Timer Driver and "Error Occurred Initializing VBA Libraries"ID: Q109778
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When you start Microsoft Excel, after the Microsoft Excel logo is displayed on the screen, you may receive the following error messages:
An Error Occurred Initializing VBA Libraries
- or -
Note that you may also receive the Timer Driver error message when you start Windows.The Timer driver is not installed on this system. Microsoft Excel cannot run without the Timer driver. Choose the help button for more information.
Q154658 : PRJ41: "Could Not Initialize VBA", "Timer Driver Not Installed"
Use the steps, based upon the version of Microsoft Excel you
are running, to verify that the files are correctly
installed and that the SYSTEM.INI contains the appropriate
entries:
1. Make sure the SYSTEM.INI file contains the correct lines
for MMSYSTEM.DLL, VTDAPI.386, and TIMER.DRV. The lines are
as follows:
NOTE: Make sure that you do not have trailing spaces on any
of the following lines.
Microsoft Excel versions 5.0 and 7.0
------------------------------------
a. In the [BOOT] section of the SYSTEM.INI file, the
following line is required:
drivers=mmsystem.dll
This line specifies which drivers to load when you start
Microsoft Windows, so additional drivers may be listed
on this line. For example, the line may read:
drivers=mmsystem.dll pen penwindows
For additional information about this line, see the
PJREADME.HLP file that is installed with Microsoft
Project.
Microsoft Excel version 5.0
---------------------------
b. In the [386Enh] section of the SYSTEM.INI file, the
following line is required:
device=vtdapi.386
c. In the [drivers] section of the SYSTEM.INI file, the
following line is required:
timer=timer.drv
Windows 95
----------
1. Make sure the MMSYSTEM.DLL file is loaded on your computer.
This file should be located in your \Windows\System
folder. If the file does not exist on your computer, do
the following to extract it from your Windows disks:
a. Copy Extract.exe from the "Disk 1 -Setup" disk to the
root directory of your hard drive.
b. On the Start menu point to Programs and then click
MS-DOS Prompt.
c. In the MS-DOS Prompt window, change to your root
directory.
d. Insert Disk 8 of your Windows 95 disks and type the
following at the command prompt:
extract a:\Win95_08.cab /L c:\Windows\System Mmsystem.dll
e. After the Extract program finishes extracting the file
to your computer, type the following at the command
prompt:
exit
f. Eject Disk 8 from your floppy drive and restart your
computer.
<PARTNER>
Customer tried this method, but it did not work. Renaming VBA*.DLL, and
then reinstalling Excel did work though.
</PARTNER>
Windows version 3.1 and Windows for Workgroups version 3.11
-----------------------------------------------------------
1. Make sure the files TIMER.DRV, MMSYSTEM.DLL, and VTDAPI.386
are loaded on your computer. All three files should be
located in your \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory. If the files do
not exist on your computer, expand them from your Windows
disks. Check your computer for duplicate filenames, and
rename as needed.
To expand the files, do the following:
a. Exit windows to the MS-DOS prompt.
b. Change to the WINDOWS directory.
c. In drive A, insert the disk that contains the file that
you want to expand:
Microsoft Windows version 3.1
-----------------------------
TIMER.DRV is located on Disk 3 (Windows 3.1), Disk 5
(Windows 3.11)
MMSYSTEM.DLL is located on Disk 4 (Windows 3.1 and 3.11)
VTDAPI.386 is located on Disk 3 (Windows 3.1), Disk 5
(Windows 3.11)
Microsoft Windows for Workgroups, version 3.11
----------------------------------------------
TIMER.DRV is located on Disk 5 (Disk 7 if 5.25-inch
disks)
MMSYSTEM.DLL is located on Disk 4
VTDAPI.386 is located on Disk 5 (Disk 7 if 5.25-inch
disks)
d. At the MS-DOS command prompt, do the following to expand
the files (assuming your Windows disk is in drive A):
To Expand TIMER.DRV, type the following:
Expand a:\timer.dr_ c:\windows\system\timer.drv
To Expand MMSYSTEM.DLL, type the following:
Expand a:\mmsystem.dl_ c:\windows\system\mmsystem.dll
To Expand VTDAPI.386, type the following:
Expand a:\vtdapi.38_ c:\windows\system\vtdapi.386
Other things to look for:
- If the SYSTEM.INI file contains the correct lines and
TIMER.DRV, MMSYSTEM.DLL, and VTDAPI.386 are all on your
system in the WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory, it may be possible
that one or all of the files is damaged. In this case,
delete the existing TIMER.DRV, MMSYSTEM.DLL, and VTDAPI.386
files and expand them from your Windows disks using the
instructions from step 2 above.
- It is possible to have Windows directories on more than one
drive. This may cause Setup to copy files to the wrong
directory. In this case, make sure the path is pointing to
the proper directory, and that the correct files are
located in the \Windows\System directory.
- Try commenting out the "LOAD=" and "RUN=" lines in WIN.INI
by adding a semicolon (;) at the beginning of each line.
Also, try removing ALL icons from the Program Manager
Startup group. Once these changes have been made, exit and
restart Windows.
- This can also occur if a directory is in the path prior to
the Windows directory that contains one of these files. A
Dos search for all instances of "Timer.drv", "mmsystem.dll",
and "Vtdapi.386" will assist in the resolution of this issue.
From a MS-DOS command prompt at the root of "C:", type the
following:
Dir Timer.drv /s
to search all the subdirectories. Change your path statement
and have your Windows directory be first.
Determine if a driver has created or modified entries in the
[386Enh], [Boot], or [Drivers] sections of the SYSTEM.INI file
(and that this modification is causing the problem).
To do this, remark these entries out (type a semicolon at the
beginning of each driver entry), and make sure that the
appropriate entries are included in each section of the
SYSTEM.INI file (for information about these entries, see step 1
in "Method 1" above).
Note that commenting these lines out may prevent you from running
a certain application or utility.
The following table includes specific examples of drivers that
may create entries in the [386Enh], [Boot], or [Drivers] sections
of the SYSTEM.INI and, subsequently, may cause these error
messages. The table also contains suggestions about how you may
be able to avoid the error messages.
For this Using this
Product Driver Make this modification
--------------------------------------------------------------
AceCad AceCat 2 Check for multiple [Boot] sections.
Enterprises Comment out all but one of these
program sections and ensure that it
contains the appropriate drivers=
entry.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Adobe Type atmsys.drv Change the following lines in the
Manager (ATM) [Boot] section from
system.drv=atmsys.drv
atm.system.drv=system.drv
to:
system.drv=system.drv
--------------------------------------------------------------
After Dark adwrap.drv Remark out
3.0
drivers=d:\afterdark\arwrap.drv
and add:
drivers=mmsystem.dll
--------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------
Drawing Change
tablet
drivers=pen penwindows
to:
drivers=mmsystem.dll pen penwindows
----------------------------------------------------------------
Explorer on Net In the [BOOT] section, remark out:
by FTP, Inc.
drivers=c:\explorer\wcomapi.dll
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Kurta's wtkurta Change
Tablet Driver
version 8.01 drivers=wtkurta
or 8.0i
to:
drivers=mmsystem.dll
--------------------------------------------------------------
LapLink In the [386enh] section, remark out
the lines that contain the
following:
vpd.386 (virtual parallel port)
vcd.386 (virtual serial port)
tsivid.386 (virtual used by TSI
Products)
--------------------------------------------------------------
Quarterdeck QEMM 8.0 Change
drivers=C:\QEMM\mmsystem.dll
to:
drivers=mmsystem.dll
--------------------------------------------------------------
Safari 3180 sswincs.dll Change
Notebook with
a PCMCIA card drivers=c:\pcmia2\cardview
slot \sswincs.dll
to:
drivers=mmsystem.dll
--------------------------------------------------------------
Windows Sound Check to see if the following line
System has been remarked out:
drivers=mmsystem.dll
If it has been remarked out,
remove the semicolon from the
line. You may still receive the
error message, but you will be
able to run Microsoft Excel.
--------------------------------------------------------------
If you attempted to install Windows version 3.1 over Windows
version 3.0, and the installation failed, the following line will
appear in the [Boot] section of the SYSTEM.INI file:
oldshell=progman.exe
and this line will appear in the [Drivers] section of the
SYSTEM.INI file:
olddrivers=mmsystem.dll
To correct this problem, edit the SYSTEM.INI file and remove the
"old" prefix from both of these lines so that they appear as
follows:
shell=progman.exe
and:
drivers=mmsystem.dll
Also, make sure that there are no lines in the SYSTEM.INI that
look like this:
;drivers=mmsystem.dll
If such lines exist, remove them from the SYSTEM.INI file. Additional query words: 5.00c err library expnotes.exe pc world
Keywords : xlwin
Version : WINDOWS:4.0,4.1,5.0,5.0c,7.0
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : Last Reviewed: July 15, 1999