Article #27411: Borland Delphi Install Frequently Asked Questions

My system freezes when I start Delphi — I don't even see the splash screen.

Check display colors — Delphi cannot run in Windows 98 with 16 colors. If that does not fix the issue then add the following line to the system.ini file under the [display] section: BusThrottle=1 (reboot afterwards). This tells the Video card that it cannot dominate the Bus and must give some time to the OS. It looks as if the problem is the video driver is not releasing the Bus back to the OS after it switches to main memory.

When I start Delphi I see the splash screen, then my system freezes.

The problem is most likely a compatibility conflict with the video driver. Borland tests its products against generic S3 drivers provided by Microsoft or S3 Inc. Any drivers compliant with this standard should not cause this problem with Delphi. Video drivers that do not fully comply with this standard may or may not function correctly with Delphi. Possible fixes: Turn Hardware acceleration off (Win 95)or down to none (Win 98). NT — turn off bitmap caching. Delphi 4 — Download Update Patch 3 (contains a work-around). Try starting in Safe Mode (Win 95) or VGA mode (NT). Contact your specific video card vendor about getting a compatible generic S3-compliant video driver. Try variations of color depth and resolution.

There were no errors during installation, but when I run Delphi there are no components on the component palette.

Windows 2000: If you are running Delphi 6 this most commonly occurs if you install 3rd party components before running Delphi at least once after installation. Registry settings are made for Delphi the first time it is run (and subsequently the first time any additional user runs it). If components are installed before those settings are in place things can get messed up [technical term]. There is a utility that comes with Delphi 6 to fix this. Located in the bin directory or on the CD, it is called D6RegClean.exe. Running this (ignore warning messages) and then running Delphi will restore your component palette. You will then need to re-register and reinstall any additional components. Note: This utility is designed specifically for issues with Windows 2000. If you are using a different OS please see other suggestions below. Windows NT: Delphi 5 or earlier: Most likely Delphi was installed by an administrator or a user with administrator rights and the user currently logged on does not have administrator rights. The component library is failing to load because we don't have the registry keys that tell us where the packages are located. Install first as Admin, then do a 'Registry Keys Only' install for each user to get all the necessary DLL's and registry key entries to run Delphi under a specific user profile. Delphi 6: This shouldn't happen :| Try uninstalling and reinstalling. Windows 95/98: It is possible for an older version of this file to be installed (overwriting the current version) by another product. If this happens then run the comctl32.dll update on the Delphi CD. It is in the Info/updates directory and is called 40comupd.exe for Delphi 4. This file is also updated with Delphi 4 Update Pack 3. For Delphi 5, the file is in the install directory on the CD. For Delphi 6 the file is called:50comupd.exe, and is located in InfoExtrasComctl on the CD.

Delphi starts fine, but the component palette display is corrupted. Part of one icon appears on part of the next, images are drifting off the buttons, the wrong images on buttons, etc. Restarting the computer does not help.

The problem is most likely a compatibility conflict with the video driver. Borland tests its products against generic S3 drivers provided by Microsoft or S3 Inc. Any drivers compliant with this standard should not cause this problem with Delphi 4 or 5. Video drivers that do not fully comply with this standard may or may not function correctly with Delphi. Possible fixes: Try running with video hardware acceleration turned down to none. This will identify it as a video driver conflict if it eliminates the problem. Try running Delphi with Computer in safe mode (Win95) or VGA mode (NT). Try running the update 40comupd.exe found in the infoupdates folder of the Delphi 4 CD. For Delphi 5 run the Dcom95.exe in the MDAC directory or the 40comupd.exe from the install directory on the CD. This updates the file comctl32.dll. (Note: installing Internet Explorer 5.x or newer will also update this file). Contact your specific video card vendor about getting a compatible generic S3-compliant video driver. Try variations of color depth and resolution.

I installed Update Pack 3 for Delphi 4, and now my toolbar icons are corrupted.

This is a video driver problem. This update changes the way the Image List is handled in order to correct the problem with the component palette (see Component Palette FAQ). This is a rare problem and may require reinstalling Delphi without the service pack if the video driver issues cannot be handled another way.

What is installation error 113?

This error occurs when there are problems reading files from the CD. Delphi requires a 32-bit CD-ROM driver in order to read long file names. If you have a 16-bit CD-ROM driver you will need to update to 32-bit. The reason this happens with Delphi (and usually not with other programs) is because Delphi installs by copying the Runimage directory, which contains long file names, from the CD to the hard drive. Typically, other installation programs unpack a compressed file. Contact the manufacturer's web site for an update. To verify that you have a 16-bit driver: Check device manager in Control Panel — if no CD-ROM then it's 16-bit. Go to Explorer and view the Runimage directory on the CD. If there is a tilde (~) in any of the file names then the name is long and is being truncated. Possible fix: Autoexec.bat and Config.sys — remove any reference to the 16-bit CD-ROM and restart. Windows might load new drivers. If not, manually add the new drivers. Other Issues: This error can happen when someone is installing off of a network and has not actually mapped a drive to the correct location (they simply share the folder). Setup needs to see the Install and Runimage folders in the ROOT directory of a drive. Right click My Computer->Map Network Drive... This can also happen if you are trying to do a hard drive install, but have not put the files in the ROOT of the drive.

What is installation error 117?

A certain batch of CD's produced by Borland contained a glue-like substance on them that causes this error because a track on the CD cannot be read. The solution is to clean the CD using a glass cleaner like Windex. The other possible cause of this error is a damaged or scratched CD. If cleaning the CD does not make the error go away then customer should call the order desk (1-800-932-9994) to order a replacement CD.

I get installation Error _ins5176 at the end of my installation.

This is an Install Shield error. If the install continues and everything seems to work fine, then it can be ignored (the error happens during installation cleanup). Otherwise, it's much more serious and there's no easy solution. Try uninstalling the product, including registry entries, and doing a hard-drive installation in SAFE mode. This usually happens on a machine that already has another version of Delphi on it and has to do with the failure to register an OCX that is already registered.

What does the error Can't find PVCS when installing Delphi 4 Pro mean?

This is an error in the install program and can be ignored. PVCS comes with Delphi 4 C/S but not Delphi 4 Pro, but can be installed with Delphi 4 Pro if customer already has PVCS.

What does BORDBK60.DLL or (BORDBK50.DLL for Delphi 5),(BORDBK40.DLL for Delphi 4) is missing or not registered error mean during installation or startup of Delphi?

If the installation does not complete the cause of the problem is likely due to a software conflict. Some anti-virus software and certain NT Internet Services have been known to prevent bordbk60.dll and/or html.ocx from being registered with the operating system. In this case the best solution is to try eliminating the software in question and then try reinstalling Delphi 6. If that is not a viable solution, try step 1 below to manually register the bordbk60.dll (BORDBK50.DLL for Delphi 5),or (borbdk40.dll for Delphi 4) or html.ocx. If the install does complete: Run TREGSVR manually to register the dll. TREGSVR can be found in the Delphi 6, 5 and 4 /bin directory. To register the DLL you would type: tregsvr bordbk60.dll in the directory where the DLL resides (assuming you have the Delphi 6, 5 or 4 /bin directory on your path, otherwise you would include the path to bordbk60.dll). Delphi 4: If TREGSVR says the dll has been successfully registered, but Delphi 4 doesn't work, then you have probably uninstalled Delphi 4 AFTER applying Update 2, and then reinstalled without applying Update 2. Hence, the DLL is installed correctly but Delphi 4.00 does not know how to use the Delphi 4.01 version of the DLL. To correct this problem install update pack 2 and then your version of Delphi 4 will correspond to the version of the DLL on your system.

How do I know which version of Delphi I have?

Delphi 6, 5, 4: The menu option Help/About tells you what build version you have and what service packs are installed. Delphi 3: Delphi 3 did not update the about box. Look at the time stamp for Delphi 32.exe if it is 3:00 am it's unpatched, 3:01 you have 3.01 and 3:02 you have 3.02. There is also a Delphi/BDE version utility available on the Borland web page under DOWNLOADS.

How do I completely uninstall and reinstall Delphi?

Back up all project files which are located under the Delphi directory. Optional: back up aliases by backing up idapi32.cfg, using it to replace the newly installed idapi32.cfg after reinstallation; It is recommended that all third party and custom components be reinstalled after the complete reinstallation of Delphi. Use the Windows add/remove programs utility to remove Delphi, answering yes to remove all files Manually remove the Delphi directory from your system. If you are using Delphi 6 on Windows 2000, run the utility D6RegClean.exe off of the CD. Install Delphi using the following steps: Insert the Delphi CD into CD-ROM Drive. If auto-play is enabled, the Delphi Setup Launcher will automatically run. If the Delphi Setup Launcher does not run automatically, run install.exe in the root directory of your Delphi CD. Follow the on-screen instructions. If you backed up your aliases, copy the backed up version of idapi32.cfg over the newly installed idapi32.cfg Install all third party and custom components.

How do I install Delphi from a local hard drive?

You will need approximately 184 MB of hard drive space to temporarily store the installation files, 160 MB for the complete installation and free space to hold temporary files, on the drive that has windows while the installation program is running. Put the Delphi CD in the drive and choose Browse the CD. Copy the Install folder to the root directory (i.e. not inside any subfolders) of the local drive you will be installing from. Copy the Runimage folder to the root directory of the same drive. This may take a very long time. Verify that the entire folder was copied correctly. Right-click on the folder and choose properties. This folder should contain the same number of files that the one on the CD-ROM contained. Copy all of the remaining files (autorun.inf, delphi.ico, deploy.txt, etc.) to the root directory of the same drive. Reboot into Safe Mode or VGA mode and double click on the install.exe that you now have on your hard drive and install Delphi as you normally would. Reboot in normal mode and verify that Delphi runs correctly. Once you have done this you can delete all the files that you copied over from the CD-ROM.

What is Safe Mode or VGA Mode?

Safe mode is the method for booting into a simple system configuration under Windows 95*. VGA mode is the diagnostic mode under Windows NT. When Windows boots into Safe mode or VGA mode, it uses basic default settings that will run the operating system with minimal functionality, meaning it loads a bare bones operating system. Hardware, like your CD-ROM drive, may not function in Safe mode or VGA mode because the drivers are not loaded. Because of this it may be necessary to copy the Delphi installation files to the hard drive before restarting in safe mode (See Hard Drive Install FAQ). *Windows 98 has a safe mode but is has a different functionality and may not be helpful in resolving install issues. Specifically, it loads the current video driver instead of the default VGA driver provided by Microsoft, so starting in safe mode in Windows 98 will not resolve issues related to the video driver. You will need to manually change the driver.

How do I start my computer in Safe mode (Windows 95) or VGA mode (Windows NT)?

Safe Mode: There are two ways: Hold down the SHIFT key as you reboot until the Windows screen comes up. When you restart, watch the screen for the text Starting Windows 95. When you see this hit F8 and choose Safe Mode from the option menu which comes up. VGA Mode: Windows NT should offer a menu at start up where you can select VGA mode.

Why does the splash screen keep popping up?

Either you have a bad CD-ROM driver, or a slightly damaged CD that one computer may read fine but this particular computer is not as forgiving. Try a hard drive installation or update the CD-ROM driver. You will need to contact customer service in the case of a damaged CD.

Why is Delphi 4 running slower than Delphi 3?

Make sure Service Pack 2 and 3 have been installed. The debugger hooks were slow starting and finishing which caused slowness.

What does the ICON IMAGE IS NOT VALID error mean?

Chances are good that you are using a Micron (or other factory assembled system) computer which has a proprietary version of the OS (95, NT, 98). You may be able to successfully install Delphi by uninstalling and re-installing the OS, or in the worst case scenario you might need to install a non-Micron-proprietary OS. Also, check to see if there is more than one copy of bordbk60.dll for Delphi 6, bordbk50.dll for Delphi 5 or bordbk40.dll for Delphi 4 on the machine.

Delphi used to work fine but now I get random access violations in the IDE.

You most likely installed a bad component or package that was not written or compiled for Delphi 6, 5 or 4. Try uninstalling custom components one by one (or package by package) until the problem goes away, then get in touch with the component vendor regarding this issue.

Whenever I save, even a blank project, I get '<garbage>' is not a valid identifier. If I try and save again I get '<garbage>' is not a valid identifier.

Uninstall Delphi. Make sure no other software is running, especially antivirus software, and reinstall Delphi. Alternately, a customer reported that ImageFox from ACDSystems was the source of his problems, but this has not been confirmed or disproved.

I just installed Delphi and when I access the Environment Options or open up one of my projects, I get an error message: 'Delphi32 caused a GPF in module MACXW4.DRV at...' and then Delphi shuts down.

More than likely this is a video driver related problem. Downloading the latest video drivers for your video card should solve the problem. You can also try turning hardware acceleration off.

What does BDE Error 8712 — Object not found mean?

Be sure there is only one version of BDE installed on machine. To verify this, search for idapi*.dll. Also, try renaming idapi.cfg or turning off virtual alias to see if its a ODBC problem.

Why am I having preview and paper size problems in QuickReports? (Delphi 4 only)

The latest version of QuickReports, version 3.0.5, has several bug fixes including some related to custom paper size and print preview. This version comes with Delphi 5. An upgrade is available for Delphi 4 users from the QuSoft web page at: http://www.qusoft.com/scripts/download.dll The file is called QR305SD4.EXE

I am getting runtime error 255 when using Delphi 3.

This error is reported if there is a hardware or other exception that isn't caught (this error is caught in Delphi 4). Error 255 in Delphi 3 appears to be caused by certain video drivers, or by workstations using the AMD NexGen x586 CPU. If your PC is not using the AMD NexGen x586, then the problem is probably the video driver. Try changing driver configuration, getting a newer video driver, or using the generic S3 drivers provided by Microsoft or S3 Inc.

Last Modified: 19-APR-02