<![CDATA[Installing Opera 20]]>While trying to install Opera 20, I get an error:

"launcher.exe - Unable to Locate Component

This application has failed to start because WindowsCodec.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem."

Is this because the "windowscodec.dll" file is missing or is this because I'm trying to install on a work PC and has admin restrictions or both? If that is the case, how am I able to install Chrome and not Opera?

Is there a work-around to install Opera 20?

Thanks in advance.

]]>https://forums.opera.com/topic/1570/installing-opera-20RSS for NodeWed, 15 Jul 2026 05:20:44 GMTTue, 25 Mar 2014 20:58:37 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Installing Opera 20 on Thu, 17 Jul 2014 07:17:45 GMT]]>Well, visitorx, thank you, once again for your post...

I left that company...joined a new one, been 3 days now... and guess what, I'm typing this post from the latest Opera browser...!!!

Yaaay.... 🙂

Now, for the unrelated topic... just bought Lumia 1520, no Opera... :-(((((

]]>https://forums.opera.com/post/45374https://forums.opera.com/post/45374Thu, 17 Jul 2014 07:17:45 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Installing Opera 20 on Fri, 27 Jun 2014 12:38:32 GMT]]>I reformatted my PC again, and I faced the same problem with opera, failure in loading launcher_lib.dll. And just after installing(wic); the 32-bit windows imaging component the prolem was fixed. So now I am sure that this software can solve this problem with opera.

This is not a patch, it's rather a windows software. You can download it using this link https://www.mediafire.com/?pdhswoonci991r6 or look for it on the NET.

]]>https://forums.opera.com/post/43668https://forums.opera.com/post/43668Fri, 27 Jun 2014 12:38:32 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Installing Opera 20 on Thu, 01 May 2014 16:52:36 GMT]]>

Hi
That's me again, and Eureka 🙂
I found the solution. I was looking in some sites trying to find a solution for this problem. In a site they mentioned (wic), then I remembered that I have this component among the sotftware programs I save here. So I intalled it and it worked wonderfully. I could install Opera 20.0.1387.91.
I uploaded the file on mediafire so that you can download it easily.
the 32-bit windows imaging component (wic) (1.7 MB)
https://www.mediafire.com/?pdhswoonci991r6
Of course this is fore woindows 32-bit, if your system is 64-bit then you have to for it. Hope this will work for you. Good Luck 🙂

Thank you, visitorx... I will download and install this "patch" and see if this works. Does it need admin access to run this exec file?

]]>https://forums.opera.com/post/37332https://forums.opera.com/post/37332Thu, 01 May 2014 16:52:36 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Installing Opera 20 on Mon, 21 Apr 2014 15:21:26 GMT]]>Hi
That's me again, and Eureka 🙂
I found the solution. I was looking in some sites trying to find a solution for this problem. In a site they mentioned (wic), then I remembered that I have this component among the sotftware programs I save here. So I intalled it and it worked wonderfully. I could install Opera 20.0.1387.91.
I uploaded the file on mediafire so that you can download it easily.

the 32-bit windows imaging component (wic) (1.7 MB)
https://www.mediafire.com/?pdhswoonci991r6

Of course this is fore woindows 32-bit, if your system is 64-bit then you have to for it. Hope this will work for you. Good Luck 🙂

]]>https://forums.opera.com/post/35827https://forums.opera.com/post/35827Mon, 21 Apr 2014 15:21:26 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Installing Opera 20 on Mon, 21 Apr 2014 13:53:16 GMT]]>hi,
I am facing the same problem with opera. I don't think this has anything to do with the version of Windows. I am using XP3, and everything was working perfectly. I tried all opera versions: Opera 20, Opera developer, and Opera next. There was no problem installing them with XP2 or XP3. But since I reformatted my PC, I got this error: Opera failed loading launcher_lib.dll because windowscodecs.dll is missing. I tried DLL-files fixer but still not working. I am looking for a site from where I can download windowscodecs.dll. I hope I will find a solution soon. Now I am using Firefox, it's not bad, but it's just that I am used to Opera.

]]>https://forums.opera.com/post/35824https://forums.opera.com/post/35824Mon, 21 Apr 2014 13:53:16 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Installing Opera 20 on Tue, 24 Oct 2017 09:30:33 GMT]]>

I'm 99% sure I've solved this issue, at least for some of us. See my last post in this other thread: https://forums.opera.com/topic/1636/failed-loading-launcher_lib-dll-please-reinstall-opera/14
It looks like we may be permanently stuck at 20 or thereabouts because Chrome is dropping support for SSE/MMX extensions and requiring computers to have SSE2 or better, which my Athlon XP does not have.

My work PC has the following hardware config:
Intel Core2Duo CPU E4400 @ 2GHz
RAM: 2GB
OS: Win XP Prof (SP-2)

You still think Opera 20 or later is not supported?

]]>https://forums.opera.com/post/35183https://forums.opera.com/post/35183Tue, 24 Oct 2017 09:30:33 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Installing Opera 20 on Mon, 14 Apr 2014 19:07:18 GMT]]>

is here any Opera software admin or developer? ??

Sometimes some of them may pass by around here. But if you leave your question, someone may be able to answer.

]]>https://forums.opera.com/post/35045https://forums.opera.com/post/35045Mon, 14 Apr 2014 19:07:18 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Installing Opera 20 on Mon, 14 Apr 2014 18:28:08 GMT]]>is here any Opera software admin or developer? ??

]]>https://forums.opera.com/post/35041https://forums.opera.com/post/35041Mon, 14 Apr 2014 18:28:08 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Installing Opera 20 on Tue, 24 Oct 2017 09:30:32 GMT]]>I'm 99% sure I've solved this issue, at least for some of us. See my last post in this other thread: https://forums.opera.com/topic/1636/failed-loading-launcher_lib-dll-please-reinstall-opera/14

It looks like we may be permanently stuck at 20 or thereabouts because Chrome is dropping support for SSE/MMX extensions and requiring computers to have SSE2 or better, which my Athlon XP does not have.

]]>https://forums.opera.com/post/35007https://forums.opera.com/post/35007Tue, 24 Oct 2017 09:30:32 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Installing Opera 20 on Thu, 03 Apr 2014 21:29:45 GMT]]>Because WinXP SP3 changed the windowscodec.dll file to include some features that weren't there before, and it's possible Opera is designed to rely on those to run properly? Not all browsers adopt all OS features at the same time, if at all.

]]>https://forums.opera.com/post/33531https://forums.opera.com/post/33531Thu, 03 Apr 2014 21:29:45 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Installing Opera 20 on Thu, 03 Apr 2014 20:37:40 GMT]]>I know that I need to install SP3 on Win XP in order to install Opera 20, but I have tried to install Opera Next (21) just for the sake of trying (as I'm missing Opera at work)...and it didn't install.

Popped the same, "Windowscodec.dll" is missing error...

Why am I not able to install Opera, when the same XP SP2 works for the latest versions of Chrome and Firefox?

]]>https://forums.opera.com/post/33527https://forums.opera.com/post/33527Thu, 03 Apr 2014 20:37:40 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Installing Opera 20 on Thu, 03 Apr 2014 15:16:56 GMT]]>

He corrected it in the 3rd post down. He's using XP SP2...

Oh? Is he posting with multiple usernames?
I was quoting the user named "Mackenzied" and that's the only post I see from him in this thread.

My bad... sorry! However, I do wish the quotation tool on this forum would carry an attribution describing who's being quoted, though. It's already caused a number of users to make similar errors... and it's especially problematic when the quotes are nested (a quote contains a deeper quote, etc).

]]>https://forums.opera.com/post/33499https://forums.opera.com/post/33499Thu, 03 Apr 2014 15:16:56 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Installing Opera 20 on Thu, 03 Apr 2014 03:33:33 GMT]]>Based on some advice in the other thread about this issue, I completely uninstalled all traces of Opera Next, including eliminating any reference to it in the XP system registry. It still crashes at launcher.exe. In the expanded crash data it does reference both the "windowscodecs.dll" that the OP is having trouble with and "launcher_lib.dll" that mine squawked about. So it's definitely something Opera did to bork this up, not our existing installations or service pack levels or anything like that.

I do have the latest Opera stable channel version running, it installed fine. I even tried copying the good version of these DLLs to the active install directory and manually starting the installer, but it still didn't work. One thing that I did notice is the launcher_lib.dll file was half the size in the Next installer as it is in the stable or old Next installations. windowscodecs.dll is a system file and hasn't been modified since 2008 on my system, so it's not wonky either.

]]>https://forums.opera.com/post/33462https://forums.opera.com/post/33462Thu, 03 Apr 2014 03:33:33 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Installing Opera 20 on Thu, 03 Apr 2014 02:12:18 GMT]]>

He corrected it in the 3rd post down. He's using XP SP2...

Oh? Is he posting with multiple usernames?

I was quoting the user named "Mackenzied" and that's the only post I see from him in this thread.

]]>https://forums.opera.com/post/33451https://forums.opera.com/post/33451Thu, 03 Apr 2014 02:12:18 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Installing Opera 20 on Thu, 03 Apr 2014 01:55:15 GMT]]>

I am using Windows7 SP2 and I am unable to install opera 20 or any other previous version due to this message - 'The application was unable to start correctly (0xc00000a5). Click to close the application'. I have been using opera for years and loaded the new versions as they came along, but since trying to download 20, it has all gone wrong. I cannot find out what 0xc00000a5 is.

Are you sure it's Windows 7 SP2? As of now there is only one service pack for 7. Also a while back word came out that there isn't a second service pack coming for 7. http://news.softpedia.com/news/Microsoft-Suggests-That-No-Windows-7-Service-Pack-2-Is-Coming-389947.shtml

He corrected it in the 3rd post down. He's using XP SP2...

]]>https://forums.opera.com/post/33449https://forums.opera.com/post/33449Thu, 03 Apr 2014 01:55:15 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Installing Opera 20 on Thu, 03 Apr 2014 01:12:05 GMT]]>

I am using Windows7 SP2 and I am unable to install opera 20 or any other previous version due to this message - 'The application was unable to start correctly (0xc00000a5). Click to close the application'. I have been using opera for years and loaded the new versions as they came along, but since trying to download 20, it has all gone wrong. I cannot find out what 0xc00000a5 is.

Are you sure it's Windows 7 SP2? As of now there is only one service pack for 7. Also a while back word came out that there isn't a second service pack coming for 7. http://news.softpedia.com/news/Microsoft-Suggests-That-No-Windows-7-Service-Pack-2-Is-Coming-389947.shtml

]]>https://forums.opera.com/post/33445https://forums.opera.com/post/33445Thu, 03 Apr 2014 01:12:05 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Installing Opera 20 on Thu, 03 Apr 2014 00:18:48 GMT]]>It is possible just to install something else that contains that missing library, but the programs listed before which do that are probably as hard as SP3 to obtain ...

]]>https://forums.opera.com/post/33428https://forums.opera.com/post/33428Thu, 03 Apr 2014 00:18:48 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Installing Opera 20 on Wed, 02 Apr 2014 16:45:39 GMT]]>

I think the original user's problem is deeper than which service pack they're using. I have the same error when trying to install 21 via the full download from the Opera Next site. I get an error with launcher_lib.dll when it tries to auto-update, which it does at least once per session now that a new release is out. It's very frustrating and I'm on SP3 to boot.
This is not the same problem as the OP's. As he said the nag is about "windowscodec.dll", not "launcher_lib.dll".

Either way, the installer is failing for us. I downloaded the full install package and launcher.exe fails, so I still think they're related somehow.

]]>https://forums.opera.com/post/33370https://forums.opera.com/post/33370Wed, 02 Apr 2014 16:45:39 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Installing Opera 20 on Tue, 01 Apr 2014 06:06:26 GMT]]>

I think the original user's problem is deeper than which service pack they're using. I have the same error when trying to install 21 via the full download from the Opera Next site. I get an error with launcher_lib.dll when it tries to auto-update, which it does at least once per session now that a new release is out. It's very frustrating and I'm on SP3 to boot.
This is not the same problem as the OP's. As he said the nag is about "windowscodec.dll", not "launcher_lib.dll".

]]>https://forums.opera.com/post/33184https://forums.opera.com/post/33184Tue, 01 Apr 2014 06:06:26 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Installing Opera 20 on Mon, 31 Mar 2014 19:34:26 GMT]]>

Hi Devilstrings,
"Why should I install SP3?
SP3 doesn't only fix existing known bugs in Windows XP, causing it to be more stable, but it also fixed security holes.
Most people have never been hacked, and many might never have hacking issues, but it's still a good idea to prevent it before it happens. Besides keeping antivirus and a firewall updated and running (Windows Firewall works fine, by the way), keeping your system updated with Windows Updates is also important.
You leave your system more open when you don't install updates and service packs."
http://www.computerhope.com/forum/index.php?topic=78919.0

Thank you, l33t4opera

]]>https://forums.opera.com/post/33141https://forums.opera.com/post/33141Mon, 31 Mar 2014 19:34:26 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Installing Opera 20 on Mon, 31 Mar 2014 14:22:39 GMT]]>Hi Devilstrings,
"Why should I install SP3?
SP3 doesn't only fix existing known bugs in Windows XP, causing it to be more stable, but it also fixed security holes.
Most people have never been hacked, and many might never have hacking issues, but it's still a good idea to prevent it before it happens. Besides keeping antivirus and a firewall updated and running (Windows Firewall works fine, by the way), keeping your system updated with Windows Updates is also important.
You leave your system more open when you don't install updates and service packs."
http://www.computerhope.com/forum/index.php?topic=78919.0

]]>https://forums.opera.com/post/33114https://forums.opera.com/post/33114Mon, 31 Mar 2014 14:22:39 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Installing Opera 20 on Mon, 31 Mar 2014 13:14:54 GMT]]>

Hmmm... and in just a couple of short weeks, XP SP3 will become defined by Microsoft as "stone age" as well, as MS's XP support shuts down. I suspect your IT department will soon have more on their hands than just an Opera compatibility issue.

Absolutely...LOL...

I informed the IT guy about SP3 installation, he said he'll do it...but wants me to give him a "reason" why I need that on my PC.

Now, I can't tell him I need SP3 because of Opera... I don't know what I should tell him to "convince" him to install SP3.

]]>https://forums.opera.com/post/33106https://forums.opera.com/post/33106Mon, 31 Mar 2014 13:14:54 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Installing Opera 20 on Sat, 29 Mar 2014 07:40:12 GMT]]>[Spam removed]

]]>https://forums.opera.com/post/32898https://forums.opera.com/post/32898Sat, 29 Mar 2014 07:40:12 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Installing Opera 20 on Sat, 29 Mar 2014 07:04:23 GMT]]>I think the original user's problem is deeper than which service pack they're using. I have the same error when trying to install 21 via the full download from the Opera Next site. I get an error with launcher_lib.dll when it tries to auto-update, which it does at least once per session now that a new release is out. It's very frustrating and I'm on SP3 to boot.

]]>https://forums.opera.com/post/32897https://forums.opera.com/post/32897Sat, 29 Mar 2014 07:04:23 GMT