Help! Virtual Device Driver in registry is invalid

[Dale Grove]

Hi I'm hoping someone can help me. I have a 16 bit
application that I run under Win 2000. When it starts I
get the message;

SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet|Control|VirtualDeviceDrivers. VDD
Virtual Device Driver format in the registry is invalid.
Choose 'Close' to terminate the application.

If I hit ignore the program will start but I'm am worried
that maybe my program is not running properly and I may
lose or corrupt my data.

I've tried finding a driver on Microsoft's website but I
haven't found one and don't know what to do next. Can
anyone suggest what I might be able to do to correct this.
I've downloaded all the updates for WIN 2000 from the
website and it still hasn't corrected it.
Thanks so much
Dale

[Khadeer]

Hi Dale,

I am trying to open the Netscape I started to see the same
problem. Any new software that I am trying to install has
the same problem, I get the same error. I am also
searching for the solution. If I find the answer, I will
let you know.

If you find answer to this please le me know.

Thank You
_Khadeer

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[Khadeer]

Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - Q254914

Virtual Device Driver Error Message in 16-Bit MS-DOS
Subsystem

The information in this article applies to:
Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0

For a Microsoft Windows XP version of this article, see
Q314452.
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about
modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry,
make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand
how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For
information about how to back up, restore, and edit the
registry, click the following article number to view the
article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry
SYMPTOMS
After you install some programs, one of the following
error messages may appear when you attempt to run 16-bit
programs:

16 bit MS-DOS Subsystem
drive:\ program path
XXXX. An installable Virtual Device Driver failed DLL
initialization. Choose 'Close' to terminate the
application.
-or-

16 bit MS-DOS Subsystem
drive:\ program path
SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\VirtualDeviceDrivers.
VDD. Virtual Device Driver format in the registry is

invalid. Choose 'Close' to terminate the application.

In some cases, clicking Ignore allows the program to run
properly, but the error message continues to be displayed
when you start 16-bit programs.
CAUSE
This behavior can occur if the following registry value
has become corrupted:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Virtual
DeviceDrivers\VDD
This issue may occur after you install a 16-bit program,
or a program that uses a 16-bit installation program, that
is not Windows 2000 compliant.
RESOLUTION
WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may
cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall
your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you
can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor
incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
Locate and click the following value:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Virtual
DeviceDrivers\VDD
On the Edit menu, click Delete.
On the Edit menu, click Add Value.
Type VDD in the Value Name box, click REG_MULTI_SZ for the
Data Type, and then click OK.
The Multi-String editor appears. Leave this entry blank
and click OK.
Quit Registry Editor.
If the above steps do not work, or if you are unable to
create the VDD key, it may be necessary to also delete and
recreate the whole VirtualDeviceDrivers registry key.
STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the
Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of
this article.
MORE INFORMATION
These error messages can also occur in Microsoft Windows
NT 4.0 if this key is manually deleted for testing
purposes.
First Published: Feb 21 2000 1:10PM
Keywords: kb3rdparty kberrmsg w2000apps kbAppDev kbprb
kbfaqw2kperf

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[Louis Garceau]

I also had this problem on one of my machine recently, and found that
Knowledge base article on Microsoft, followed it and everything
worked. My VDD key was taken over by a Symantec file.