Your computer may have come out of the box ready to use, but it isn’t entirely customized to your liking without a bit of extra work – and I don’t just mean that you haven’t slapped your favorite sticker on the laptop case just yet. There are many different ways to customize your computer and knowing how to navigate your machine just below the surface is akin to knowing the back roads of your town to avoid traffic on the roads everyone uses.

Windows Tools

Just ten years ago, the vast majority of programs we were using were downloaded from disks or run from actual software that was purchased in stores. Go back twenty years and the computer wouldn’t even boot up if you didn’t have your floppy disk in the hard drive when you turned the machine on.

It's hard to imagine now that there are dozens of services and programs installed on your machine that not only make your life easier when things get a bit tricky, but allow you to turn your computer into a machine that reflects what you do and what you need from a desktop or laptop.  These tools are built right in to Windows.  They let you change the behavior of those background things that usually seem out-of-reach, including the actions your computer takes automatically.

Runtime error 76 is just one of many possible stumbling blocks when you’re trying to use your PC, but unlike some of the more complicated errors you’ll see as a computer user, this one is pretty straightforward to sort out . . . if you can identify the program that’s running when the error occurs.

A runtime error (of any number) just means that a program currently running has hit a snag. Something is keeping it from continuing as normal. Sometimes this can result in a crash where the program stops running. Other times, a runtime error doesn’t actually stop the program, but rather just makes it work slowly, incorrectly or partially.

Fixing A Problem with a Shared Resource

Step 1: Update Windows

Your first step to resolving a run-time error is to update Windows and the program you’re trying to use. Why? Often the error is caused by a shared resource file, like a .dll. If the program that uses it can’t find the resource, then a Windows Update might be able to identify the gap in the system and repair it.

Go to Start and type in “Windows Update”. Click on the program that appears and a box will show up on the screen to let you know if your Windows software is up-to-date. You can check for updates on this screen as well just to be sure. If there are updates available, be sure to update those and then check again to see if your program is working correctly.

Backing up documents from your computer’s hard drive has always been an important part of any computer maintenance schedule.  But whereas before the best option was to make backups on removable media, there is a new option for backing up your data that can now also make it accessible via the World Wide Web.  Doing so keeps it safe from loss due to hard drive failure, physical damage, virus attack, or accidental deletion. Of course, it's also a defense line against most prevalent threat to mobile computing: theft.  Storing your personal and business documents online is quickly becoming a popular option and part of the Web 2.0 phenomenon. Not only does this keep the data in a space that is unaffected by the plight of hardware, but it allows users to remote control some data, including access to that data.

Web 2.0

Even if the term has become cliche by now, Web 2.0 is still a popular label for the development of web-based applications that promote the interactive nature on the Internet. It sounds techy, but it's not.  Web 2.0 simply represents a mode of doing things online that were once done locally, on individual computers.  The term describes ubiquitous entities like social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.  But it also includes interactive information sharing networks, such as Wikipedia, and video sharing services like YouTube. Needless to say, It has also changed the way we conduct business and manage our day-to-day activities. Storing data virtually is just one of the ways we are integrating Web 2.0 into our daily lives.

Errors. Sometimes they just seem like a way of life when you’re working online. If you’re suddenly seeing a datamngr.dll, don’t panic – this problem isn’t as terrible as it may seem. And (for once) you’re not actually dealing with malware or a virus. This is just a problem with your computer making the right connections.

What Is a Datamngr.dll?

A dll file, or dynamic-link library, is an executable file that helps to support an application. We actually need these little guys to make the various programs we use on a daily basis function seamlessly. A datamngr.dll is just one of many .dll files that can cause problems if things don’t correct properly when a file is installed or uninstalled. Often, removing a file can leave these little executables behind causing the sorts of errors that are giving you a headache now.

The technical?  Specifically datamngr.dll is a data access layer component, a fundamental resource that helps different programs (as the name suggests) manage data.  This management comes in the form of creating files, reading them, updating them and deleting them.  You can tell right off the bat that it’s important, so getting a problem means that there’s some factor blocking a given program from controlling its data.

Resolving a Datamngr.dll Error

If you were to look around online to find a solution to the datamngr.dll error, you’d likely start to panic. There are many websites promoting malware software to remove this “dangerous” error. Unfortunately for these websites, you’re not dealing with anything dangerous, and you’re not likely to fall for a shady company trying to make you download something to “Fix the Datamngr.dll Error Right Now!” After all, you can certainly do this yourself.

Be safe when you're searching the web.  Remember that lots of vendors key in on a given name and try to scare you into thinking it's malware.  It's true that malcious software can imitate Datamngr.dll, but usually the cause of the error is more direct.  If your computer is acting odd in ways that don't seem to be related to the conditions outlined above; be suspecious.  If it's not just a recurrent error with one or more programs but systemic slowdown, popus, browser hijacks or computer crashes - then you might be dealing with foul play.

Otherwise, it's a documented and fixable problem - one that anyone can certainly handle.

If you really feel you must have support as you work through these steps, there are programs that can help you clean up your machine and resolve the error in the process. Just be sure to download programs from a company that you’ve researched and found reputable. It makes no sense at all to download malware to defeat something that isn’t malware.

Instead of looking for a quick fix provided by a company, perform your own quick fix. There are several things you can try to beat this error – some less complicated than others.