Yes, frustrating ain't it? I have almost thrown my machine through the window at some points!
One thing, as this .dll is involved in the graphics (ie as other APIs call its functions). Go to
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/B...n&categoryid=2 and reinstall/update your DirectX and also reinstall/update your graphics card drivers. Many times the strangest errors and crashes comes from some drivers being corrupt.