Forums Bug Reports Blows up!

When ever I try and use mIRC, it literally crashes on me.
The Message I keep getting is,

MIcrosoft Visual C++ Debug Libary

Program C:\Program Files\mIRC\MIRC.EXE
File: DBGDEL.CPP
Line: 47

Expression: _BLOCK_TYPE_IS_VALID(pHead->nBlockUse)

Anyone know how to fix this jibberish?

Sounds like you have a virus, or using an outdated version of Windows or something

Version of windows and of mIRC?

You may find this thread of some interest.

Welcome to DLL hell. Microsoft releases updates to the Visual Developer Studio for programmers to use. Some of the updates include new versions of the DLLs for the C/C++ programs to use. You might be able to solve your problem by installing a newer version of the C/C++ runtime libarary DLL files. Sometimes this is called the Microsoft Libraries.

Where can you get them? Well, sometimes Microsoft puts updates in their download site for Windows. The only other way is if you know someone who has the Visual Developer Studio and the updates. The installation file is called "VCREDIST.EXE".

When you have this kind of problem here is what I suggest. It's a big pain. Install Windows from scratch. Do not install any programs, updates, or anything else. Just install the application that you are having problems with. See if you have the problem. If you do have the problem, the C/C++ DLL files that came with the program, or the ones in Windows may be causing the problem. If the program works, some other program you installed later changed the C/C++ library DLL files.

Here are a couple of possible work arounds for the problem.

• Get the newest copy of the Microsoft C/C++ DLL library files that you can, and install it.
• Figure out which program caused the problem. Don't install it, or try installing it first, before any others.
• Back up the "system32" DLL files to a separate directory. Turn off all the "archive" (changed) flags for the DLLs. Install the problem application and see which DLLs it changed. Restore the changed DLLs after installing the program.
• Check the Microsoft Knowledge Base articles for the specific problem.
• Check with the web site for the program that seems to cause the problem.

The DLL's I have the most problems with are these.

• MSVCRT.DLL
  
• MFC42.DLL
  
• MFC42U.DLL
  
• MSVCIRT.DLL
  
• COMCAT.DLL
  
• OLEAUT32.DLL
  
• OLEPRO32.DLL
  
• MSVCP60.DLL
  
• ATLA.DLL
  
• ATLU.DLL
  
• ASYCFILT.DLL
  
• ADVPACK.DLL
  

You can look at the dates, and the properties of the DLL files to find out the versions. If you have a mixture of versions, or the dates are very different, you might have a problem.

Programs are only supposed to install newer versions of these files (if they install them). Some installers for programs don't work, and install older versions of the files. Worse yet, they may only install the one's they need, but those may require other DLL's to be updated.

What I'm getting at is the order that you install software is very important. Keep track of which programs you installed, and in what order. If possible, try to install the oldest programs first. Reset the archive bits on the DLL files in the "system32" directory. See which DLL files are updated when you install an application. Did the versions of the files go to a later version or an earlier version? Going to an earlier version is usually a problem.

Sometimes Microsoft releases bad versions of the C/C++ runtime library. Sometimes going to an earlier version may solve your problem. There is no easy way to go to an earlier version. You have to manually copy the DLL files.

Back up your computer operating system before you install a new application. Try all of your applications after you install a new application. Avoid installing software you don't really need. Avoid installing updates for programs, unless you know that you need the updates. If you detect a problem early enough, sometimes you can uninstall the application that caused the problem, and everything will work fine again.

I've been writing C programs using VC++ for 6 years now, not once have I ever had a problem due to an MS dll error. Is it possible? Sure, but 99999 out of 100000 times the problem lies with the programmer, not MS. Blaming MS for such things is like saying "I'm too lazy to fix my own code, so therefore I'll just say it is MS's fault." Btw, assuming the problem is due to MS when you haven't even seen his code is just plain foolish. Might as well say anytime someone says their script doesn't work just respond with "It's a bug in mIRC."

It wasn't my intention to blame Microsoft for the problem. I'm glad you've had such good luck with Microsoft's runtime libraries. Unfortunately that isn't the case for everyone. But my point was mainly that some problems are caused by applications installing different versions of the DLLs.

As a developer you have access to all the updates and information, so you can keep your system from encountering some of the problems that do occur from time to time. Some companies don't bother to update their installation scripts, or libraries, and some don't even use well written installers.

I've had a few headaches with COMCAT.DLL and MFC42.DLL aborting in the past, and also some cases where the debug version of the libraries works fine, but the non-debug version fails. In fact, depending on which MFC42.DLL I use, Microsoft Visual Studio will sometimes abort the first time I start it.

In the best situation, a person has the source code, understands how to investigate the problem, and has the debug tools. The reality is most people can't do anything except try to work around the problem. The problem may not be Microsoft's fault. However, it may be necessary to look at the Microsoft DLL file versions to solve the problem.

I have a lot of good things to say about Microsoft, but they aren't perfect. The same of course, can be said for mIRC, or any other application. The important thing isn't who's to blame, it's how to solve the problem.