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Q73663: FIX: LINK May Incorrectly Generate L2049 for Resource-Only DLL

Article: Q73663
Product(s): Microsoft Programming Utilities
Version(s): MS-DOS:5.03,5.05,5.1,5.11; OS/2:5.03,5.05,5.1,5.11
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kb16bitonly
Last Modified: 24-DEC-1999

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft LINK for MS-DOS, versions 5.03, 5.05, 5.1, 5.11 
- Microsoft LINK for OS/2, versions 5.03, 5.05, 5.1, 5.11 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SYMPTOMS
========

The Microsoft LINK utility versions 5.03, 5.05, 5.1, and 5.11 will generate the
following error if you attempt to link a resource-only DLL that contains no code
or data:

  LINK: error L2049: no segments defined

Although a valid DLL is created in this case, these versions of LINK set the
error bit in the DLL's header and return an error code to the calling program.

RESOLUTION
==========

Beginning with LINK version 5.13, the L2049 error was converted to a warning and
the error bit is no longer set in the output file. To work around the problem
with LINK 5.03, 5.05, 5.1, or 5.11, the EXEHDR utility may be used to reset the
error bit in the header.

STATUS
======

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in LINK versions 5.03, 5.05, 5.1,
and 5.11. This problem was corrected in LINK version 5.13.

MORE INFORMATION
================

A resource-only DLL does not contain code or data--it is only used to store
bitmaps, menus, fonts, and other static resources, but LINK versions 5.03, 5.05,
5.1, and 5.11 flag the lack of segments with an L2049 error and mark the output
file as invalid.

To use the DLL, you can use EXEHDR to turn off the error bit by invoking it with
the /RESET option. For example:

  EXEHDR /RESET RESOURCE.DLL

The most efficient method is to add this statement to the description block in
your makefile that contains the LINK command. For example:

  test.dll: test.obj test.def

  link test,test.dll,,,test.def; exehdr /reset test.dll

Note that in order to stop NMAKE from terminating with the error code from LINK,
you should use either the /I (ignore exit codes) switch when invoking NMAKE,
specify the .IGNORE directive inside the makefile, or add a dash (-) before the
LINK command to indicate that processing the makefile should continue even if
there is an error with the link step. See your NMAKE documentation for further
information about the /I option, the .IGNORE directive, and the dash operator.

Additional query words: 5.10

======================================================================
Keywords          : kb16bitonly 
Technology        : kbAudDeveloper kbZNotKeyword3 kbLINKSearch kbLINK503DOS kbLINK510DOS kbLINK511DOS kbLINK503OS2 kbLINK505OS2 kbLINK510OS2 kbLINK511OS2 kbLINK505DOS
Version           : MS-DOS:5.03,5.05,5.1,5.11; OS/2:5.03,5.05,5.1,5.11
Solution Type     : kbfix

=============================================================================

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