__link__ | Symsrv.dll.000

To understand the .000 file, you must first understand symsrv.dll . This is the provided by Microsoft. Its job is to fetch debugging symbols (PDB files) from a remote Microsoft server (or a local network symbol server) so that a debugger can translate raw memory addresses into readable function names (e.g., converting 0x7c80987 into CreateFile ).

It is notoriously difficult to remove because it often regenerates itself upon reboot by hiding in registry entries like AppInit_DLLs You may see error messages stating symsrv.dll symsrv.dll.000