Microsoft KB Archive/42590

“SYS2090” Error Using SETUP, LINK, or LIB in COBOL

PSS ID Number: Q42590 Article last modified on 12-19-1989

3.00 3.00a | 3.00 3.00a MS-DOS | OS/2

Summary: You can receive the error “SYS2090: Unable to load User Program” when trying to run the SETUP.EXE, LINK.EXE, LIB.EXE, ADISCF.EXE, or KEYBCF.EXE program (from Microsoft COBOL Compiler Versions 3.00 or 3.00a) in either the protected or real mode of the Microsoft OS/2 operating system. This Microsoft OS/2 error typically occurs when trying to run a bound application in the real (MS-DOS) environment that is not configured correctly. Because bound applications can run under both real or protected mode, these applications are very sensitive to their environment.

More Information: The following are some possible reasons for the 2090 system error in MS OS/2 real mode: 1. A corrupted or zero-length .EXE file. 2. When running under the standard MS-DOS environment, the version of MS-DOS is 2.x. Running a bound application under MS-DOS 2.x requires that the bound programs be placed in the current subdirectory. The MS-DOS Version 3.x upgrade would also suffice. 3. The error can occur if two different versions of DOS are loaded on your system. You can check for this by invoking VER and COMMAND on the MS-DOS command line. If VER and COMMAND don’t return the same version number of MS-DOS, an incorrect version of COMMAND.COM is loaded and LINK may return a SYS2090 error. Reinstalling MS-DOS should resolve this problem. 4. Problems with the specific BIOS, possibly corrected by upgrading the ROM version. 5. Interference by terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) programs and some unpatched versions of Novell NetWare has been known to cause SYS2090 errors. Novell customers should contact their dealers to obtain patched versions of NetWare that emulate MS-DOS 3.x correctly by preserving the SS and SP registers when spawning processes. Novell NetWare Version 2.0a++ and Versions 2.10 and later are patched properly, according to Novell. Note: Microsoft has not tested and does not claim compatibility with any version or implementation of Novell NetWare for Microsoft COBOL 2.x, 3.00 or 3.00a. For more information on compatibility between Microsoft COBOL and Novell networks, query on the following words: COBOL and Novell and compatibility

Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1989.