Failed To Open Dlllist.txt For Reading Error Code 2 Guide

To ensure scripts never fail with error code 2, adopt these best practices.

While dlllist.exe from Sysinternals is the most common source, the error can also appear in:

If you have tried the above and are still facing issues, the Dependency Walker installation itself might be corrupt.

On 64-bit Windows, running 32-bit tools from SysWOW64 may cause file system redirector issues. Use: failed to open dlllist.txt for reading error code 2

%windir%\Sysnative\cmd.exe

Then run your dlllist command from there.

try 
    & ".\dlllist.exe" "@dlllist.txt" -ErrorAction Stop
 catch 
    if ($_.Exception.Message -match "error code 2") 
        Write-Host "Missing dlllist.txt – creating now"
        New-Item -Path "dlllist.txt" -ItemType File
        & ".\dlllist.exe" "@dlllist.txt"

Define a wrapper that checks for the response file and creates it if missing.

| Possible cause | Check / Fix | |----------------|--------------| | File permissions | Right-click dlllist.txt → Properties → Security → ensure your user has Read & Write. | | Path too long | Move the program folder to C:\temp\ or D:\games\ — avoid deep nested paths. | | Program bug | Some old tools hardcode C:\dlllist.txt — create the file in C:\ as well. | | Corrupted executable | Redownload the tool from an official source. |