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Q90750: Windows Err Msg: Cannot Find a Device File that May Be…

Article: Q90750
Product(s): Microsoft Windows 95.x Retail Product
Version(s): MS-DOS:6.2,6.21; WINDOWS:3.0,3.0a,3.1,3.11
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): 
Last Modified: 24-SEP-1999

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

- Microsoft Windows versions 3.0, 3.0a, 3.1, 3.11 
- Microsoft MS-DOS operating system versions 6.2, 6.21 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SYMPTOMS
========

The following error message may be displayed when you attempt to start Windows
in enhanced mode:

  Cannot find a device file that may be needed to run Windows in 386 Enhanced
  Mode.

In Windows 3.0 and 3.0a, the message is followed by a "run Setup again" message.
In Windows 3.1, the message is followed by a "You need to run the Setup program
again" message, and may specify the device filename.

CAUSE
=====

The above error indicates that an entry specified in the [386Enh] section of the
SYSTEM.INI file is invalid or cannot be located.

There are two different types of device files that can be specified in the
[386Enh] section on a DEVICE= line: internal and external. Internal device
drivers are specified by an asterisk (*) before the device name, and are
internal to the core Windows files (namely WIN386.EXE). External device drivers
are usually specified by a .386 extension, and are located in the Windows SYSTEM
subdirectory or in the path specified on the DEVICE= line. External virtual
device drivers can be provided by Windows or by third- party products.

WORKAROUND
==========

In general, reinstalling Windows is the best solution. This ensures the proper
location of device drivers internally and externally provided by Windows. If a
third-party device driver is causing the error, you need to reinstall the
third-party program as well or rename SYSTEM.INI before reinstalling Windows so
that the third-party product's changes are preserved.

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

The following are specific problems and their solutions.

EBIOS=X:*EBIOS
--------------

In some cases, you will get this error message due to the following line in the
[386Enh] section of the SYSTEM.INI file:

       ebios=x:*ebios

To correct this problem, remove the "x:" from this line.

The "x:" is used in the SETUP.INF file to refer to the disk containing the file
WIN386.EXE. In some cases, this "x:" gets copied to the SYSTEM.INI during
installation and is never removed.

Windows 3.0 Files in a Windows 3.1 Installation
-----------------------------------------------

If the device driver causing the error is one or more of the following:

  VTDAPI.386
  INT13
  WDCTRL
  BLOCKDEV
  KRNL386.EXE

the error possibly indicates that Windows 3.1 has found core Windows 3.0 or 3.0a
files in the WINDOWS or WINDOWS\SYSTEM subdirectory. Remove any core Windows 3.0
or 3.0a files (specifically, WIN386.EXE) from these directories, and replace
them by expanding the appropriate 3.1 files.

PC Tools Version 7.0
--------------------

During PC Tools installation, version 7.0 of Central Point Software's PC Tools
modifies the SYSTEM.INI file. It changes two DEVICE= statements in the [386Enh]
section.

After PC Tools installs, two device statements are changed from

     device=*vdmad
     device=*vfd

to:

     device=vdmad.386
     device=vfd.386

There are two ways to correct this problem:

- Manually modify these two device statements in the [386Enh] section of
  SYSTEM.INI to read as follows:

        device=*vdmad
        device=*vfd

  -or-

- Copy VDMAD.386 and VFD.386 from the PC Tools 7.0 disk to the Windows \SYSTEM
  subdirectory.

NOTE: A similar problem affecting only the VFD line occurs in version 8.0 of PC
Tools. Use the same workaround to correct the problem.

WINDEBUG.386
------------

If you installed the Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) for version 3.0 or
3.1, you may receive this error as well. It indicates that Windows is unable to
find the WINDEBUG.386 device driver because it is not in the path. This device
is added by SDK Setup and is referenced by the DEVICE=WINDEBUG.386 line in the
[386Enh] section of SYSTEM.INI.

To resolve this problem, use a text editor such as Notepad to edit your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file and add the SDK directory to the MS-DOS PATH. The default SDK
directory is WINDEV.

PCTools is manufactured by Central Point Software, a vendor independent of
Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding this product's
performance or reliability.

SMARTDrive /X Switch
--------------------

This error message may appear if you use the SMARTDrive /X switch (which ships
with Microsoft MS-DOS version 6.2).

Deleting the /X switch resolves the problem.

Additional query words: 3.10 3.00 3.00a 6.2 6.20 "Unable To Find File Necessary Run Windows In 386 Enhanced Mode"

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Keywords          :  
Technology        : kbWin3xSearch kbZNotKeyword3 kbWin300 kbWin300a kbWin310 kbWin311 kbMSDOSSearch kbMSDOS621 kbMSDOS620
Version           : MS-DOS:6.2,6.21; WINDOWS:3.0,3.0a,3.1,3.11

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

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