ADT2: ADT Apps from Win 95 Cause Err in Win 3.1 and WFW 3.11

• Microsoft Access Developer's Toolkit version 2.0

SYMPTOMS

Moderate: Requires basic macro, coding, and interoperability skills.

If you use the Microsoft Access Developer's Toolkit (ADT) in Microsoft Windows 95 to create a custom Setup program and distribution disks for Your application, users who install your application on computers running Windows version 3.1 or Windows for Workgroups 3.11 receive the following error messages:

• During the application's custom Setup program:

        <Application name> Setup not completed successfully
  

• When an OLE object is selected:

        There is a problem initializing MSAOLE20.DLL
  

• No program group is created in Program Manager for the application.
• No SYSTEM.MDA file is created for the application.
• Embedded OLE objects appear empty or blank.
• File Manager, Microsoft Office, and other programs may generate the following error message:

       This application requires a newer version of Windows.
  

• Microsoft Access version 2.0 (MSACCESS.EXE) generates the following error message when you start the application:

        Couldn't open VER.DLL.
  

CAUSE

The ADT Setup Wizard copies several system files to the Setup disks. If you create the disks with Windows 95, but the disks are then used to install your application on a computer running Windows 3.1 or Windows for Workgroups 3.11, the Windows 3.1 or Windows for Workgroups 3.11 system files are replaced by their Windows 95 equivalents. This can affect the following system files:

   COMPOBJ.DLL
   OLE2.DLL
   OLE2.REG
   OLE2DISP.DLL
   OLE2NLS.DLL
   STDOLE.TLB
   STORAGE.DLL
   TYPELIB.DLL
   VER.DLL

RESOLUTION

To avoid this behavior, run the ADT Setup Wizard on a computer running Windows 3.1 or Windows for Workgroups 3.11, if you plan to distribute your application to anyone running those operating sytems. There is no workaround available that will allow you to create your disk images on a computer running Windows 95 and then distribute them on a computer running Windows 3.1 or Windows for Workgroups 3.11.

NOTE: If you use the ADT Setup Wizard with Windows 3.1 or Windows for Workgroups 3.11, you can create custom applications that install and run successfully on computers running Windows 3.1, Windows for Workgroups 3.11, or Windows 95.

NOTE: The above behavior does not apply to the applications that you create with Microsoft Access 2.0 on Windows 95 computers. You can design your applications with Microsoft Access 2.0 on computers running Windows 95 and distribute the application to other systems running Windows 95.

To resolve the problems caused by installing an ADT application created in Windows 95 on a computer running Windows 3.1 or Windows for Workgroups 3.11, you can replace the affected system files on the client's computer by decompressing the VER.DLL file from your Windows 3.1 or Windows for Workgroups 3.11 installation disks and installing the Microsoft Access version 2.0 Service Pack.

NOTE: You must rename the affected files before you install the Microsoft Access 2.0 Service Pack.

Decompressing the VER.DLL File

To decompress the VER.DLL file, follow these steps:

1. Copy the DECOMP.EXE file from Disk 1 of your Microsoft Access disks to your Windows directory.

   NOTE: DECOMP.EXE can also be found on Disk 1 of the Microsoft Access Developer's Toolkit and the Microsoft Office 4.3 disks.

2. Find the VER.DLL file on your Windows 3.1 or Windows for Workgroups 3.11 installation disks. It is usually located on Disk 2 or 3.

3. Insert the Windows disk (containing the VER.DLL file) in a floppy drive, type the following line, and then press ENTER:

         DECOMP <drive>:\VER.DL_ <drive>:\<directory>\VER.DLL
   

   For example, to decompress the file from a disk in drive A to the Windows\System subdirectory on drive C, you would type the following line:

         DECOMP A:\VER.DL_ C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\VER.DLL
   

NOTE: In some cases, you may receive the error "No header in file. File may not be compressed" when using DECOMP.EXE. If this happens, try using EXPAND.EXE."

Installing the Microsoft Access Service Pack

For information about how to obtain the Microsoft Access version 2.0 Service Pack and how to install it, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q122927
   TITLE     : WX1124: Microsoft Access Version 2.0 Service Pack

   ARTICLE-ID: Q123823
   TITLE     : ACC2: MS Access Version 2.0 Service Pack Questions and
               Answers