Q180071 - FILE: Msvbvm50.exe Installs Visual Basic 5.0

FILE: Msvbvm50.exe Installs Visual Basic 5.0 Run-Time Files
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Visual Basic Control Creation, Learning, Professional, and Enterprise Editions for Windows, version 5.0
  • Microsoft Windows 95
  • Microsoft Windows NT versions 3.51, 4.0

SUMMARY

MSVBVM50.exe is a self-extracting file that installs the latest versions of the Microsoft Visual Basic run-time files that all applications created with Visual Basic 5.0 need in order to run.


MORE INFORMATION

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center. Click the file name below to download the file:

Msvbvm50.exe
For more information about how to download files from the Microsoft Download Center, please visit the Download Center at the following Web address
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/search.asp
and then click How to use the Microsoft Download Center.

Msvbvm50.exe installs the following files, which ship with Visual Basic 5.0 Service Pack 2 and Service Pack 3: 

   FILE            VERSION

   --------------------------

   Msvbvm50.dll    05.00.4319

   Oleaut32.dll    2.20.4118

   Olepro32.dll    5.0.4118

   Stdole2.tlb     2.20.4118

   Asycfilt.dll    2.20.4118

   Comcat.dll      4.71
These files are the base dependencies for any component or application created in Visual Basic 5.0.

Do I Need Msvbvm50.exe?

Msvbvm50.exe is not intended to replace the Setup Wizard for distributing Visual Basic applications. For example, if your application includes components, such as ActiveX controls or DLLs, you should use the Application Setup Wizard or a third party setup package for distribution. However, if your Visual Basic application only depends upon the files included in Msvbvm50.exe, you can distribute your application by providing end users with the executable (.exe) file and Msvbvm50.exe.

To determine whether your application requires additional files for distribution, you can use the Setup Wizard to create a set of setup files as a test. If the [Files] section of the resulting Setup.lst file only lists your .exe file, end users should be able to run your application after running Msvbvm50.exe to install the core run-time files. However, if the [Files] section contains multiple files, you should consider using the Setup Wizard or a third-party setup package for distribution instead.

In addition to distributing simple executables, you can also use Msvbvm50.exe for the following:
  • To minimize the size of Internet downloads of Visual Basic applications. By running Msvbvm50.exe ahead of time, your users can download your application from the Web faster.


  • As a troubleshooting step when installation of Visual Basic or a Visual Basic application fails.

    If Setup fails with an error message that mentions one of the core files, or if registration of a component fails during Setup, the core files on the target computer may be mismatched. If the versions of the files in Msvbvm50.exe are newer than the versions on the target computer, running Msvbvm50.exe before running Setup may resolve the problem.



REFERENCES

For a specific example of a problem that is resolved by running Msvbvm50.exe, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q185992 : PRB: "Wrong Version Of Run-Time DLL" When Starting Application
Users of Microsoft Internet Explorer can download some additional ActiveX Controls and DLLs frequently required by applications built with Visual Basic 5.0. For more information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q172991 : INFO: CAB Files Distributed with Visual Basic 5.0
For information about the self-extracting file that contains the Visual Basic 6.0 run-time files, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q192461 FILE: VBRun60.exe Installs Visual Basic 6.0 Run-Time Files