Member Avatar for Jamaican Beauty

I have been getting an error message titled wmdc.exe-bad image "C:\Windows\system32\WSOCK32.dll is either not designed to run on Windows or it contains an error. Trying installing the program again using the original installation media or contact your system administrator or the software vendor for support".

I also get all different kinds of message like "microsoft office onenote quick launcher has stopped working...A problem cause the program to stop working correctly. Windows will close the program and notify you if a solution is available.

And I get a windows message stating that they have found a new hardware, but i don't have anything pulled in.

I tried to uninstall microsoft office but it wont let me it says that it has been corrupted, and when i try to be the microsoft office disk in it run for a while and then says that it is corrupted. I don't know what to do. Can someone please help me???? :-(

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A short, practical companion to the replies from , and — this focuses on safe checks and next steps that were not fully covered in the thread.

wmdc.exe is the Windows Mobile Device Center process (often installed under a WindowsMobile folder) and wsock32.dll is an old Winsock (socket) DLL that many programs can call into; problems in that DLL will therefore break a variety of apps. (learn.microsoft.com)

The usual meaning of the “Bad Image … is either not designed to run on Windows or it contains an error” message is that a DLL is corrupted, the wrong architecture/version is being loaded, or a non‑trusted replacement was loaded (malware or a rogue copy). Downloading random DLLs from the web is unsafe; treat any unexpected DLL changes as suspicious. (learn.microsoft.com)

Practical next checks (safe, incremental):

  • Reproduce a crash and inspect Event Viewer -> Windows Logs -> Application for the Error entry that names the faulting module and the full path; that identifies which DLL the app actually loaded. (learn.microsoft.com)
  • Check the folder where the crashing EXE lives (for example, the WindowsMobile folder for WMDC). Windows may load a DLL from the app folder before System32, so a local copy of wsock32.dll next to the EXE can cause the problem even when the system copy is OK. (learn.microsoft.com)
  • Verify digital signatures and reputation of the flagged DLL with Sysinternals Sigcheck; inspect startup/autostart entries (OneNote quick launcher) with Autoruns to rule out image hijacks or unsigned autostarts. Example Sigcheck usage: 
sigcheck -u -e C:\Windows\System32\wsock32.dll

(Sigcheck and Autoruns are on the Sysinternals site.) (learn.microsoft.com)

If the DLL looks unsigned/modified or Event Viewer shows unusual activity, run an offline antimalware scan (Windows Defender Offline or equivalent) before replacing anything. For corrupt Office installations that the normal uninstaller cannot fix, use Microsoft's Office uninstall/repair support tools (or the Get Help troubleshooting options) rather than random DLL downloads. (learn.microsoft.com)

Notes and cautions: do not overwrite system files from third‑party “DLL download” sites; keep a backup before renaming or removing files; and prefer signature checks and controlled tools (Autoruns/Sigcheck/Defender) to blind replacements.

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Member Avatar for gurukid22

WSOCK32.dll is a very important dll it is used by nearly all microsoft application in some way. If you are recieving this message with many microsoft application then i would bother looking any further than first repairing this file.

You can try manually replacing it from i386 folder using safe mode.

Or just reinstall windows you dont need to format so when asked to format just select leave current operating system intact if you want to backup you data first incase of accident try it good and free.

Member Avatar for kristain

One thing to try is to go to Start->all programs->accessories-> and right click on command prompt, choose to run as administrator.
Type the command: SFC /scannow and hit enter.
Let this run to try and repair the computer, if this doesn’t work, try a system restore to a few days ago and see if that resolves this issue.

Member Avatar for Jamaican Beauty

okay thanks for you guys help i will look into what both of you guys said and let you know the out come.

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