PRB: Application Not Recognized as Compatible with Windows 3.x

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) for Windows versions 3.1 and 3.0

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 based on Windows or MS-DOS.

   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.

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.