ID Number: Q74490
3.00 3.10
WINDOWS
Summary:
SYMPTOMS
When you run an application designed for version 3.0 or 3.1 of the
Windows graphical environment, Windows displays one of the
following error messages:
The specified application is not a Windows or DOS program.
or:
Application Compatibility Warning:
The application you are about to run, filename.exe, was designed
for a previous version of Windows.
You should obtain an updated version of the application that is
compatible with Windows version 3.0. To run the current version
of the application, choose Cancel. Then, exit Windows, restart
it by typing Win /r, and start the application again.
If you choose OK and continue to start this application, you
might encounter compatibility problems that could cause the
application or Windows to terminate unexpectedly.
[The message for Windows version 3.1 is similar. However, it does
not instruct the user to restart Windows in real mode (Win /r)
because real mode is not available.]
CAUSE
The application was not processed by the resource compiler (RC) or
the module definition (DEF) file does not contain the EXETYPE
WINDOWS statement.
RESOLUTION
In the Windows environment, each application and dynamic-link
library must be processed by RC even if it does not have any
resources. RC modifies the file header to enable Windows to process
the application or library correctly.
Running an application that was not processed by RC causes Windows
to display the Application Compatibility Warning message box that
contains the text above.
The DEF file for an application or DLL must contain the EXETYPE
WINDOWS statement to direct the linker to create a Windows EXE
file. If this statement is missing, RC fails with an error such as
the following:
RC : fatal error RW1030: filename: The EXETYPE of the program is
not WINDOWS. Make sure the .DEF file is correct.
Attempting to run an improperly-linked application causes Windows
to display an Unrecoverable Application Error (UAE) message box
that contains the first error message listed above.
Additional reference words: 3.00 3.10