Error message: Incorrect inf file syntax in section 'CheckForPrevVer' (251287)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Active Directory Service Interfaces 2.5
This article was previously published under Q251287

SYMPTOMS

When you install Microsoft Active Directory Services Interfaces (ADSI) version 2.5, you may receive the following error message:
Incorrect INF file syntax in section 'CheckForPrevVer'

CAUSE

The error message occurs when you try to install the wrong ADSI 2.5 binaries for an operating system or when those binaries are from an earlier version.

RESOLUTION

ADSI has a different set of binaries for Microsoft Windows 98, for Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, and for Microsoft Windows 2000 operating systems. These sets are not interchangeable. The error message that is mentioned in the "Symptoms" section occurs most frequently when you try to install the Windows NT 4.0 version of ADSI on a computer that has either Windows 2000 or Windows 98 installed.

The error message also occurs if the Windows 2000 Active Directory Service Client Extension (DSClient) is installed on a computer that is running Windows 98 and the correct operating system version of ADSI 2.5 is installed afterward. In this case, the version of the ADSI run-time files that is installed by the DSClient is later than the version that is installed with ADSI 2.5.

MORE INFORMATION

The ADSI run-time file is included as a system component in Windows 2000. It is not necessary or supported to separately install ADSI on a computer that is running Windows 2000.

The correct binaries should be installed according to the operating system. When you install ADSI 2.5 for Windows 98, the installation process is completed on a Windows NT 4.0 system without an error message. However, when you try to use ADSI, you receive the following error message:
"Dynamic link library RADMIN32.dll could not be found in specified path"

Versions of ADSI earlier than 2.5 may not correctly scan for existing installations. Therefore, ADSI may incorrectly install over later versions.

For additional information about how to install the correct Active Directory Client Extension, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

288358 How to install the Active Directory Client Extension

REFERENCES

For more information about ADSI, visit the following Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/adsi

For additional information about a possible effect of installing previous versions of ADSI over existing installations, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

223048 FIX: Using ADO with ADSI returns 'Error 800a01ad (429)'

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:12/23/2004
Keywords:kbMsg kbprb KB251287
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