How To Resolve WAB.dll Errors

Wab.dll (Web Address Book) is a module used by the Windows Address Book application, Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Outlook Express programs. This file is used primarily to store & load email and contact data, allowing your computer to store and open the various contact details that your computer has stored inside.

Typically, the wab.dll file will cause these errors on your system:

• wab.dll is misisng
• wab.dll not found
• missing WAB.dll file
• An error occurred while attempting to open the WAB. Unable to find the WAB.DLL.
• Windows Address Book DLL missing.

What Causes Wab.dll Errors?

Wab.dll errors are caused by a multitude of different issues inside the Windows system. Such problems include the corruption of the wab.dll file, your version of Outlook not being compatible with your Windows system, virus infections and corrupt / damaged registry settings.

How To Fix Wab.dll Errors

Step 1 – Reinstall Outlook Express & Outlook

The first thing you should do is to reinstall Outlook express and Outlook on your system. These are the applications which use the wab.dll file and by reinstalling them, you’ll be able to place a new wab.dll file on your PC. Here’s what you need to do:

Rename Wab32.dll

1. Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files Or Folders.
2. Type “Wab32.dll” in the Named box, and then click Find Now.
3. With the right mouse button, click Wab32.dll, and on the shortcut menu, click Rename. Type Wab32.old, and press ENTER.

Reinstall Outlook Express

1. Click Start >Control Panel.
2. Click on Add/Remove Programs.
3. On the Window that appears, click on Windows Setup > Components,
4. Uncheck theMicrosoft Outlook Express checkbox.
5. Click “Apply“ to save the changes.
6. To reinstall Outlook Express, select the Microsoft Outlook Express option and click Apply.

Step 2 – Repair Outlook 2000 & Vista Errors

If you are still using Outlook 2000 on the likes of Vista or Windows 7, you will be seeing this error because of a compatibility issue between Outlook and your operating system. To fix this, you should copy the wab.dll file from your system folder to your system32 folder. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Browse to C:\Windows\System on your PC
2. Locate the wab32.dll and wab32res.dll files
3. Copy both files to your clipboard
4. Paste both files into your C:\Windows\System32 folder
5. Click Start > Run (search “run” in Vista)
6. Type “cmd” in the box
7. In the black application that appears, type: regsvr32 wab32.dll and regsvr32 wab32res.dll and hit “Enter”

Step 3 – Clean Out Viruses

• Download This Virus Scanner

Antivirus programs are software tools which scan through your PC and remove any of the viruses or malware infections that are on your system. It’s often the case that viruses will infect various DLL files on your computer and then cause them to be unreadable to your PC. To ensure this is not happening on your computer, you should try using an antivirus program to scan through your system and remove any of the infections that cause all these errors. You can download our recommended antivirus program from the link above, but there are a large variety of programs available.

Step 4 – Clean The Registry

• Download This Registry Cleaner

The ‘registry’ is a big database inside Windows which keeps a large list of references for the DLL files on your system. This central database is where Windows keeps a list of the DLL file locations for your computer, and is where your system looks each time it wants to use a dll file such as wab32.dll / wab.dll. Unfortunately, it’s prone to becoming damaged and corrupted and is constantly being unable to read the files and references that it needs to open the files that it wants. You can use a registry cleaner to fix this problem, as it will scan through the registry database and fix any of the damaged and corrupted files that are causing problems. You can see our recommended registry cleaner below: