Microsoft KB Archive/279342

= PRB: MSDN Library Installation Fails or Performance Is Sluggish =

Article ID: 279342

Article Last Modified on 8/15/2005

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 Enterprise Edition
 * MSDN 2003 Universal Edition

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This article was previously published under Q279342



SYMPTOMS
When you are installing the MSDN Library, the installation program copies the files and then fails while updating the system and returns the following error message:

Open collection G_Ccol collection.open(pathmsdn000.cll) DW error = 8

Or, after you have installed MSDN Library and are running one of the MSDN Library editions on Windows Millennium Edition or Windows 2000, the following error may occur:

Attempting to use an invalid compiled help [.chm] file

-or-

Can not open the file c:\\msdn\200Oct\1033\msdn030.col

-or-

Can not open the file c:\\msdn\200Oct\1033\msdn030.col

NOTE: the specific msdn*.col file will vary depending on the specific collection being installed.

Or, on any operating system, MDSN Help may start very slowly, taking approximately 30 seconds to 2 minutes (or longer) to display the Start menu.



CAUSE
The problem is corruption of the Hhctrl.ocx control, an HTML Help file. This corruption can result when any product attempts to update or modify the HTML Help system files and gains access to the system file protection files.



RESOLUTION
For systems that seem slow or unresponsive when you are starting the previously installed MSDN Library, search the local hard drive for the &quot;MSDN*.chs&quot; file and rename it MSDN*.old.

NOTE: The specific file name will vary. The &quot;*&quot; will equal the edition you have installed.

Close any instances of MSDN Library and restart the product to recreate the file. If the problem persists, utilize the following steps to resolve this problem.

Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows NT 4.0
Run the file \x86\Setup\Hhupd.exe from the MSDN Library CD or DVD to install the required Help files.

Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 2000, or Windows XP
Delete your temporary files. (To find them, click Start, click Run, type %temp%, and then click OK.)

Run the file \x86\Setup\Hhupd.exe from the MSDN Library CD or DVD. The installation will fail. Before you click OK on the failure message window, browse to the Temp folder and copy the following files to another location: Itss.dll, Hhctrl.ocx, and Itircl.dll. After doing this, click OK on the failure message and the Hhudp.exe temporary files will be removed.

Next, you should search your local hard drive and manually replace the Itss.dll, Hhctrl.ocx, and Itircl.dll files with the MSDN Library Hhudp.exe versions.

NOTES:  On Windows 2000 you will receive a file system protection warning that asks which file version you want to retain. Choose the version of the file that is contained in Hhudp.exe. You will then be asked, &quot;Are you sure you want to keep the unrecognized file version?&quot;. Click yes. You should test the MSDN Library after completing the resolution described in this section. If this does not resolve your problem, you may have to remove your existing MSDN Library installation and reinstall.For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

240350 HOWTO: Manually Uninstall the MSDN Library





MORE INFORMATION
Some users have experienced these problems after they installed the Visual Studio 6.0 Service Packs and manually updated the files to the more recent versions provided in the Service Pack but that were not intended for use by the specific operating system. The file protection system of the operating system should have prevented the user from successfully updating the file versions, but the user may have overridden file protection and continued with the manual update.

Steps to Reproduce Behavior on Windows 2000 or Windows Millennium Edition
For Windows 2000, revert the Hhctrl.ocx file to version 4.74.8875.0, which can be obtained from a Windows Millennium Edition CD.

For Windows Millennium Edition, revert the Hhctrl.ocx file version to version4.74.8793.0, which can be obtained from a Windows 2000 Service Pack 1 CD.

