MSDN library not accessible 1

[balajee]

Hi

I have installed Visual Basic 6 and then MSDN Library. I can access the MSDN through "Start->Programs->Microsoft Developer network -> MSDN Library". But when I try to access it through VB 6.0 Help menu or using the "F1" key it says "Unable to display help".

Can somebody tell me how to repair this fault.

Thanks,

 

[VBslammer]

You can check this knowledge base article (Q250334) to see if anything looks interesting:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q250334

VBSlammer

 

[balajee]

Hi

Thanks for the quick response. I read the microsoft article and searched for the file "vshelp.dll" and found it. Then tried to register it using the command:

regsvr32 "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\VS98\vshelp.dll"

but got error message:

"Load Library("C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\VS98\vshelp.dll&quot failed-Invalid access to memory location."

What am I doing wrong?

 

[VBslammer]

If the path is too long to fit on one line you might try to use short file naming:

C:\Windows\System:> Regsvr32 C:\Progra~1\Common~1\Micros~1\VS98\VsHelp.dll

Are you an Admin on the machine you're using? If so, did you have any Anti-Virus software running when you installed VB and MSDN?
VBSlammer

 

[balajee]

Hi

I do not remember whether antivirus was installed when VB was installed. But it was there when I installed MSDN.

Should I reinstall MSDN with antivirus disabled?

 

[VBslammer]

I don't know if it would make any difference, but most programs warn to turn AV off before installation.

If you can't successfully register the VsHelp.dll then that has to be your problem. The error you got last time is not common, and I wonder if the file is corrupted.

I tried re-registering my VsHelp.dll and didn't have any problems.

Are you running either NT or XP? The error 988 (Unable to acces memory location) seems to be an NT-related error according to the knowledge base. VBSlammer

 

[balajee]

Yes, I am running on windows XP Prof.

 

[dilettante]

Dunno if this helps, but I'm using it (VS6 & MSDN Lib) on XP Pro (not SP1 yet, lazy I guess) without troubles.

That error is sometimes caused by a corrupted code segment. Typically the code tries to use a 0 pointer, one of the banes of C programming, though other values can be just as nasty - or worse.

If it was me I'd uninstall the Lib and reinstall it, but I know that's a pain. It sometimes takes more work though to figure out where the DLL you need is on the CD, probably it'll need to be extracted from whatever CAB it is in.

 

[balajee]

I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling MSDN, which has not made in improvement. I try to locate the "vshelp.dll" from the CD and replace it with the existing one. Then try registering it.

 

[balajee]

Hi

I just downloaded the "Visual Studio Help Engine for MSDN" from microsoft site. This installs the vshelp.dll on your machine. Its a small file of 161 KB. I ran the file and my problem is solved.

Thanks to everybody for the help.

 

[dilettante]

Nice fix!

I should have said to uninstall MSDN Lib, then remove vshelp.dll (the uninstall might have left it behind), and then reinstall the Library.

Even that might be useless if vshelp.dll was messed up on your CD though. You fix would cover that too.