Hello dgher1,
I realize that you probably already went through some of these troubleshooting steps but I recommend that you still read through all of the following information. And then you can contact me for further assistance if you are still having trouble.
If you still need to change a file in DOS I can help you with that too but it is not unusual for files to display slightly different sizes from one media to another. Just because you have 16.5 KB doesn't necessarily mean that the file is missing something or is corrupt if it is 17.5 KB on your install CD. However, on my XP system the file STDOLE2.TLB is located within my C:/Windows/System32 folder with a file size of 17.5 KB.
You can try to manually copy any file on your CD by using your Windows Explorer and then navigating to the cd drive and clicking open the folder where the files reside that you want to manually copy. Try to copy the 17.5 KB from the CD and then paste it into the folder where the 16.5 KB file resides. This should just overwrite the 16.5 KB file with the 17.5 KB file, but you can first rename the file 16.5 KB file or make a copy of it and stick the copy somewhere safe to restore back from if you should need to do that. Make a copy and put it in the My Documents folder or something. I also attached a copy of my STDOLE2.TLB file to this post for you to just download and stick it into your system's folder, so you can also try that and then see what happens:
Download STDOLE2.zip:
Download Attachment: STDOLE2.zip6.79 KB
Best Regards,
Rich_A
The following documentation is from the Desktopmates website:
First Error:
When I try loading a character with Ultra Hal I get ... "Error loading msagent character - 2147417843-1: An outgoing call cannot be made since the application is dispatching an input-synchronous call".
The "error loading msagent character -2147417843-1" is known to occur for several reasons:
1. The Hal Program is having trouble locating either the character or one of the msagent core components required to operate the character. Make sure you have all the required msagent core components installed from our New User Start Up Page if you have already done this and have successfully been running your character using the CyberBuddy program then you should also be able to use the character with Hal as well.
2. This error is also known to a appear on slower computers or a computer that are being depleted of it's resources. First thing is to make sure there's no other programs running at the same time in the background that could be depleting your system resources (memory). Also make sure your system is defragged on a regular basis (every few months at least). And of course check your system for any viruses or worms, they can go undetected and may only cause some minor problems in the beginning by depleting system resources or corrupting files.
3. Here's a few suggestions that have been used that has often corrected this problem.
(a) Try changing the setting on how Ultra Hal starts up in the general options under the "Startup" tab and select "I want Hal to start like a normal program from the start menu. Hal will not be accessed from the system tray but rather from a window that appears".
(b) Try running the Ultra Hal install setup again and choose the "Repair Option".
Second Error:
I'm running windows XP/NT/2000 and when I try to load my DesktopMates character in Ultra Hal I get this error
"Error loading agent character -2147024894-2 system cannot find the file specified" and/or the DesktopMates does not appear in CyberBuddy's or Hal's character list.
One of the most common reasons for this error appearing when trying to load a character in the Ultra Hal program is not having the full version of the character installed or it's not installed into the proper folder which should be in C/Windows/Msagent/chars or if your running NT C/winnt/Msagent/chars if you are certain you have the full version of the character properly installed read below.
If you are using Windows XP, NT or 2000 pro and your DesktopMates are not showing up in the drop down lists of CyberBuddy or Hal but other Microsoft characters are showing up (such as Merlin etc.), then you may not have them installed into the proper character folder. One known cause is that two MSAgent character folders could have been created on your system, try doing a search on your system for the name of DesktopMates character and if you find the character installed in a folder but you don't see any other Microsoft characters in the folder (such as Merlin etc.) then proceed to also trying doing a search for Merlin (or any other character that do show up in your CyberBuddy or Hal list) and if you locate them in a character folder but your DesktopMates do not appear as well then you have 2 different folders installed on your system, manually move the DesktopMates characters to the folder that contains your other Microsoft characters and then see if they show up in the list then later delete the MSAgent character folder that you moved the DesktopMates characters from.
Another known cause with Windows XP, NT or 2000 pro for characters not showing up in the CyberBuddy or Hal program is a bit more complex problem. It has to do with users and permission settings for your system where the culprit could be that you may not have the user permissions setup to allow access to the character folder and you may need to check your system's user permissions. If you downloaded and installed some of the software (CyberBuddy, Hal, DesktopMates or MS Agent components) without administrator access you may not be allowing permissions if later you logon as another user other than the administrator. You can check this by going to control panel and selecting user accounts and searching and reading about user accounts. Microsoft's documentation about user accounts and permissions can be somewhat confusing and difficult to understand, if you have trouble understanding how they work we suggest you try the resource links provided below. Allowing different users and permissions in theory is a cool feature of XP and NT but it's not without it's share of quirks and can also be confusing for users especially when initially setting it up. There are quite a few arguments about this practise and some do not recommend it, but often by setting up a user account and also assigning your user name as the administrator can assure access permissions to all folders and installed software.
Recommended help resources on how to set, view, change, or remove special permissions for files and folders
XP USERS
Microsoft XP File Sharing
WOWN XP Help
PN XP Help
Microsoft XP Help
2000 PRO USERS
WOWN 2000 Help
Microsoft 2000 Help
NT USERS
WOWN NT Help
Microsoft NT Help
