On Apr 11, 3:03 pm, Stan Hilliard
<usenetrepl...@samplingplansNOTSPAM.com> wrote:
> I am in the process of improving my home network security and want to
> update versions of SNMPAPI.DLL on Win98SE. (I think.) I have recently
> networked this PC with an XP-Pro (Ethernet) and an XP-home (wireless).
>
> On Win98SE, I have two versions of SNMPAPI.DLL:
>
> Version currently in use:
> C:\Windows\SNMPAPI.DLL, 5/11/98, v5.00.1662.1, 32kb
>
> New version that I just downloaded fromwww.dll-files.com:
> C:\Windows\System\SNMPAPI.DLL, 5/3/02, v5.00.2134.1, 18kb
>
> Q1) Shouldn't I be using the newest version?
>
No, not necessarily at all. Just because it is newer/higher versioned
doesn't mean that it was written for your version of Windows - does
it? When YOU can answer this question - then you are qualified to
replace dll files. Until you know for sure, you run a great risk of
ruining your system.
> Q2) Do I need to uninstall and reinstall the DLL's with regsvr32?
>
Generally yes, but only IF the dll files are self-registering and most
are not.
> Q2) What is the sequence of operations to make the conversion?
>
> Information will be appreciated?
> Stan Hilliard
Depends. Usually one would want to unregister a registerable file,
then copy over the new file and then re-register the new file. Self-
registering files can have registry sections wherein they produce
entries into the registry telling various other apps where to find the
file and it's functions. Rarely, a file's location could be changed
and thus require a rewrite of the registry to point to it. And all
this is still dependent upon if the file is in use by Windows such
that one can not move it or overwrite it with a new version. This is
where inf files and installation packages are used to do these things
for us while we blindly agree to reboot now? boxes.
Explanation of Regsvr32 Usage and Error Messages (Q249873)
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=249873
It does matter very much where the file is placed, it should be placed
where it was designed to work at. Often that IS the Windows\System
folder for dll files but not always, and in this specific case, it is
NOT the place to put this file. Windows Update Q314147 contains
version 5.00.2195.5513 of the snmpapi.dll file which IS specifically
for the Win98 platform and puts it in the C:\Windows folder and
another copy in the c:\Windows\Options\Cabs folder. Best way to
proceed would be to download the update and install it to let the
update do all this hassle for you jiffy quick.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/d...47/Default.asp
This update has version checking so that if you tried to run it on
Win95 for example, it wouldn't work. The update also contains same or
lower version only overwrite such that newer files can't be ruined by
this update, yet your same version file would get overwritten if the
update were to run twice. It is extremely hard to beat MS's built in
safety system using updates made for Win98, please feel at ease using
them to 'change DLL location'.
Doing it manually is a whole nother thing and a very slippery slope at
best. There is no good practices guide that I know of other than
common sense and resistance to change. I don't know why Don thinks
the file goes to c:\windows\vcm folder, if you would like to see this
info, use WinZip on the Update and read the 314147up.inf file
yourself. Use Resource Hacker on the update to view it's RCData and
see that it is Windows version protected as well.
Resource Hacker
http://www.angusj.com/resourcehacker/
To answer your rephrased question, provided apples are apples, oranges
are oranges, and the dll file was written for your system, YES it is
fine to try a newer or higher versioned file - carefully. This is
usually done by renaming the old file and keeping it around until the
new file has been soundly tested for several weeks. In the case of
updates, that has already been done for us many times.
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