diff --git a/src/share/native/common/jdk_util.h b/src/share/native/common/jdk_util.h
index 8c15a4dcc353d2854a326451c6d99534bbee3625..d64e51e658d156b42b9ddd8ab35d3417e08894e9 100644
--- a/src/share/native/common/jdk_util.h
+++ b/src/share/native/common/jdk_util.h
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
 
 #include "jni.h"
 #include "jvm.h"
+#include "jdk_util_md.h"
 
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 extern "C" {
diff --git a/src/solaris/native/common/jdk_util_md.h b/src/solaris/native/common/jdk_util_md.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6361fe01eba4faa43c57cd6b55f3562fe51b5468
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/solaris/native/common/jdk_util_md.h
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2011 Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
+ * DO NOT ALTER OR REMOVE COPYRIGHT NOTICES OR THIS FILE HEADER.
+ *
+ * This code is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+ * under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 only, as
+ * published by the Free Software Foundation.  Oracle designates this
+ * particular file as subject to the "Classpath" exception as provided
+ * by Oracle in the LICENSE file that accompanied this code.
+ *
+ * This code is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
+ * ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
+ * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License
+ * version 2 for more details (a copy is included in the LICENSE file that
+ * accompanied this code).
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License version
+ * 2 along with this work; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
+ * Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
+ *
+ * Please contact Oracle, 500 Oracle Parkway, Redwood Shores, CA 94065 USA
+ * or visit www.oracle.com if you need additional information or have any
+ * questions.
+ */
+
+// Currently, there are no unix specific functions defined.
diff --git a/src/windows/bin/java_md.c b/src/windows/bin/java_md.c
index 4353ec5a12f7ed6a98bd3fa529f8b2ee909bad30..dfa50ac8af8d63a84e418df0ee7b610bb95cbf5d 100644
--- a/src/windows/bin/java_md.c
+++ b/src/windows/bin/java_md.c
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright (c) 1997, 2011, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
+ * Copyright (c) 1997, 2010, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
  * DO NOT ALTER OR REMOVE COPYRIGHT NOTICES OR THIS FILE HEADER.
  *
  * This code is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
@@ -1212,22 +1212,11 @@ jclass FindBootStrapClass(JNIEnv *env, const char *classname)
    return findBootClass(env, classname);
 }
 
-typedef BOOL (WINAPI *pfn_SetDllDirectory)(LPCTSTR);
-
 void
 InitLauncher(boolean javaw)
 {
     INITCOMMONCONTROLSEX icx;
 
-    // Launcher links with kernel32
-    HMODULE hKernel32 = GetModuleHandle(TEXT("kernel32.dll"));
-    pfn_SetDllDirectory fn = (pfn_SetDllDirectory) GetProcAddress(hKernel32,
-                                 "SetDllDirectory");
-    if (fn != NULL) {
-        // Exclude CWD from Dll search path
-        fn("");
-    }
-
     /*
      * Required for javaw mode MessageBox output as well as for
      * HotSpot -XX:+ShowMessageBoxOnError in java mode, an empty
diff --git a/src/windows/native/common/jdk_util_md.c b/src/windows/native/common/jdk_util_md.c
index 05c2193df125ddab100742593d6a2ab2efa4ccaa..65d20f55b3b1bd3b8618f8bd3991673983afef44 100644
--- a/src/windows/native/common/jdk_util_md.c
+++ b/src/windows/native/common/jdk_util_md.c
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright (c) 2004, 2005, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
+ * Copyright (c) 2004, 2011, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
  * DO NOT ALTER OR REMOVE COPYRIGHT NOTICES OR THIS FILE HEADER.
  *
  * This code is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
@@ -38,3 +38,25 @@ int JDK_InitJvmHandle() {
 void* JDK_FindJvmEntry(const char* name) {
     return (void*) GetProcAddress(jvm_handle, name);
 }
+
+JNIEXPORT HMODULE JDK_LoadSystemLibrary(const char* name) {
+    HMODULE handle = NULL;
+    char path[MAX_PATH];
+    int ret;
+
+    if (GetSystemDirectory(path, sizeof(path)) != 0) {
+        strcat(path, "\\");
+        strcat(path, name);
+        handle = LoadLibrary(path);
+    }
+
+    if (handle == NULL) {
+        if (GetWindowsDirectory(path, sizeof(path)) != 0) {
+            strcat(path, "\\");
+            strcat(path, name);
+            handle = LoadLibrary(path);
+        }
+    }
+    return handle;
+}
+
diff --git a/src/windows/native/common/jdk_util_md.h b/src/windows/native/common/jdk_util_md.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0bb9149354f9bf9a396a5537837a06ce3b5a8947
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/windows/native/common/jdk_util_md.h
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2011 Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
+ * DO NOT ALTER OR REMOVE COPYRIGHT NOTICES OR THIS FILE HEADER.
+ *
+ * This code is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+ * under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 only, as
+ * published by the Free Software Foundation.  Oracle designates this
+ * particular file as subject to the "Classpath" exception as provided
+ * by Oracle in the LICENSE file that accompanied this code.
+ *
+ * This code is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
+ * ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
+ * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License
+ * version 2 for more details (a copy is included in the LICENSE file that
+ * accompanied this code).
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License version
+ * 2 along with this work; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
+ * Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
+ *
+ * Please contact Oracle, 500 Oracle Parkway, Redwood Shores, CA 94065 USA
+ * or visit www.oracle.com if you need additional information or have any
+ * questions.
+ */
+
+
+#ifndef JDK_UTIL_MD_H
+#define JDK_UTIL_MD_H
+
+#include "jni.h"
+
+#ifdef __cplusplus
+extern "C" {
+#endif
+
+JNIEXPORT HMODULE JDK_LoadSystemLibrary(const char* name);
+
+#ifdef __cplusplus
+} /* extern "C" */
+#endif /* __cplusplus */
+
+#endif /* JDK_UTIL_MD_H */
diff --git a/src/windows/native/sun/java2d/d3d/D3DPipelineManager.cpp b/src/windows/native/sun/java2d/d3d/D3DPipelineManager.cpp
index a7da3f3b38c1d857447a0c0c83c6ba00496ff714..0f884e83b5dc8746ab726912d1781119bfece857 100644
--- a/src/windows/native/sun/java2d/d3d/D3DPipelineManager.cpp
+++ b/src/windows/native/sun/java2d/d3d/D3DPipelineManager.cpp
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ HRESULT D3DPipelineManager::InitD3D(void)
 {
     typedef IDirect3D9 * WINAPI FnDirect3DCreate9(UINT SDKVersion);
 
-    hLibD3D9 = ::LoadLibrary(TEXT("d3d9.dll"));
+    hLibD3D9 = JDK_LoadSystemLibrary("d3d9.dll");
     if (hLibD3D9 == NULL) {
         J2dRlsTraceLn(J2D_TRACE_ERROR, "InitD3D: no d3d9.dll");
         return E_FAIL;
diff --git a/src/windows/native/sun/java2d/opengl/OGLFuncs_md.h b/src/windows/native/sun/java2d/opengl/OGLFuncs_md.h
index df300e93150db49ce106b94b9a14a0e9c85f7c8b..9852f8f8094c995c851a9bf1bc4f7bf6e564e084 100644
--- a/src/windows/native/sun/java2d/opengl/OGLFuncs_md.h
+++ b/src/windows/native/sun/java2d/opengl/OGLFuncs_md.h
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ typedef const char *(GLAPIENTRY *wglGetExtensionsStringARBType)(HDC hdc);
 #define OGL_LIB_IS_UNINITIALIZED() \
     (OGL_LIB_HANDLE == 0)
 #define OGL_OPEN_LIB() \
-    OGL_LIB_HANDLE = LoadLibrary(L"opengl32.dll")
+    OGL_LIB_HANDLE = JDK_LoadSystemLibrary("opengl32.dll")
 #define OGL_CLOSE_LIB() \
     FreeLibrary(OGL_LIB_HANDLE)
 #define OGL_GET_PROC_ADDRESS(f) \
diff --git a/src/windows/native/sun/windows/DllUtil.cpp b/src/windows/native/sun/windows/DllUtil.cpp
index 907f05dc5a97cf6f405a3b302e2de1648865a6b5..7c6d00af0bf427611d03fa9a6379480854e51f50 100644
--- a/src/windows/native/sun/windows/DllUtil.cpp
+++ b/src/windows/native/sun/windows/DllUtil.cpp
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 
 
 #include "DllUtil.h"
+#include <jdk_util.h>
 
 // Disable warning about using this in the initializer list.
 #pragma warning( disable : 4355)
@@ -40,7 +41,7 @@ DllUtil::~DllUtil()
 HMODULE DllUtil::GetModule()
 {
     if (!module) {
-        module = ::LoadLibrary(name);
+        module = JDK_LoadSystemLibrary(name);
     }
     return module;
 }
@@ -60,7 +61,7 @@ DwmAPI & DwmAPI::GetInstance()
 }
 
 DwmAPI::DwmAPI() :
-    DllUtil(_T("DWMAPI.DLL")),
+    DllUtil("DWMAPI.DLL"),
     DwmIsCompositionEnabledFunction((DllUtil*)this, "DwmIsCompositionEnabled"),
     DwmGetWindowAttributeFunction((DllUtil*)this, "DwmGetWindowAttribute")
 {
diff --git a/src/windows/native/sun/windows/DllUtil.h b/src/windows/native/sun/windows/DllUtil.h
index e2892fc01f4ce7dd80acaa6ef5fcc159e840e969..17ebae0de18b42383ab5654a7d1aa3e1621a958b 100644
--- a/src/windows/native/sun/windows/DllUtil.h
+++ b/src/windows/native/sun/windows/DllUtil.h
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ class DllUtil {
         FARPROC GetProcAddress(LPCSTR name);
 
     protected:
-        DllUtil(const TCHAR * name) : name(name), module(NULL) {}
+        DllUtil(const char * name) : name(name), module(NULL) {}
         virtual ~DllUtil();
 
         HMODULE GetModule();
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ class DllUtil {
         };
 
     private:
-        const TCHAR * const name;
+        const char * const name;
         HMODULE module;
 };
 
diff --git a/src/windows/native/sun/windows/ShellFolder2.cpp b/src/windows/native/sun/windows/ShellFolder2.cpp
index 80c445d60458f050eab2668ae9b909dd040c010a..7a18213d8792a84ac821bc7036fa2858d85263ae 100644
--- a/src/windows/native/sun/windows/ShellFolder2.cpp
+++ b/src/windows/native/sun/windows/ShellFolder2.cpp
@@ -120,15 +120,15 @@ static BOOL initShellProcs()
         return TRUE;
     }
     // Load libraries
-    libShell32 = LoadLibrary(TEXT("shell32.dll"));
+    libShell32 = JDK_LoadSystemLibrary("shell32.dll");
     if (libShell32 == NULL) {
         return FALSE;
     }
-    libUser32 = LoadLibrary(TEXT("user32.dll"));
+    libUser32 = JDK_LoadSystemLibrary("user32.dll");
     if (libUser32 == NULL) {
         return FALSE;
     }
-    libComCtl32 = LoadLibrary(TEXT("comctl32.dll"));
+    libComCtl32 = JDK_LoadSystemLibrary("comctl32.dll");
     if (libComCtl32 == NULL) {
         return FALSE;
     }
@@ -1021,7 +1021,8 @@ JNIEXPORT jlong JNICALL Java_sun_awt_shell_Win32ShellFolder2_getIconResource
     (JNIEnv* env, jclass cls, jstring libName, jint iconID,
      jint cxDesired, jint cyDesired, jboolean useVGAColors)
 {
-    HINSTANCE libHandle = LoadLibrary(JNU_GetStringPlatformChars(env, libName, NULL));
+    const char *pLibName = env->GetStringUTFChars(libName, NULL);
+    HINSTANCE libHandle = (HINSTANCE)JDK_LoadSystemLibrary(pLibName);
     if (libHandle != NULL) {
         UINT fuLoad = (useVGAColors && !IS_WINXP) ? LR_VGACOLOR : 0;
         return ptr_to_jlong(LoadImage(libHandle, MAKEINTRESOURCE(iconID),
diff --git a/src/windows/native/sun/windows/ThemeReader.cpp b/src/windows/native/sun/windows/ThemeReader.cpp
index ff683dcbf657e5094b7557ecaa0ac2397bf5f34b..be5ae611074eb9b4216d64aff83400f8e4d5150b 100644
--- a/src/windows/native/sun/windows/ThemeReader.cpp
+++ b/src/windows/native/sun/windows/ThemeReader.cpp
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ static PFNGETTHEMETRANSITIONDURATION GetThemeTransitionDuration = NULL;
 
 BOOL InitThemes() {
     static HMODULE hModThemes = NULL;
-    hModThemes = LoadLibrary(TEXT("UXTHEME.DLL"));
+    hModThemes = JDK_LoadSystemLibrary("UXTHEME.DLL");
     DTRACE_PRINTLN1("InitThemes hModThemes = %x\n", hModThemes);
     if(hModThemes) {
         DTRACE_PRINTLN("Loaded UxTheme.dll\n");
diff --git a/src/windows/native/sun/windows/awt_Mlib.cpp b/src/windows/native/sun/windows/awt_Mlib.cpp
index 03eda215a0e1cefe54722e79a2928a577ecbdce0..022ebd0419aa7ee065ddecaf37f1532d5e187a66 100644
--- a/src/windows/native/sun/windows/awt_Mlib.cpp
+++ b/src/windows/native/sun/windows/awt_Mlib.cpp
@@ -43,12 +43,13 @@ extern "C"
         mlibSysFnS_t tempSysFns;
         mlib_status ret = MLIB_SUCCESS;
 
-        /* Try to load library. Routine should find the library successfully
-         * because this library is already loaded to the process space by
-         * the System.loadLibrary() call. Here we just need to get handle to
-         * initialize the pointers to required mlib routines.
+        /* Try to receive handle for the library. Routine should find
+         * the library successfully because this library is already
+         * loaded to the process space by the System.loadLibrary() call.
+         * Here we just need to get handle to initialize the pointers to
+         * required mlib routines.
          */
-        hDLL = ::LoadLibrary(TEXT("mlib_image.dll"));
+        hDLL = ::GetModuleHandle(TEXT("mlib_image.dll"));
 
         if (hDLL == NULL) {
             return MLIB_FAILURE;
@@ -94,9 +95,6 @@ extern "C"
             i++;
         }
 
-        if (ret != MLIB_SUCCESS) {
-            ::FreeLibrary(hDLL);
-        }
         return ret;
     }
 
diff --git a/src/windows/native/sun/windows/awt_TextArea.cpp b/src/windows/native/sun/windows/awt_TextArea.cpp
index 350efdd91b17d78c1e62b87baad5eebf8990deef..16d36ad4480a2f29285531564df4e5111d6c4294 100644
--- a/src/windows/native/sun/windows/awt_TextArea.cpp
+++ b/src/windows/native/sun/windows/awt_TextArea.cpp
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ void AwtTextArea::Dispose()
 LPCTSTR AwtTextArea::GetClassName() {
     static BOOL richedLibraryLoaded = FALSE;
     if (!richedLibraryLoaded) {
-        ::LoadLibrary(TEXT("RICHED20.DLL"));
+        JDK_LoadSystemLibrary("RICHED20.DLL");
         richedLibraryLoaded = TRUE;
     }
     return RICHEDIT_CLASS;
diff --git a/src/windows/native/sun/windows/awt_TrayIcon.cpp b/src/windows/native/sun/windows/awt_TrayIcon.cpp
index e43c8130405baee00b5252f423071b501a5a1aac..354dba91f94bc4cd4746612aea112d9cb64639dc 100644
--- a/src/windows/native/sun/windows/awt_TrayIcon.cpp
+++ b/src/windows/native/sun/windows/awt_TrayIcon.cpp
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ void AwtTrayIcon::InitNID(UINT uID)
     int shellVersion = 5; // WIN_2000
     // MSDN: DllGetVersion should not be implicitly called, but rather
     // loaded using GetProcAddress
-    HMODULE hShell = LoadLibrary(TEXT("Shell32.dll"));
+    HMODULE hShell = JDK_LoadSystemLibrary("Shell32.dll");
     if (hShell != NULL) {
         DLLGETVERSIONPROC proc = (DLLGETVERSIONPROC)GetProcAddress(hShell, "DllGetVersion");
         if (proc != NULL) {
diff --git a/src/windows/native/sun/windows/awt_Win32GraphicsEnv.cpp b/src/windows/native/sun/windows/awt_Win32GraphicsEnv.cpp
index efe485230a7b78f0bebba34fc9fdf26eae77df78..7a7939a7026e7234cfa24e47530381a8c7616f82 100644
--- a/src/windows/native/sun/windows/awt_Win32GraphicsEnv.cpp
+++ b/src/windows/native/sun/windows/awt_Win32GraphicsEnv.cpp
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ SetProcessDPIAwareProperty()
 
     bAlreadySet = TRUE;
 
-    HMODULE hLibUser32Dll = ::LoadLibrary(TEXT("user32.dll"));
+    HMODULE hLibUser32Dll = JDK_LoadSystemLibrary("user32.dll");
 
     if (hLibUser32Dll != NULL) {
         SetProcessDPIAwareFunc *lpSetProcessDPIAware =
diff --git a/src/windows/native/sun/windows/stdhdrs.h b/src/windows/native/sun/windows/stdhdrs.h
index 68420470436177788cda57db0e8cf0483f7871ce..21aaaeb2b1824c066ed4f237aadbf8c5b11b3084 100644
--- a/src/windows/native/sun/windows/stdhdrs.h
+++ b/src/windows/native/sun/windows/stdhdrs.h
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ extern "C" {
 // standard Java headers
 #include <jni.h>
 #include <jni_util.h>
+#include <jdk_util.h>
 
 } // extern "C"