1. Launch your Web browser. Navigate to the download location for the replacement version of ws2_32.dll (see Resources for link to download).
2. Click the download link and follow the on-screen prompts to save the file to your computer. Wait until the download finishes.

3. Double-click the downloaded file, which will open in your computer's default unzipping program. Click the 'Extract' or 'Unzip' button and extract the .dll file to your computer's desktop.
4. Right-click the 'Start' button in Windows and select 'Explorer.' In the Windows Explorer window, navigate the left-side panel to find the Windows system folder. If you're using the original 32-bit version of either Windows XP or Vista, this folder can be found at 'C:\Windows\System32.' In the newer 64-bit versions of these operating systems, the system folder is at 'C:\Windows\SysWOW64.' If you have an older system, look for 'C:\WINNT\System32' in Windows 2000 and NT and 'C:\Windows\System' in Windows 95, 98 and ME. Left-click the system folder once to reveal its contents in the right side panel.
5. Drag the ws2_32.dll file that you extracted in step three from the desktop to the right panel of Windows Explorer. When you drop the file into the system folder, you might see a Windows prompt asking you if you would like to replace the existing file of the same name. If you see this message, click 'Yes.' This will replace the old version, which may be corrupted, with the new working version. If you're not asked about this, that means that the file was missing.
6. Reboot your computer for the changes to take effect.