What do I have to do to install the missing error messages cab file on a Windows CE Device?

Question

I got this err msg while running my WindowsCE app:

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...and so I copied NETCFv35.Messages.EN.wm.cab from my PC to my handheld, and tried to run/install that cab file on the handheld. I got:

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So then I tried the same with NETCFv35.Messages.EN.cab. When I ran it on the handheld, it told me that it had already been installed:

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...but I went ahead and "reinstalled." I'm not sure its default installation location, though, is the right place:

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...so I copied it over again to the folder on the handheld where my .exe resides (NETCFv35.Messages.EN.cab had been deleted out of there after reinstalling). This time I made sure to install it into that same folder, rather than the seemingly random location it chose the first time:

Still, though, running the app shows me the same old "Which way did they go, George?" err msg about not being able to show me error messages (first screamshot above).

This makes me feel kind of Grimm, to the point where I'm thinking this is a pretty revoltin' development (no pun intended).

What do I need to do to be able to see the hidden err msgs?

UPDATE

This is what I got when I unpacked SYCCFA~1.001, renamed it System.SR.dll, and tried to add it as a reference to the project (it claims that it is not a .NET assembly...???):

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I tried the same thing with NETCFv35.Messages.EN.wm.cab, with the same results (it looks like the same file - same date, same size...so why the name diff?)

It's a CF 1.0 app. You can't reference the CF 3.5 resource file. You'll have to unpack the 1.0 resource CAB, which I don't have so I can't tell you exactly where it is. The reason for separate CABs is that they have different CAB installer info for the different platforms. Same reason the CF itself has different CABs for CE and WinMo, even though the libraries are the same. — ctacke, Oct 02 '14 at 20:09
Strange, then, that the err msg I got specifically mentions 3.5 — B. Clay Shannon-B. Crow Raven, Oct 02 '14 at 20:27

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 02 '14 at 14:26

The error messages are in a single file called "System.SR.dll". The CAB simply installs that and puts it into the GAC. You get an "already installed" error because it sees it in the registry, though it doesn't mean the file is actually there.

You can simply extract the DLL from the cab with a zip extractor (I use WinRAR, but whatever). For example, If I open this file:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft.NET\SDK\CompactFramework\v3.5\WindowsCE\Diagnostics\NETCFv35.Messages.EN.cab

It has a few things in it. SYCCFA~1.001 is the DLL. Pull it out, rename it to System.SR.dll and add it as a reference in your project. Studio will deploy it when you run and boom, you're cooking with butter.

What do I have to do to install the missing error messages cab file on a Windows CE Device?

UPDATE

1 Answers1