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Q197689: PRB: MSDN Causes Error After Installation on External Drives

Article: Q197689
Product(s): Microsoft Developer Network
Version(s): 
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbHTMLHelp kbGrpDSTools kbHTMLHelp121
Last Modified: 24-MAY-2001

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) 
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SYMPTOMS
========

Launching the MSDN Library and selecting the Index tab throws the following
error:

  IPF in MODULE ITSS.DLL

Or a message box appears with the title:

  Preparing Index For First Use ...

Beneath it you will see a animation displaying a book being written using a pen
continuously. This goes on for a long time without terminating.

CAUSE
=====

This error occurs because MSDN fails to create Msdn*.chw file in the
%WINDIR%\Help directory. By default, this is Windows\Help for Windows 95,
Windows 98, and Windows Millennium Edition (Me) systems, and WINNT\Help for
Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000. This error occurs only when installing MSDN to
an external drive and thus the path information above is valid only for MSDN
files installed on an external drive.

NOTE: The exact name of the CHW file will change with each release of the MSDN
Library. For example the Visual Studio 6.0 edition, the file is named
Msdnvs98.chw. But with the April 1999 MSDN Library, the file is named
Msdn910.chw.

RESOLUTION
==========

1. Exit the MSDN Library.

2. Copy the Msdn*.chw file from the MSDN directory on the first CD.

3. Place the file in the %WinDir%\Help directory (see the CAUSE section in this
  article for more details). This error occurs only when installing MSDN to an
  external drive and thus the path information above is only valid for MSDN
  files installed on an external drive.

STATUS
======

This behavior is by design.

Additional query words:

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbHTMLHelp kbGrpDSTools kbHTMLHelp121 
Technology        : kbHTMLHelpSearch kbAudDeveloper kbMSDNSearch kbZNotKeyword2
Version           : :
Issue type        : kbprb

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