Top Questions and Answers for Windows 3.1

• Microsoft Windows operating system version 3.1

SUMMARY

This document is a list of the Top Questions and Answers for Microsoft Windows 3.1. It is distributed via the MSDL, the Microsoft Knowledge Base and other distribution channels.

MORE INFORMATION

Most Common Questions and Answers Microsoft Windows Operating System Version 3.1

Setup

Q: What is the most common reason for an unsuccessful Windows

   installation?

   the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files are the number one
   cause of an unsuccessful Windows installation. If you are
   having difficulty with Windows Setup, insert a system disk
   in your floppy drive and start your computer. The system disk
   should contain AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS with no device
   drivers or TSRs loaded, unless necessary to access the hard
   drive. If you use any special drivers for your hard drive,
   such as Disk Manager or Stacker, make sure the drivers are
   in your new CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files and also on
   the floppy disk.

   from the MS-DOS-character portion of Setup to the
   graphical-mode Windows portion of the installation, the
   hourglass cursor disappears and Setup hangs, or Windows exits
   to MS-DOS. Why?

   of SETUP.INF or SETUP.EXE located in the WINDOWS or
   WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory. Search these directories and rename
   either of these files if found. For example, rename SETUP.INF
   to SETUP.OLD. Then run the Windows Setup program from the
   Windows disks again.

Printing

Q: What could be causing printing problems that didn't occur

   in Windows version 3.0?

   get updated correctly. To make sure your printer driver was
   updated correctly, do the following.

   1. Remove the printer driver that you are using from your
      system. Run Control Panel and choose Printers. Select the
      printer driver and choose the Remove button.

   2. Use File Manager to change to the WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory.
      Select the printer driver filename and press the DEL key.

   3. Reinstall the printer driver by running Control Panel
      and choosing Printers. Choose the Add button, select your
      printer, and choose the Install button.

   NOTE: By reinstalling your printer driver, almost all
   (90 percent of) TrueType and third-party printing problems
   will be corrected.

   the Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) graphic portions of the
   document are rotated. Why?

   printer driver, try adding the following line to the
   [ModelName,Port] section of the WIN.INI file. This is the
   section that says [Linotronic 200/230,LPT1], and not the
   section that says [PostScript,LPT1]:

      LandScapeOrient=270

   DeskJet 500c printer?

   you can print in color using this printer. However, printer
   drivers supplied by Hewlett-Packard do not support TrueType
   fonts. If you want to use TrueType fonts, you can use the
   printer driver that comes with Windows 3.1; however, you
   won't be able to print in color.

Applications

Q: Since upgrading from Windows 3.0 to version 3.1, I can no

   longer use the OLE features in Excel or Word for Windows.
   Why?

   had installed in Windows 3.0 an application that support
   OLE), Windows 3.1 may not recognize the OLE database.
   You need to update the database, which is a file named
   REG.DAT. To update the REG.DAT file, do the following:

   1. From the File menu in Program Manager, choose the Run
      command.

   2. In the Command Line box, type:

        regedit

      The Registration Information Editor appears.

   3. From the File menu, choose the Merge Registration File.

   4. Select the registration file that corresponds to the OLE
      server application you are using. For example, if you are
      using Microsoft Publisher, choose MSPUB.REG.

   5. Choose the OK button.

   I received the following error message. Why?

      Standard Mode: Fault in MS-DOS Extender

   running on MS-DOS or PC-DOS versions 3.1 or later. Digital
   Research has announced the availability of a software update
   for running Windows with DR-DOS. Microsoft neither endorses
   nor ensures the stability of Windows 3.1 running on DR-DOS
   either with or without the Digital Research software update.

   Windows 3.1?

   going to run more slowly than without double buffering. To
   make SMARTDrive faster when it is using double buffering,
   try adding the /L switch to the SMARTDrive command line in
   your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. This switch forces SMARTDrive to load
   its buffer "low," into conventional memory.

   Note: When your hard disk requires the use of double
   buffering, Windows places a SMARTDrive command in your
   CONFIG.SYS file as well as in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. You
   must place the /L switch on the command line in your
   AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

      DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\SMARTDRV.EXE /DOUBLE_BUFFER

   Why is it there? And why can't I run Windows in 386 enhanced
   mode even through I have a 386 computer with 4 megabytes of
   memory?

   understand the hard drive. If the hard drive uses a SCSI
   controller or a caching controller, then Windows adds the line
   DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\SMARTDRV.EXE /DOUBLE_BUFFER to CONFIG.SYS.
   Sometimes, double buffering may not be activated even though
   you have the line in CONFIG.SYS. If you have a SCSI controller
   and double buffering is not active, then you may not be able to
   run Windows in 386 enhanced mode. To force double buffering,
   add a + to the end of the SMARTDrive (SMARTDRV.EXE line):

      DEVICE=C:\SMARTDRV.EXE /DOUBLE_BUFFER+

Usage

Q: Why doesn't my Novell NWPOPUP.EXE messaging utility

   initialize properly? When I exit Windows I get all my
   messages.

   version of Novell NetWare's NWPOPUP.EXE with a file date
   earlier than 3/10/92 is in your WINDOWS directory, or if
   NWPOPUP.EXE is located in a directory prior to the Windows
   directory entry in the PATH= statement, then NWPOPUP.EXE
   will get loaded and will not initialize properly under
   Windows 3.1. It may also be necessary to try placing the
   following line in the [386Enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI
   file:

      TimerCriticalSection=10000

   This increases the amount of time (specified in milliseconds)
   before the critical section is timed out.

   of my workstations run with no problem, but two of my
   workstations only run in standard mode and not in 386
   enhanced mode. If I do not log onto the network, then I can
   run in 386 enhanced mode.

   experiencing:

    - incorrect network software drivers
    - IRQ conflict
    - RAM address conflict
    - Base address conflict

   1. Read the NETWORKS.WRI file for the steps necessary to
      upgrade your current versions of IPX and NETX. If necessary
      contact your network card manufacturer if you need new
      low-level drivers.

   2. Most machines do not support having two devices using the
      same IRQ at the same time. This means that if you are using
      your network card on IRQ3 or IRQ4, then you will have to
      either disable COM2 or COM1, which use the same respective
      IRQ, or reconfigure the network card for a free IRQ. On
      most machines, IRQ5 and IRQ2 are free, meaning no other
      hardware device is attempting to use them.

   3. Many network cards use a RAM address in the Upper Memory
      area between 640K and 1024K. If your card is using this range,
      then exclude use of this range with EMM386.EXE or an
      EMMEXCLUDE statement in the SYSTEM.INI file's [386Enh] section.
      Some cards will not function properly at D000 and need to
      be reconfigured for D800.

   4. Many hardware devices have Base memory addresses (for
      example, COM ports). There may be a conflict with an existing
      device. Try reconfiguring the network card for an address of
      300h or greater.

   Advanced button in the Ports dialog box is unavailable
   (dimmed). Why is this?

   correctly, the Advanced button in the Ports dialog box will
   be unavailable. If you upgrade from Windows 3.0 to 3.1 and
   you were using a third-party communications driver in 3.0,
   the Windows 3.1 Setup program will not update the
   communications driver. To make sure your COMM.DRV file is
   installed correctly, try the following:

   1. Make sure you have the following setting in the [boot]
      section of your SYSTEM.INI file:

         COMM.DRV=COMM.DRV

   2. Using the MS-DOS expand command (installed in the WINDOWS
      directory of your hard drive during Windows setup), reinstall
      the COMM.DRV from the Windows Setup disks (Disk 1 for 3.5-inch
      disks; Disk 2 for 5.25-inch disks) into the SYSTEM
      subdirectory of your WINDOWS directory by typing the
      following:

      expand a:\comm.dr_ c:\windows\system\comm.drv

   "stacked" disk drive?

   temporary swap file on a "stacked" drive. A stacked drive is
   one on which you are running the Stac Electronics' Stacker
   utility.

   CANYON.MID, but when I choose the Sound icon from Control
   Panel, all of the dialog box selections are unavailable
   (dimmed). Why?

   must use a card that supports the playing of audio files
   (files with the .WAV filename extension). For example, if you
   are using the original Adlib Music Synthesizer Card, it must
   be upgraded to the Adlib 2000 or Gold card.

      Error Messages:

   message. What causes this?

      Cannot read from drive I.

   cause. Try removing from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file the command
   line that specifies GRAPHICS.COM. If you choose the OK button
   when you receive this error message, File Manager displays
   all of your drives; however, it cannot access any of your
   files. The MS-DOS version 5.0 GRAPHICS.COM file does not cause
   this problem.

   error message?

   and WIN386.EXE are from different versions of Windows
   (when one is from 3.0 and the other from 3.1). To see if
   this is the problem, check the dates on the these files.
   They are located in the SYSTEM subdirectory of your WINDOWS
   directory. It is possible that an older version of these
   files may be in the path or the WINDOWS directory; search
   the entire path for these files. If necessary, use the MS-DOS
   expand command to reinstall the files from the Windows Setup
   program. (The expand command is installed in the WINDOWS
   directory of your hard drive during Windows setup.)

   This error message can also appear when your system
   memory-configuration settings (sometimes referred to as
   CMOS settings) don't match the amount of memory the system
   actually has. The way you change the settings depends on
   the type of hardware you have. For more information about
   changing these settings, see your hardware documentation.

   receive the following error message:

      Incorrect system version. Please install the 386
      Enhanced section and run Setup again.

   What does this mean and what should I do?

   1. An old WINOA386.MOD may be located in the WINDOWS
      directory or the path. Delete the old file and use the
      MS-DOS expand command to expand an updated version from
      the Windows 3.1 disks by typing:

      expand a:\winoa386.mo_ c:\windows\system\winoa386.mod

      (The expand command is installed in the WINDOWS directory
      of your hard drive during Windows setup.)

   2. In the SYSTEM.INI file, there are three lines that specify
      what kind of video driver Windows uses when running in 386
      enhanced mode. These are 386Grabber= and display.drv=
      (located in the [boot] section) and display= (located in the
      [386Enh] section). The "Incorrect system version" error
      message usually occurs when one of these entries is not
      consistent with the others.

   To reset these drivers:

   1. Exit Windows and change to the WINDOWS directory.

   2. Type setup and press ENTER.

   3. Select the current Display option and press ENTER.

   4. From the Display list box, select VGA (version 3.0)
      and press ENTER.

   5. If you are asked to use an existing driver, press
      the ESC key to load new drivers.

   "Call to Undefined Dynalink"?

   the WINDOWS directory. The most common one is TOOLHELP.DLL.
   Locate this file and rename it. Then, restart Windows. The
   correct version of this file is located in the WINDOWS\SYSTEM
   directory and has a date of 3/10/92 and a size of 14128.
   This problem can also occur with an earlier version of
   SHELL.DLL, OLECLI.DLL, OLESVR.DLL, and COMMDLG.DLL. All of
   these file should be located in the WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory
   and have a date of 3/10/92.