FIX: MASM 6.0 May Generate A2103 Error When Assembling with /Zi

MS-DOS           | OS/2

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Macro Assembler for MS-DOS, version 6.0, 6.0a, and 6.0b
• Microsoft Macro Assembler for OS/2, version 6.0, 6.0a, and 6.0b

SYMPTOMS

The Microsoft Macro Assembler (MASM) versions 6.0, 6.0a, and 6.0b may generate the following error if a large module is assembled with /Zi to generate CodeView symbolic information:

   error A2103: segment exceeds 64K limit

CAUSE

If you are not near the 64K limit in code or data, it is possible that the $$SYMBOL segment created for CodeView's symbolic information has grown too large.

RESOLUTION

If you require full symbolic information, the only workaround is to split the module up into smaller files and reassemble. If you only need line numbers to debug this module, you can use the /Zd (generate line numbers) switch as a workaround.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in MASM versions 6.0, 6.0a, and 6.0b. This problem was corrected in MASM for MS-DOS version 6.1.

MORE INFORMATION

Note that the A2103 error may occur even when your source module is defined with the ".386" and ".MODEL flat" directives because MASM version 6.0 always defines the $$SYMBOL segment as a 16-bit segment.