Startup Problems of Pragma 5

Last update:
September 30, 1999

Pragma 5

We try to make Pragma 5 as user friendly as possible and incorporate at times the latest technology supplied by Microsoft. We also have to use the latest compiler supplied by Microsoft in order to get a decent support from them in case of trouble.

Unfortunately this sometimes means that machines which use older versions of Windows cannot run the latest versions of Pragma 5 because they lack some functionality.

Pragma 5 version 5.42, build 13 and up have been compiled with the new Microsoft C++ 6.0 compiler and must use shared DLL's as opposed to statically linked DLL'S.

This means that in the directory where Windows keeps all the DLL's (usually \WINDOWS\SYSTEM or WINNT \SYSTEM32) there must be the new versions of the files MFC42.DLL and MSVCRT.DLL.

If you get an error "MFC42.DLL or MSVCRT.DLL" not found, download from the Pragma 5 Downloads page the file MFC_DLL.ZIP, extract the two files and then move them to the directory where Windows keeps all the DLL's. Be careful not to overwrite newer, existing files!

If you perform an installation from the Pragma 5 diskettes or CD ROM, the program automatically adds these two files if they are not present. If older MFC42.DLL and MSVCRT.DLL files are present, they will not be overwritten. If the startup problem persists, you must manually upgrade the files. Or better still, upgrade your Windows version!

Pragma 5 will not start on Windows 95 versions that are older than Windows 95 OEM SR2. The cause is missing DLL. The recommended solution is to upgrade your machine to Windows 98, although unconfirmed rumor say that it is enough to install the Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4.

ODBC.DLL not found. Pragma will not start unless the ODBC Administrator is installed. For more information read the section ODBC Installation.

Old COMCTL32.DLL. If you have an old version of Windows you could get a crash at startup of Pragma 5 with the following message:

Debug Assertion Failure

Program:

C: \970506\P5.EXE
File: tooltip.cpp
Line 383
Abort Retry Ignore

The problem is caused by an old version of the file COMCT132.DLL in the Windows\System directory. The new file must be dated October 15, 1996 or newer. The new file is usually part of the Microsoft Internet Explorer version 3 or up.

Pragma Help

When opened correctly the Pragma Help consists of two windows, one with the help itself and the other with the contents and index of the help. If you see only the help itself when you open the help from within Pragma you must add or update the file HHCTRL.OCX on your machine.

Download from the Pragma 5 Downloads the file HELP_DLL.ZIP, extract it and move it to the directory where Windows keeps all the DLL's.

P4.EXE

Before starting P4.EXE be sure that Pragma 5 starts correctly.

The following startup problems may occur:

MSVCP60.DLL not found. Download from the Pragma 5 Downloads page the file P4_DLL.ZIP, extract it and move it to the directory where Windows keeps all the DLL's.

Some DLL's cannot be upgraded while Windows is running. You must start Windows in the DOS mode to be able to change these DLL's.