"ERROR Microsoft VBScript Compilation error -Line: 1-Invalid Character CEVB" when attempting to run an eVB application

Applies To

• Handheld PC Professional
• Handheld PC 2000
• MobileCubed H-Bomb 1.3
• bSQUARE bScript

Overview

When attempting to run the Freeware edition of MobileCubed H-bomb or eMbedded Visual Basic application on a Handheld PC you receive the following error message

The Visual Basic application fails to start and exits without warning.

More Info

When you attempt to run a Microsoft embedded Visual Basic (eVB) executive on some Handheld PC's with bSQUARE bScript installed you may receive a runtime error message from the Run Time Library. A known conflict exists between manual installations of bSQUARE's bScript and the ROM embedded version of the Windows CE Visual Basic Run Time.

Upon installing bScript, the installer attempts to update the Windows CE Visual Basic Script interpreter with a part of the bScript distribution package. In doing so the system file association registry settings are modified so that all Visual Basic applications are parsed by the bSquare Run Time, and not the system Run Time.
The bSQUARE library is not able to fully parse Visual Basic application program, and halts processing at the first unrecognised code line.

How-to Guide

To resolve the VBScript issue you must reset the Runtime Library used on execution of the VB application to the ROM embedded Windows CE Visual Basic Run Time.

The following steps require the use of a registry editor. For more information on obtaining a registry editor see CESD-S-0082.

1. Close all applications
2. Open your devices registry editor
3. Navigate through the hierarchy to:
   HKEY_CLASS_ROOT\.vb
4. Edit the string Default and replace the "bScriptFile" value to match the following:
   VBCE.ProjectRun
5. Close the registry editor and soft reset your device

When you attempt to launch the VB executive after the soft reset the application will be parsed successfully.

For bSQUARE bScript users, it is strongly recommended that all custom scripts be saved as .VBS files (the default) and not as .VB files. Doing so will ensure that the bScript files are processed by the bSQUARE Runtime and the eVB executives by the Visual Basic for Windows CE Runtime

Acknowledgements

With thanks to Paul Baldauf for assisting us with this article.