DOCUMENT:Q178489  23-DEC-1997  [vbwin]
TITLE   :PRB: Error 53 "File Not Found" When Calling a DLL Function
PRODUCT :Microsoft Visual Basic for Windows
PROD/VER:WINDOWS:5.0
OPER/SYS:WINDOWS
KEYWORDS:vb5all VBKBDLL

======================================================================
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The information in this article applies to:

 - Microsoft Visual Basic Learning, Professional, and Enterprise Editions
   for Windows, version 5.0
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SYMPTOMS
========

The following error message displays when you attempt to call a function in
a DLL file from Visual Basic:

   Error 53 "File Not Found"

The error message occurs at the function call statement.

CAUSE
=====

This message occurs when Windows is unable to load the specified DLL,
particularly if the DLL has not been saved at the specified location. It
will also occur if the dependency files required by the DLL file are not
installed in the computer.

RESOLUTION
==========

Install the dependency files required by the DLL file.

MORE INFORMATION
================

There are a several available tools that will help you determine the
dependency files for a DLL file:

1. The Dependency Walker on the Platform SDK will display dependencies in a
   graphical form. In fact, if you use Depends on a machine where this
   problem occurs, the missing DLL is displayed with a red circle, making
   it easy to determine what the trouble lies.

   You can obtain the Dependency Walker (DEPENDS.EXE) from the Platform SDK
   CD-ROM that comes with the MSDN. It can also be downloaded from the
   following URL:

      http://www.microsoft.com/msdownload/platformsdk/sdktools.htm

2. The QuickView utility that ships with Windows NT 4.0 shows the
   dependency files required by a selected DLL file. The QuickView utility
   can be installed from the Windows NT Setup tab of the Add/Remove
   Programs Properties dialog box in the Control Panel.

   NOTE: The Windows 95 version of QuickView does not provide this
   functionality.

3. DUMPBIN.EXE is a utility that ships with Microsoft Visual C++ that can
   also tell what are the required dependency files required by a DLL file.
   Use this command line utility with the /import parameter to determine
   the dependency files.
======================================================================
Keywords          : vb5all VBKBDLL
Version           : WINDOWS:5.0
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbprb

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