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MTA:SA fix

CL38: Error loading netc.dll module

MTA could not load netc.dll, its network module. Check that GTA single player starts first, then install the Microsoft runtime parts and the latest MTA.

The message

Error loading netc.dll module!

Codes on this page: CL38

Steps

  1. Check that GTA single player starts

    Open your GTA San Andreas folder. Double-click gta_sa.exe (it can also be called gta-sa.exe) and check that single player starts. If it does not, MTA's guide says to try deleting GTA's settings file: Documents\GTA San Andreas User Files\gta_sa.set.

    GTA fails to open or crashes before MTA starts →

    Source: MTA help

  2. Install the Microsoft Visual C++ packages

    Install the Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Redistributable Package and the Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable Package. MTA's guide links both.

    Source: MTA help

  3. Install Microsoft's older DirectX parts

    Run Microsoft's DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer. MTA's guide calls it the legacy DirectX runtime.

    Source: MTA help

  4. Install the latest MTA

    Install the newest MTA. MTA's guide links one installer for Windows 10 and 11, and another for Windows 7 and 8.x.

    Source: MTA help

  5. Remove d3d9.dll from the GTA folder

    Only if there is a file named d3d9.dll in your GTA folder, next to gta_sa.exe.

    Remove that d3d9.dll file from the GTA folder.

    Careful: This step is only about the GTA installation folder. MTA's guide does not tell you to remove a d3d9.dll from any other folder.

    ASI plugins or a game-folder DLL block MTA →

    Source: MTA help

  6. Close programs that can interfere, then try again

    Close programs such as Evolve, RivaTuner or MSI Afterburner. Then start MTA again. If MTA still fails to start after the installs above, restart the computer and try once more.

    Source: MTA help

See also: MTA file version mismatch or incompatible network module, MSVCR, VCRUNTIME or core.dll cannot load, D3DX9 DLL is missing, MTA will not start and shows no clear error, GTA fails to open or crashes before MTA starts, MTA says it is incompatible with software on your PC

Worth knowing

The text in brackets after the message is the Windows error message that says why the file could not be loaded.

MTA loads netc.dll from the mta folder inside the MTA installation folder.

MTA's CL38 help link (module-not-loadable) opens its general Troubleshooting Guide. The steps above come from that guide.

With this message MTA asks if you want to see online help. If you answer Yes, MTA opens its help page.

A netc.dll of the wrong version, or a 'Network module not compatible' message, is a different error. The fix for an MTA file version mismatch covers it.

Still not fixed? Copy the whole message, not only the code, and check your log in the Fix tool. It is read on your own computer.

Other problems like this

All fix guides · Every MTA:SA error code · Crash codes and offsets

Where this comes from

MTA's troubleshooting guide and MTA source code

Read on 23 October 2026 and written in our own words here.