Hello all,

I got Fallout 3 the other day and upon installation I got the following error after trying to start it:

"The program can't start because binkw32.dll is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem."

I am running on a completely clean install of Windows 7 with no other programs installed. Googling the issue, I found that this is some sort of registry problem but I don't see how a clean OS install could have any registry issues. I tried reinstalling several times to no avail. The DLL file is present in the Fallout 3 directory so I guess it is just in the wrong place. I tried moving it to the System directory but this also yields the same error. I have run Oblivion on this computer before without any issues and to my understanding it uses the same file. The computer is running an Intel i3 processor and a GeForce 9500 GT video card.

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. If I need to post more info just let me know.

binkw32.dll sounds like it is a windows file and not one for Fallout 3, so try moving it somewhere in the windows directory, because that is probably where it is looking for it

Its the file that helps to associate Bink video codec to the game. Where did you get the game, is it the disk version or from Steam?

I got a hard copy of the game from the store, it isn't from Steam.

more than likely it is bink but it looks like it was supposed to come preloaded with windows so try installing that

Since its a clean install, try installing direct x.

Direct X is installed and up to date, so that doesn't seem to be the issue.

Any other ideas? I'm really not sure what to do at this point. :/

I can upload a copy of binkw32.dll from my Fallout 3 directory to the Fallout 3 Nexus site if you want me to.

Well the thing is, I have the file. It is currently in C:\Program Files\Bethesda Softworks\Fallout 3. But I assume that isnt the correct directory since it can't seem to find it. So my question is really, where should it be?

Can someone perhaps check and see what directory the binkw32.dll file is saved under?

Mine is right where yours is. If you're using Windows 7, you should try moving the game out of Program Files, the UAC system can cause problems with the game. Put it in something like C:\Games\Fallout 3. That will also save you some hassles when you get around to adding some mods as well, the Windows security system causes problems when trying to use them.