BUG: Cannot Enter All Ten Digits of CD Key at Setup Time

• Standard, Professional, and Enterprise Editions of Microsoft Visual Basic, 16-bit and 32-bit, for Windows, version 4.0

SYMPTOMS

During the installation of Microsoft Visual Basic for Windows, you are prompted to enter the digits of the key on the sticker placed on the back of the compact disc case. In some cases, you cannot enter all ten digits. After entering more than one digit, you may receive the following error message:

   "This is an invalid CD Key value. Check the identification number from
    your CD sticker."

CAUSE

This error is caused by a corrupted or missing MS Sans Serif font.

RESOLUTION

Either of the following methods can be used to work around this problem.

Method One - Reinstall The MS Sans Serif Font

1. Be sure your original operating system installation disks are available. You need access to the SSERIFE.FON and SSERIFF.FON files.

2. Double-click the Control Panel's Font icon to view all the fonts currently installed on your system.

3. If you see MS Sans Serif in the list of installed fonts, it may be corrupted. You need to remove it with either of the following methods:

   In Microsoft Windows version 3.x or Microsoft Windows NT, select all of the MS Sans Serif fonts. Then, click the Remove button.

   -or-

   In Microsoft Windows 95, select all of the MS Sans Serif fonts. Click the Delete button, or drag the fonts to the Recycle Bin.

4. Use either of the following methods to reinstall the MS Sans Serif font:

   In Microsoft Windows version 3.x or Microsoft Windows NT, click the Add button. Select all the MS Sans Serif fonts from your original operating system installation disks. Be sure the "Copy Fonts to Windows Directory" checkbox is checked.

   -or-

   In Microsoft Windows 95, select the File/Install New Font... menu item. Select all the MS Sans Serif fonts from your original operating system installation disks. Be sure the "Copy fonts to Fonts Folder" checkbox is checked.

Method Two - Command Line Argument

Run the appropriate setup program, either SETUP.EXE or SETUP16.EXE, located in the \SETUP directory of the compact disc, using the /K command-line argument. For example, to install the 32-bit version of Visual Basic, assuming the compact disc is in drive D:, you would enter the following command:

   D:\SETUP /K "xxxxxxxxxx"

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

You can duplicate this problem by temporarily removing the MS Sans Serif font before installing Visual Basic 4.0 for the first time. After you have installed Visual Basic, you will not be prompted for the compact disc key.