Move VB3 Win98 Application to VB4 WinXP (VB3 Win98)

Topic

New Reply

Go gently on me.

The only knowledge I have of Visual Basic applications is VB6 is the current version and what I know using Access with VBA.

I inherited a new client that is running Windows 98 and a VB3 application against an mdb database.

This is a single user system that was developed 10 years ago and the developer is nowhere to be found.

The Windows 98 computer is dying and I’m moving the VB3 application to a Windows XP computer.

I moved all the Windows 98 application directories verbatim to the Windows XP computer.

I copied all the dll’s to C:WindowsSystem, see attachment.
I copied all the vbx’s to C:WindowsSystem, see attachment.

The Best.exe application system seems to work OK

Questions:

1. Is there anything else I should be aware of to keep the system running as is on the Windows XP computer?

2. When I try to open the VB3 mdb with Access 97, I get the following message, Convert Database or Open Database? The Open Database does open OK. If Access 97 is getting this message, what version of the mdb do I have? How was it initially created?

3. The client does have the their code (FRM, FRX, RPT, BAS), see attachment. I have Visual Basic version 4 16-bit installed on the Windows XP computer and opened the Best.mak project and got the third party visual basic control/extension license errors, see attachment.

How do I go about purchasing the required control/extension licenses to support this application on VB4?

4. Are these third party VBX controls available for VB4?

5. Are these third party VBX vendors still in business?

6. If I had all the required VBX’s what is the conversion process from VB3 to VB4?

7. What about the Crystal reports?

Thanks, John

Reply | Quote

Replies

As a matter of interest, why would you upgrade from one out-of-date version of VB to another? What do you hope to gain?

Reply | Quote

You cannot simply copy a bunch of DLLs and VBXs and expect them to work. You’d need to use the appropriate installer, so that they become registered in the Windows Registry. During installation, you’d need to supply the license keys for some of them.

The database is probably in Access 2.0 or Access 95 format.

There is no point in trying to use VB4 (Rory also pointed this out), if you’re going to convert this at all, you should use VB6 or VB.Net. You’d have to find out what the current equivalents of the third-party controls etc. are and buy those. We’re not going to investigate this for you (at least, I’m not).

It might be easier to find out what the application does, and then rebuild it from scratch, in VB6, VB.Net or in Access itself.

Reply | Quote

Hi Rory & Hans

Your right, just looking for temporary solution till client gives OK to rewrite in Access.

Can you tell me what OLE2.REG does in the following directory?

Volume in drive C: is
Directory of C:BestTosys

COMPOBJ.DLL 107 KB 6/15/1995
CTL3DV2.DLL 26 KB 8/22/1994
MSAFINX.DLL 32 KB 4/28/1993
OLE2.DLL 298 KB 6/15/1995
OLE2.REG 27 KB 4/11/1995
OLE2CONV.DLL 56 KB 3/17/1994
OLE2DISP.DLL 162 KB 6/15/1995
OLE2NLS.DLL 150 KB 6/15/1995
OLE2PROX.DLL 51 KB 4/11/1995
STDOLE.TLB 5 KB 11/20/1994
STORAGE.DLL 155 KB 6/15/1995
TYPELIB.DLL 174 KB 6/15/1995
VSHARE.386 15 KB 11/1/1993

Thanks, John

Reply | Quote

A .reg file can be used to add or modify registry entries. Going by the name, it probably adds registry entries related to OLE2.DLL, an object library that allows applications to communicate with each other.

Reply | Quote

Is there a utility that will open the reg file to see what is does without running the file?

Thanks, John

Reply | Quote

Yes, Notepad.

Reply | Quote