FIX: "Out-of-Date Dependency" Warning in Setup Wizard and PDW

ID: Q198052

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Visual Basic Learning, Professional, and Enterprise Editions for Windows, versions 5.0, 6.0

SYMPTOMS

When running the Visual Basic 5.0 Setup Wizard, you receive the following warning message:

< Project Name > - Setup Wizard - Out of Date Dependencies The dependency file for the following component(s) is out of date.
You should exit the wizard now and rebuild each of the dependency files for these components, using this wizard.
NOTE: You can choose to ignore this for now by clicking Next, but your setup and application may not work correctly.

When running the Visual Basic 6.0 Package and Deployment Wizard (PDW), you receive the following warning message:
Out-of-Date Dependency Information The wizard found dependency information for the listed files, but the information is out of date. To proceed with the out-of-date information, click OK.


CAUSE

Each component listed below the warning message has a dependency (.dep) file that contains information about all the files required by that component. However, the version number of the component as specified in the .dep file does not match the version number of the component itself.

In other words, the .dep file was created for a different version of the component, so the wizard is unable to determine which files the component requires.


RESOLUTION

If the indicated file comes from a third party, contact that party for the updated .dep files.

If the indicated file is a Visual Basic component that you created, follow these steps to create a .dep file:

  1. Restart the Setup Wizard or PDW.


  2. In the Setup Wizard, select the project file for this component, the Generate Dependency File Only option, and continue through all the steps to create the dependency file.

    -or-

    In the PDW, select the project file for this component, and choose the Dependency File option on the Package Type screen. Continue through all the steps to create the dependency file.

    NOTE: Save the .dep file in the same folder as the component file.


  3. Restart the Setup Wizard or PDW and try the current project again.



STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a bug in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

This bug was corrected in Visual Studio 6.0 Service Pack 3. For more information about Visual Studio service packs, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q194022 INFO: Visual Studio 6.0 Service Packs, What, Where, Why

Q194295 HOWTO: Tell That Visual Studio 6.0 Service Packs Are Installed


MORE INFORMATION

If you are unable to obtain a .dep file for the component(s) indicated in the warning message, you can ignore the warning message in the following two cases:

  • You are confident that no other files are required by the component.


    • -or-

  • You know which files are required and can add them manually in the File Summary screen in the Setup Wizard or the Included Files screen in the PDW.


NOTE: Check the end-user license agreement and redistributable files list for information about which files are redistributable. (In Visual Basic 5.0, check the License.txt and Redist.txt files, both located in the "Program files\DevStudio\VB" folder. In Visual Basic 6.0, check the Eula.txt file in the "Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\Common\Setup\1033" folder and the Redist.txt file in the "Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio" folder.)

You can use a utility, such as Dependency Walker, to determine file dependencies. However, it is important to note the following when using Dependency Walker:
  • You do not need to distribute all the files listed as dependencies in the utility. Many of the listed files are operating system files. If you are unsure about which files to distribute, check the end-user license agreement (License.txt in 5.0, Eula.txt in 6.0) and Redist.txt files.


  • The utility cannot determine dynamic module dependencies. For example, if Module A dynamically loads Module B via a LoadLibrary-type technique, Module B becomes a run-time dependency of Module A, but will not be listed in Module A's import table. Because Dependency Walker depends on information in the import table to determine dependencies, it will not detect that Module A is dependent upon Module B.


If you have Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 and installed the Win32 SDK Tools, you can start Dependency Walker using the following steps:

  1. Click the Start button, point to Programs, point to Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0, and then point to Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 Tools.


  2. Click Depends.


If you do not have the Win32 SDK Tools installed, follow these steps to install them:
  1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.


  2. Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon.


  3. Click the Install/Uninstall tab, and then double-click Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0.


  4. In the Setup dialog box, click Add/Remove.


  5. In the Options list, select Tools (do not click the check box), and then click Change Option.


  6. Click the Win32 SDK Tools check box to select it, and then click OK.


  7. Click Continue.


If you have the standalone Visual Basic 6.0 product, you can find Dependency Walker in the COMMON\TOOLS\VB\UNSUPPRT\DEPEND folder on Disk 1. If you do not have Visual Studio 6.0 or Visual Basic 6.0, you can obtain Dependency Walker by downloading iTools.exe from the Microsoft Web site at the following address:

Microsoft Platform SDK: Additional SDK Tools at http://www.microsoft.com/msdownload/platformsdk/sdktools.htm

The file, iTOOLS.exe, is self-extracting and contains Dependency Walker, among other tools. After extracting the files, you can find Depends.exe in the Bin\Winnt subfolder. (The utility works on both Windows 9x and NT.) The documentation for the utility is in Depends.hlp, which can be found in the same location.


REFERENCES

For additional information, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q178354 Q178354 INFO: Dependency Files and How Setup Wizard/PDW Use Them

Q172888 Q172888 PRB: ComCtl32.ocx - The Dependency File is Out of Date

Q190777 Q190777 BUG: PDW: Out-of-Date Dependency Information COMCT332.OCX

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbservicepack kbwizard kbAppSetup kbVBp kbVBp500bug kbVBp600bug kbGrpVB kbVS600sp3fix kbPDWizard kbfix kbVBp600FAQ
Version : WINDOWS:5.0,6.0
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbbug


Last Reviewed: January 5, 2000
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