Microsoft KB Archive/306905

= Visual IDE does not open when started or application cannot start error message =

Article ID: 306905

Article Last Modified on 8/15/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 Professional Edition
 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 Enterprise Architect
 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 Enterprise Developer
 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 Academic Edition
 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2002 Enterprise Architect
 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2002 Enterprise Developer
 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2002 Professional Edition
 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2002 Academic Edition
 * Microsoft Visual C++ .NET 2003 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Visual C++ .NET 2002 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Visual Basic .NET 2003 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Visual Basic .NET 2002 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Visual C# .NET 2003 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Visual C# .NET 2002 Standard Edition
 * MSDN 2003 Universal Edition
 * Microsoft Visual J# .NET 2003 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Visual J# .NET 2003 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q306905



Important This article contains information that shows you how to help lower security settings or how to turn off security features on a computer. You can make these changes to work around a specific problem. Before you make these changes, we recommend that you evaluate the risks that are associated with implementing this workaround in your particular environment. If you implement this workaround, take any appropriate additional steps to help protect your system.

Important This article contains information about how to modify the registry. Make sure to back up the registry before you modify it. Make sure that you know how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up, restore, and modify the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows registry



SYMPTOMS
You install any of the products listed at the beginning of the article without errors, but the integrated development environment (IDE) does not appear when you first start Microsoft Visual Studio .NET. Instead, the following error message appears:

The application cannot start.

-or-

The IDE may flash briefly and disappear without any error message.



CAUSE
The IDE startup error has occurred in the following situations:
 * The IDE was not able to load Msxml3.dll.
 * The IDE was not able to load Mso.dll.
 * The IDE was not able to load DTE.olb.
 * The license key for Visual Studio .NET was not created during setup.
 * Script blocking is turned on and not allowing scripting code to execute.
 * The .NET Framework setup portion of Visual Studio .NET failed to generate a valid native image for mscorlib.dll.
 * The Klez virus is present.

The first is the more common situation. It results from a known problem in which the installation fails silently during setup in certain computer states.



RESOLUTION
Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.

IDE unable to load Msxml3.dll
The July 2001 Beta release of the MSXML 4.0 Technology Preview has left the computer in a state that causes this behavior. To repair the Msxml3.dll registration, follow these steps:

Note If you have not already applied the latest security updates for MSXML, download the file from the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/critical/q317244/download.asp

 Unregister Msxml4.dll. To do this, click Start, click Run, type regsvr32 /u c:\winnt\system32\msxml4.dll at a command prompt, and then click OK. Run the installation of the security update. Download the registry key from the following Microsoft Web site, and then incorporate the values by double-clicking the Fixxml4.reg file:The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:

Download the Fixxml.exe package now. Release Date: June 18, 2002

For more information about how to download Microsoft support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

119591 How to obtain Microsoft support files from online services

Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.

IDE unable to load Mso.dll
Use any or all of the following to fix the Mso.dll problem:  Make sure that you are NOT running a Microsoft Office XP beta release. Run a repair installation of Office XP.</li> Make sure that the following registry key is set correctly:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\VisualStudio\7.0\Path] &quot;MSO&quot;=&quot;C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Office10\MSO.DLL&quot;

</li></ul>

IDE unable to load Dte.olb
Register dte.olb with the command below:

regsvr32 &quot;C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\MSEnv\DTE.OLB&quot;

License key for Visual Studio .NET not created during setup
The Visual Studio .NET splash screen does not contain information on what products where installed and the splash screen does not contain the end user who installed the product. Also, Visual Studio .NET in Add/Remove programs for the current user is not present. The suggested solution is to completely remove Visual Studio .NET and reinstall.

Script blocking is turned on and not allowing scripting code to execute
Warning This workaround may make your computer or your network more vulnerable to attack by malicious users or by malicious software such as viruses. We do not recommend this workaround but are providing this information so that you can implement this workaround at your own discretion. Use this workaround at your own risk.

The Visual Studio .NET IDE flash is not displayed and disappears if third-party script blocking is turned on. This has been seen with Norton Antivirus 2002. For additional information, visit the following Symantec Web site:

http://service4.symantec.com/SUPPORT/nav.nsf/b69c799adfa31ecc85256aa30052f4d0/049f1b2057b8d88085256a3900652a0e?OpenDocument

Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.

.NET Framework setup portion of Visual Studio .NET failed to generate a valid native image for Mscorlib.dll
The Visual Studio .NET splash screen is displayed briefly and then disappears if the .NET Framework portion of Visual Studio .NET setup failed to generate a valid native image for Mscorlib.dll in the \%windir%\assembly\NativeImages1_v1.0.3705\mscorlib directory. The suggested solution is to uninstall the .NET Framework and reinstall the .NET Framework to regenerate a new Mscorlib.dll in the \%windir%\assembly\NativeImages1_v1.0.3705\mscorlib directory.

Klez virus
Important These steps may increase your security risk. These steps may also make your computer or your network more vulnerable to attack by malicious users or by malicious software such as viruses. We recommend the process that this article describes to enable programs to operate as they are designed to, or to implement specific program capabilities. Before you make these changes, we recommend that you evaluate the risks that are associated with implementing this process in your particular environment. If you choose to implement this process, take any appropriate additional steps to help protect your system. We recommend that you use this process only if you really require this process.

You may also receive this error message if your system is infected by the Klez virus. We recommend that you obtain the most recent update to your antivirus software, and then do a system scan.

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MORE INFORMATION
If the fixes described in this article do not resolve the problem or it arises in a different scenario, please post a message including the title of this article to the newsgroup microsoft.public.vsnet.setup. To access Microsoft public newsgroups, visit the following Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) Web site:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/newsgroups/

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.

Keywords: kbdownload kbpubtypekc kbide kbprb kbprod2web kbsetup KB306905

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