Top Navigational Bar

Troubleshooting "Packed File Is Corrupt"
DocumentID: 601616
Revision Date: 29-Feb-96 1:28:44 PM

The information in this document applies to:
WordPerfect® 5.1 for DOS

Problem

Problem:
The error "Packed File Is Corrupt" displays when a user starts WP 6.0 DOS or the WP 6.0 DOS Installation program is often caused by a problem in the packed EXE loader that is incorporated into EXEPACK files, which WPCorp DOS products use. This problem causes incorrect loading of packed files. The problem only occurs when the program is loaded into memory before the first 64K boundary.


Answer:
To correct this problem, force DOS to load the program above the first 64K of memory by increasing the amount of memory DOS uses.
One way to do this is to fill up the first 64K segment with one or more copies of COMMAND.COM. You can also use copies of COMMAND.COM to diagnose the problem. Spawn a new command interpreter by typing "COMMAND" at the DOS prompt. Then try to run the program. Keep spawning copies of COMMAND.COM until the program runs. When the program runs, you have successfully filled the first 64K. If this method works, you may resolve the problem in a more permanent manner by increasing the number of files and buffers in the CONFIG.SYS file and then rebooting your machine.

The "Packed File Is Corrupt" error message may also be caused by a problem with memory. Running FIXBIOS and TESTMEM.COM can often help pinpoint or fix such a problem. Additional troubleshooting steps are below:

1.      One user found that by using the REM statement and "remming out" DOS=HIGH and any LOADHIGH (lh) commands in the CONFIG.SYS file, he was able to put DOS back into its 64K segment.
2.      Another user still got "Packed File Is Corrupt" after he used REM to take out DOS=HIGH. The user then reinstalled the WP.EXE and the WP.FIL files, and WP then ran fine.
3.      Customers can use the LOADFIX file included with DOS 5.0. The syntax for using LOADFIX is LOADFIX (e.g., LOADFIX WP.EXE). DR DOS does not have the LOADFIX utility, but DR DOS users can work around the problem by changing the MEMMAX -1 >nul line in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file to MEMMAX -L >NUL. This line tells DR DOS to prevent programs from using the lower 64K of memory. The book DR DOS Optimization and Configuration (p. 7), which ships with the DR DOS upgrade, states that the user can type MEMMAX +L after running NWPSETUP to access lower memory again.
4.      Another customer using DOS 5.0 on a Novell 3.11 network corrected this error by using Novell's EMSNET5 in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file instead of EMSNET3.
5.      One customer's root directory had been filled to the limit with CHKDSK files. Because the root directory had reached the maximum number of files, the customer was unable to install WP to the root directory, and the "Packed File Is Corrupt" message appeared. The customer deleted the extraneous files to solve the problem.
6.      One customer who was running the Stealth option of QEMM got this error message. By running Stealth the customer was loading more drivers into high memory thereby leaving more conventional memory open. Since the first 64K memory segment was accessible, WP started to load there, and the error message appeared. Using LOADFIX.EXE (from Microsoft) to run WP corrected the problem.
7.      A customer on a LANtastic network solved this problem by increasing the Maximum Number of Files Open from 50 to 150 on the server. The amount this option needs to be increased will vary from LAN to LAN. The option is found in the NET_MGR utility under Server Statistics.
8.      A customer turned the Cache RAM on the motherboard off and corrected the problem.
9.      From a DOS prompt, execute multiple copies of COMMAND.COM (type COMMAND.COM more than once) until the available conventional memory is around 540K. Doing this takes conventional memory and prevents WP from loading where it shouldn't be loading.

Answer:

Details:


Product specifications, packaging, technical support and information (*Specifications*) refer to theUnited States retail English version only. Specifications for other versions may vary. All Specifications, claims, features, representations, and/or comparisons provided are correct to the best of our knowledge of the date of publication, but are subject to change without notice.OUR MAXIMUM AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO YOU AND THAT OF OUR DEALERS AND SUPPLIERS IS LIMITED. IT SHALL NOTEXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO ACCESS THE INFORMATION. SEE LEGAL DISCLAIMER.