This site will have limited functionality while we undergo maintenance to improve your experience. If an article doesn't solve your issue and you want to ask a question, we have our support community waiting to help you at @FirefoxSupport on Twitter and/r/firefox on Reddit.

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

Bad Image & Couldn't Load XPCOM

  • 3 replies
  • 4 have this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by cor-el

more options

When trying to start up Firefox I get a series of two errors.

The first reads: firefox.exe - Bad Image C:\Windows\System32\srvcli.dll is either not designed to run on Windows or it contains an error. Try installing the program again using the original installation media or contact your system administrator or the software vendor for support. Error status 0xc000012f.

After closing the first another opens immediately. The second simply reads: Firefox Couldn't load XPCOM.

I have scanned a number of posts here that say to reinstall Firefox and I have done some numerous times. Both manual and automatic uninstalls don't seem to correct it. I have also tried to install Google Chrome and I receive a similar error. Oddly enough Internet Explorer seems to work perfectly (as perfect as IE can work that is). I have also ran CCleaner to fix registry errors to no avail.

When trying to start up Firefox I get a series of two errors. The first reads: firefox.exe - Bad Image C:\Windows\System32\srvcli.dll is either not designed to run on Windows or it contains an error. Try installing the program again using the original installation media or contact your system administrator or the software vendor for support. Error status 0xc000012f. After closing the first another opens immediately. The second simply reads: Firefox Couldn't load XPCOM. I have scanned a number of posts here that say to reinstall Firefox and I have done some numerous times. Both manual and automatic uninstalls don't seem to correct it. I have also tried to install Google Chrome and I receive a similar error. Oddly enough Internet Explorer seems to work perfectly (as perfect as IE can work that is). I have also ran CCleaner to fix registry errors to no avail.

All Replies (3)

more options

Do a clean reinstall and delete the Firefox program folder before (re)installing a fresh copy of the current Firefox release.

If possible uninstall your current Firefox version to cleanup the Windows registry and settings in security software.

  • Do NOT remove "personal data" when you uninstall your current Firefox version, because this will remove all profile folders and you lose personal data like bookmarks and passwords including data in profiles created by other Firefox versions.

Remove the Firefox program folder before installing that newly downloaded copy of the Firefox installer.

  • (32 bit Windows) "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\"
  • (64 bit Windows) "C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\"

Your bookmarks and other personal data are stored in the Firefox profile folder and won't be affected by an uninstall and (re)install, but make sure that "remove personal data" is NOT selected when you uninstall Firefox.


more options

I've seen this reply posted several times in other threads, trust me I've tried it as I said.

As I stated in the original post, I did in fact do a clean install of Firefox several times. I've done both, uninstalling via the Control Panel as well as deleting the Firefox folder manually on my C:\ drive as well as any remnants that I could find. After reinstalling there was no progress made.

As I also stated I ran a registry error search with CCleaner to no avail. You stated "If possible uninstall your current Firefox version to cleanup the Windows registry and settings in security software.", is there anything I should look for in particular in the Registry Editor or are you saying in general to just simply uninstall?

more options

What security software (firewall, anti-virus) do you have?

If you keep having problems to install Firefox then you may have security software (firewall, anti-virus) that is causing problem and in that case you need to disable this software temporarily to make it possible to install Firefox.

Boot the computer in Windows Safe mode with network support (press F8 on the boot screen) as a test to see if that helps to install Firefox.