Failed to Load Dynamic Library Error When Opening LabVIEW VI or EXE

Updated Aug 30, 2022

Reported In

Software

  • LabVIEW 2016 Full
  • LabVIEW Professional
  • LabVIEW Base
  • LabVIEW Full

Issue Details

When trying to open a VI or run a LabVIEW built executable, LabVIEW displays the following error:

Failed to Load Dynamic Library Because of Missing External Symbols or Dependencies, or Because of an Invalid File Format

Solution

LabVIEW gives this error when a VI lacks the data necessary to open. The VI may have become corrupted and unrecoverable.
  • Try opening a backup copy of the VI
  • Try to open the file in other versions of LabVIEW or on another computer.

To prevent or mitigate this issue:
  • Make frequent backup copies of the VI
  • Save VIs in a local location instead of on a network
  • Uninstall and Reinstall LabVIEW.

If you receive this error when trying to deploy a built application (EXE file) on a target computer:
  • Make sure the correct LabVIEW Runtime Engine is installed.
  • If your application calls into any 3rd-party DLLs or libraries, make sure those libraries and any dependencies are installed in the correct location on the target PC.
  • In some cases, installing the LabVIEW development environment on the target computer may resolve this error.

Additional Information

This can also occur if conflicting changes are made to a body of code. For example, if 2 developers make independent edits to the same code and do not merge the changes, the conflicting changes can cause a VI to become corrupt. To prevent conflicting changes, make sure each developer only submits edits on the latest version of code. For more information, take a look at our White Paper on Software Configuration Management and LabVIEW .

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