dll + regsvr32 /I steam_api.dll
This should display a “success” message. After doing this, reboot your system and try playing the game again.
If you are still experiencing the error, it suggests that you have more specific issues with your system.
As this is an internet article, I do not have access to any of the potential specifications your system may have.
Instead, I would recommend going to a resource that *does* give you the ability to fix any of the issues that may be contributing to more errors. To do this, you may want to consider reviewing various types of resources…
You *could* take the system to a local repair guy in the first place, but in all honesty, it will cost you money for a service where the guy will basically just do what’s here. Second, it has several online resources, namely “question/answer” communities and live online support.
For this type of error, it would be best to go to an online support community, either Microsoft Answers or SuperUser, which will be able to provide you with the ability to receive feedback specific to your system.
This can be done by clicking through to any of the aforementioned sites, signing up for free, and then “asking” a question. Put the full error message as the title and the description of how it loads as the message and then you will have to wait (usually around 2/3 hours) for any response. MA’s answers are generally pretty generic; The superuser answers are more specific, but entirely dependent on the guys who are submitting them (most of whom aren’t very good).