Microsoft KB Archive/178375

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PRJ4: Could Not Initialize Visual Basic, Timer Driver Error

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Q178375

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Project for Windows, version 4.0

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SYMPTOMS
When you start Microsoft Project, you may receive the following error message:

Could not initialize Visual Basic For Applications because the Timer driver is not installed properly.

CAUSE
In order to run Microsoft Project version 4.0, the Timer.drv, Mmsystem.dll, and Vtdapi.386 files must be available on your computer.

NOTE: When the Vtdapi.386 file is missing or damaged, or the System.ini file does not contain the correct entry for this file, you receive a Timer.drv error message when you start Windows.

This error message occurs when any of the following conditions is true:


 * The Timer.drv, Mmsystem.dll, or Vtdapi.386 file is not loaded on your system or is damaged.

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 * The System.ini file does not contain the correct entries for Timer.drv, Mmsystem.dll, and Vtdapi.386.

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 * Windows was not successfully installed on your computer.

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 * You have drivers installed that have created or modified entries in the [Boot], [Drivers], or [386Enh] sections of the System.ini file. These entries cause conflicts that return these error messages.

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 * This problem may occur if certain programs are running, including programs launched by the "LOAD=" and "RUN=" lines in Win.ini, as well as programs contained in the Program Manager Startup group.

WORKAROUND
To work around this problem, try each of the following methods.

Method 1
To verify that the files are correctly installed and that the System.ini file contains the appropriate entries, follow these steps:

Make sure the System.ini file contains the following lines for Mmsystem.dll, Vtdapi.386, and Timer.drv.

NOTE: Make sure that you do not have trailing spaces following any of these lines.

  The [BOOT] section of the System.ini file requires the following line :         drivers=mmsystem.dll This line specifies which drivers to load when you start Microsoft Windows, and so additional drivers may be listed on this line. For example, the line may read:         drivers=mmsystem.dll pen penwindows For additional information about this line, see the Pjreadme.hlp file that is installed with Microsoft Project.  The [386Enh] section of the System.ini file requires the following line: The [drivers] section of the System.ini file, requires the following line:

Use the method appropriate for your operating system.

Windows 95
Make sure the Mmsystem.dll file is loaded on your computer. This file should be located in your \Windows\System folder. If the file does not exist on your computer, follow these steps to extract it from your Windows disks:


 * 1) Copy Extract.exe from the "Disk 1 -Setup" disk to the root directory of your hard disk drive.
 * 2) On the Start menu, point to Programs and then click MS-DOS Prompt.
 * 3) In the MS-DOS Prompt window, change to your root directory; for example, type the following at the command prompt:
 * 4) Insert Disk 8 of your Windows 95 disks and type the following at the command prompt:
 * 5) After the Extract program finishes extracting the file to your computer, type the following at the command prompt:
 * 6) Eject Disk 8 from your floppy drive and restart your computer.

Windows Version 3.1, and Windows for Workgroups Version 3.11
Make sure the files Timer.drv, Mmsystem.dll, and Vtdapi.386 are loaded on your computer. All three files should be located in your \Windows\System directory. If the files do not exist on your computer, expand them from your Windows disks. Check your computer for duplicate file names, and rename as needed.

To expand the files, follow these steps:

Exit windows to the MS-DOS prompt.

Change to the Windows directory.

In drive A, insert the disk that contains the file that you want to expand. This depends on your version of Microsoft Windows.

Microsoft Windows version 3.1

 * Timer.drv is located on Disk 3 (Windows 3.1), Disk 5 (Windows 3.11)
 * Mmsystem.dll is located on Disk 4 (Windows 3.1 and 3.11)
 * Vtdapi.386 is located on Disk 3 (Windows 3.1), Disk 5 (Windows 3.11)

Microsoft Windows for Workgroups, version 3.11

 * Timer.drv is located on Disk 5 (Disk 7 if 5.25-inch disks)
 * Mmsystem.dll is located on Disk 4
 * Vtdapi.386 is located on Disk 5 (Disk 7 if 5.25-inch disks)

At the MS-DOS command prompt, follow these steps to expand the files (assuming your Windows disk is in drive A):


 * To Expand Timer.drv, type the following:
 * To Expand Mmsystem.dll, type the following:
 * To Expand Vtdapi.386, type the following:

Other Things to Look For:

 If the System.ini file contains the correct lines and Timer.drv, Mmsystem.dll, and Vtdapi.386 are all in your Windows\System directory, one or all of the files may be damaged. In this case, delete the existing Timer.drv, Mmsystem.dll, and Vtdapi.386 files and expand them from your Windows disks using the instructions from step 2 above. It is possible to have Windows directories on more than one hard drive. This may cause Setup to copy files to the wrong directory. In this case, make sure the path is pointing to the proper directory, and that the correct files are located in the \Windows\System directory. Try commenting out the "LOAD=" and "RUN=" lines in the Win.ini file by adding a semicolon at the beginning of each line. Also, try removing all icons from the Program Manager Startup group. Then, exit and restart Windows.</li>  This error message can also occur if a directory earlier than the Windows directory in the path contains one of these files. To determine this, look for all instances of "TIMER.DRV," "MMSYSTEM.DLL," and "VTDAPI.386" in a list of all subdirectories from the root directory. To list all subdirectories, type the following at the MS-DOS command prompt (change to the root directory of "C:" first): "Dir Timer.drv /s" If you do encounter a version of one of these files in another directory, change your path statement to make your Windows directory first. </li></ul>

Method 2
Determine if a driver has created or modified entries in the [386Enh], [Boot], or [Drivers] sections of the System.ini file (and whether this modification is causing the problem).

To do this, remark these entries out (type a semicolon at the beginning of each driver entry), and make sure that the appropriate entries are included in each section of the System.ini file. For more information about these entries, see step 1 in the "Method 1" section of this article.

NOTE: Commenting these lines out may prevent you from running certain programs or utilities.

The following table includes specific examples of drivers that may create entries in the [386Enh], [Boot], or [Drivers] sections of the System.ini file and which may cause these error messages. The table also contains suggestions about how you may be able to avoid the error messages.

<pre class="FIXEDTEXT">  For this       Using this product       driver        Make this modification --  AceCad           AceCat 2    Check for multiple [Boot] sections. Enterprises                 Remark out all but one of these program                     sections and ensure that it                                contains the appropriate drivers= entry. --  Adobe Type       Atmsys.drv  Change the following lines in the Manager (ATM)               [Boot] section from system.drv=atmsys.drv atm.system.drv=system.drv to: system.drv=system.drv --  After Dark       Adwrap.drv  Remark out 3.0                                  drivers=d:\afterdark\arwrap.drv and add: drivers=mmsystem.dll --  Drawing                      Change tablet drivers=pen penwindows to: drivers=mmsystem.dll pen penwindows --  Explorer on Net              In the [BOOT] section, remark out: by FTP, Inc.                                 drivers=c:\explorer\wcomapi.dll --  Kurta's Tablet  Wtkurta      Change Tablet Driver version 8.01                   drivers=wtkurta or 8.0i to: drivers=mmsystem.dll --  LapLink                      In the [386enh] section, remark out the lines that contain the following: vpd.386 (virtual parallel port) vcd.386 (virtual serial port) tsivid.386 (virtual used by TSI                                              Products) --  Quarterdeck QEMM 8.0         Change drivers=C:\QEMM\mmsystem.dll to: drivers=mmsystem.dll --  Safari 3180     sswincs.dll  Change Notebook with a PCMCIA card                  drivers=c:\pcmia2\cardview\sswincs.dll slot to: drivers=mmsystem.dll --  Windows Sound                Check to see if the following line System                      has been remarked out: drivers=mmsystem.dll

If it has been remarked out, remove the semicolon from the line. You may still receive the error message, but you will be                               able to run Microsoft Excel.

Method 3: If Windows Is Not Installed Correctly
If you attempted to install Windows version 3.1 over Windows version 3.0, and the installation failed, the following line will appear in the [Boot] section of the System.ini file:

<pre class="FIXEDTEXT">  oldshell=progman.exe Also, the following line will appear in the [Drivers] section of the System.ini file:

<pre class="FIXEDTEXT">  olddrivers=mmsystem.dll To correct this problem, edit the System.ini file and remove the "old" prefix from both of these lines so that they appear as follows

<pre class="FIXEDTEXT">  shell=progman.exe and:

<pre class="FIXEDTEXT">  drivers=mmsystem.dll Also, make sure that there are no lines in the System.ini file that look like this:

<pre class="FIXEDTEXT">  ;drivers=mmsystem.dll

MORE INFORMATION
The third-party products discussed in this article are manufactured by vendors independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these products' performance or reliability.

Additional query words: timer driver vba proj

Keywords : kbenv kberrmsg

Issue type : kbprb

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