DocID: 1159 - HOTSYNC caused an invalid page fault in module TABLE20.DLL

HOTSYNC caused an invalid page fault in module TABLE20.DLL

Document ID: 1159 << Back

Last Reviewed: 8/16/2001
This document applies to:
Desktop To Go

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Problem:

HOTSYNC caused an invalid page fault in module TABLE20.DLL

Background:

The cause of this problem is that there are some DLLs intended for Windows NT that have somehow gotten installed in your Windows 95 or 98 systems. Our patch will insure that Desktop To Go will work, but does not fix the underlying problem. Replacement of system DLLs by a non-system application is what likely caused this problem in the first place, and we do not want to compound it by further replacement of system DLLs.

Symptoms:

To recap, here are the symptoms of the problem:

Whenever HotSync is started, a crash occurs in TABLE20.DLL. HotSync is typically started at any of the following times:

When you start the PC or reboot
When you install Desktop To Go
When Desktop To Go has to exit & restart HotSync because of settings changes you've made (usually only if you activate or deactivate one or more Desktop To Go conduits)
After you click Close on that crash, HotSync starts anyway
Desktop To Go's conduits are not listed if you select Custom from the HotSync menu
Desktop To Go's conduits do not sync (this is because they're not listed). This affected not only Desktop To Go, but also some other 3rd-party conduits. However, it did not affect ALL 3rd-party conduits.

For this problem to occur, HotSync version 3.03 or 3.04 was required. It did not occur under earlier versions of HotSync (and as of this moment, there are no newer ones).

The Cause:

This problem was caused by an incompatible version of a system DLL, MSVCRT40.DLL. Somehow, the Windows 95/98 version of MSVCRT40.DLL was replaced by the Windows NT version. This was most likely done by a program that you installed at some point. We do not know which program(s) replace those DLLs with the incompatible ones. If we identify any such programs in the future, we will certainly notify the manufacturer; but of course we cannot take responsibility for what they may choose to do with this information.

Microsoft's Knowledge Base includes several articles about this situation, the symptoms it causes, and their proposed solutions. Below is a list of some of those articles.

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q153/7/33.asp

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q154/5/91.asp

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q185/4/33.ASP

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q187/9/10.ASP

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q190/4/24.ASP

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q195/6/46.ASP

The 'Solution':

We have produced a 'patch' that installs a copy of MSVCRT40.DLL which is compatible with Windows 95/98. The patch does not install this file in the Windows\System directory, where it normally is found; but in the Palm directory. This way it will be used by HotSync, but any other program that uses it will continue to behave as it currently does. Under normal circumstances, putting this DLL in the same directory as HotSync.exe will cause it to be used in place of the incompatible one in Windows\System. However, there are also some registry keys that Windows uses to bypass the normal search path for DLLs to always use a specific copy (usually the Windows\System copy). Therefore, in order to facilitate this fix, the patch also removes any such registry keys for MSVCRT40 if they are present.

We have decided not to install this Microsoft file in the Windows\System directory, which is where it really belongs. Since this file is a shared DLL, we do not believe that our replacing it out from under other programs that may be using it is a good idea. That's how this problem started in the first place. If we simply replace it, other programs that are already installed or that you install in the future may develop problems, which will likely be as difficult for other software developers to identify as this one was for us.

Steps to apply this patch:

1. Make sure you are using the latest version of Desktop To Go. Open the Desktop To Go program & check the lower left for a version number. The current version is 2.509b. If you are not using the current version, get it from the link below:

Download Desktop To Go

2. Download the patch from the following URL:

http://download.dataviz.com/desktoptogo/table20patch.exe

3. Double-click Table20Patch.exe. This will install the patch. At this point you should NOT get a crash in TABLE20.DLL, and when you select Custom from the HotSync menu, you should see the Desktop To Go conduits listed.

4. Sync to make sure that Desktop To Go is working under HotSync 3.03 or higher.

Other Symptoms?

Because the underlying cause of this problem is a system DLL which is incompatible with your system, it is likely that other symptoms may develop or may have already developed. We strongly recommend that you investigate the Microsoft Knowledge Base articles named above (under "The Cause"), as well as any Microsoft articles you can find that might refer to symptoms that you have observed and apply the appropriate solution as recommended by Microsoft. The patch has fixed the problem to the extent that Desktop To Go and other 3rd-party conduits will work properly; but the task of repairing your system is beyond the scope of Desktop To Go.

If this did not solve your problem please submit an incident at the link below: