DllNotFoundException: Unable to load DLL tdsstor.dll

Modified on Mon, 22 Jan 2018 at 05:44 PM

Symptoms


When trying to start the Tick Data Manager, you see a message informing you that tdsstor.dll could not be loaded.


Cause


This is typically caused by antivirus software that fails to implement modern techniques meant to reduce the number of false positives such as packer tagging. This seems to happen most often with the Norton antivirus which happens to be one of the poorest antivirus solutions when it comes to technology and false positive ratio.


The Tick Data Suite files are protected with a commercial software protection solution and they are digitally signed - most antivirus software will correctly detect that and avoid raising a false positive alarm; however, certain antivirus solutions may issue a false positive occasionally.


Resolution


Follow the instructions in your antivirus manual to restore and whitelist the file. After restoring the file, before starting the Tick Data Manager, make sure the digital signature is ok (right click the file, head to Properties -> Digital Signatures -> select one of the signatures and click Details).


If it's not possible to restore the file using your antivirus, perform a Tick Data Suite installation repair from Control Panel -> Programs. If you receive an error about a missing MSI file your antivirus most likely also removed that - please follow the instructions provided in the support article Cannot uninstall the Tick Data Suite to solve that problem.


If you need further assurances, I suggest uploading the file to Virus Total and having it scanned. If you get 3-5 engines that issue a warning and 50+ engines that say it's fine, it's safe to trust the majority.