Subj : SOM.IR corruption
To : All
From : Mike Luther
Date : Mon Jan 13 2003 10:58 pm
Well, I still don't understand much about System Object Models even after
reading at it ... err ... by force, not choice, gloom.
And I didn't think that it had anything to do with RUNNING applications sort
of, until I wound up with a Lotus Smart Suite not even being able to open up a
Lotus 123 file without, "Unexplained OLE Error..." But, lo, it can relate to
this. After hours of research I stumble onto both the Lotus Assistance web
site and Usegroup remarks which say my exact syndrome looks like empty extra
space marks in the SET SOMIR= path string .. or ..
"An .IR file described in that path with 32 bytes in it!"
Duhh ... what's that?
As well this helpful soul notes that the SOM.IR files are really subject to
corruption, we don't know how, but if you are smart, you'll keep a backup of
them to use for restore purposes.
Duhh ... so sure enough, just ahead of the LOTUS .IR directories, is my WATCOM
V11 C/C++ compiler citation for WATCOM\SOM\ETC and you know, there are four .IR
files in it. One of them, SOM.IR has only 32 bytes in size and it is totally
empty. Gee, that's interesting! I wondered, what might this be like from
months ago on my tape backups?
Uhhh... SOM.IR there has 349,280 bytes and is dated in 1997,
The one here had an August date ... and 32 bytes?
Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to tape we go! Not so fast dog! Turns out that file is
locked and I can't replace it from tape! Hmmm .. OK, REM out the line for SET
SOMIR in CONFIG.SYS and try that. Sure enough, restore works, but not without
a complaint from BA/2 about resetting permissions or something as well. But
this time, in this case, after replacing JUST THAT ONE WATCOM .IR file that
appeared bad,
VOILA! Lotus 123 is working again!
Now .. how can that be that Smart Suite can't function without
a prior SOM.IR being right for an application that has NOTHING
to do with Lotus Smart Suite???
Oh well, back to work.
****************** Time passes through New Year! ******************
Not so fast puppy. I noticed that Watcom has released their 'final' public
release of Watcom V11C late in December. I've already updated those files back
about August, but we might as well get these latest ones on January 10,2003,
and zip 'em into the box. Well, two of them won't erase in UNZIP unless you
disable the RUN BATSERV.EXE and RUN NMPBIND.EXE in CONFIG.SYS. After that the
fix release versions will go into the update.
But ... suddenly, now, again, Lotus 123 is failing to load! And this time I
discover that there are MORE botched .IR files in this mix that were NOT
botched prior to the attempted update of Watcom!!
I discover in C:\OS2\ETC that REXX.IR and WPSC.IR are now 32 bytes, with the
January 10, 2003, date and time I did the UNZIP for the Watcome update...
Errr.... this ain't good. In all I wound up restoring from tape a total of I
thing four .IR files bad, plus Smart Suite would still not work this time. What
to do? Re-install Smart Suite! Sounds like Windows, no?
Answer ... Well, first try to use the provided Smart Suite Uninstall Icon.
Well, that leaves the directories still on the disk! Plus, it seems, that
there are still all kinds of things in the .INI file left behing as well from
this neat provided Icon of Faith! So, instead, use Unimaint to remove all
traces of SmartSuite from the system and surprise!
Unimaint balks as well on removing the Smart Suite .IR files too!
Back to the disable SET SOMIR= in CONFIG.SYS to complete the job and then
re-instate it as well. Hmmmm, puppy is looking at how to crawl under the fence
in the back yard by this time.
OK, from a re-install clean, plus update to this and that, Smart Suite is back
working again. But strangely, the .IR files are, in some cases,different than
they were in the tape backups which SHOULD have been OK as Smart Suite was
working fine, I think, then ???
Scratching head ???
Hmpf .. Off reading "Client Server Programming With OS/2 2.0", Part VI trying
to learn about SOM. But you know, there were all kinds of corruption issues in
the .IR files from dates that were really should never have been involved in
this. Then, suddenly, I realized that when I first 'updated' Watcom V11 with
that initial test release of the public code, it was ... err ... August 5th ...
???
Aha, insight ?
What is the rule of thumb on all this SOM madness? If this kind of thing can
wreak an application collection like this, what do we really need to do to
check this? Does one really have to make a special trip around the SOM.IR
directories to see what REALLY has been pranged, every so whatever times?
Just how does this SOM thing work anyway and what ARE the caveates?
Inquiring mind wants to know.
Thanks.
--> Sleep well; OS/2's still awake! ;)
Mike @ 1:117/3001
--- Maximus/2 3.01
* Origin: Ziplog Public Port (1:117/3001)
