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Technical Article   Error:  Error 1904: failed to register C:\Program Files\ArcGIS\Bin\xmlsupportui.dll, 3dsymbolsui.dll, or GxRaster.dll

Article ID: 28065
Software:  ArcGIS - ArcEditor 8.1, 8.1.2, 8.2, 8.3, 9.0, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 9.3.1 ArcGIS - ArcInfo 8.0.1, 8.0.2, 8.1, 8.1.2, 8.2, 8.3, 9.0, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 9.3.1 ArcGIS - ArcView 8.1, 8.1.2, 8.2, 8.3, 9.0, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 9.3.1
Platforms:  Windows XP, 2003Server

Error Message

Installing ArcGIS products on a machine with a processor that supports data execution prevention (DEP), and Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) results in a failed installation. This includes the AMD Athlon 64 Family processors, as well as newer Intel Xeon, Pentium 4, Pentium M or Centrino processors, and Celeron-D processors. The following error message or a similar error message is returned:

For ArcGIS 8.x:
"Error 1904. Module C:\arcgis\arcexe83\bin\AfuiCust.dll failed to register. HRESULT -2147023898. Contact your support personnel."

For ArcGIS 9.x:
"Error 1904: failed to register c:\Program Files\ArcGIS\Bin\xmlsupportui.dll" (or 3dsymbolsui.dll, GxRaster.dll). HRESULT -2147023898. Contact your support personnel."

Various other DLL's may fail to register during the process.

Cause

As of Windows XP SP2, Microsoft has enabled data execution prevention (DEP); a feature that is included in newer processor series from AMD and Intel. DEP is a set of hardware and software technologies that perform additional checks on memory to help protect against malicious code exploits. Intel refers to their version of DEP as XD or execution disabling bit. AMD refers to their version of DEP as the NX-bit or No Execute bit.

Solution or Workaround

Disable DEP in Windows XP SP2 using the steps below:

  Users with Intel processors may also need to disable the XD or execution disabling bit in their computer's CMOS/BIOS. Since each computer's CMOS is different, reference the computer's manual or contact the manufacturer of the computer for assistance with this step.



 WARNING: The instructions below include making changes to essential parts of your operating system. It is recommended that you backup your operating system and files, including the registry, before proceeding. Consult with a qualified computer systems professional, if necessary.

Esri cannot guarantee results from incorrect modifications while following these instructions; therefore, use caution and proceed at your own risk.




  1. Verify the user is logged in as an Administrator for Windows XP.
  2. Go to Start > Control Panel and select the System applet.

     XP Home users may need to select the 'Classic View' link to be able to see the System applet.

  3. Click on the Advanced tab.
  4. Select the Settings button under Startup and Recovery.
  5. Beside 'To edit the startup options file manually, click Edit', click the Edit button. This opens the boot.ini file in Notepad.
  6. Locate the line that contains the following string: 

    /NoExecute=OptIn

  7. Modify the string to change the switch to read: 

    /NoExecute=AlwaysOff

  8. Save the file and reboot the machine.
  9. ArcGIS should install normally with no Error 1904 messages.
  10. After installation, change the boot.ini back to its original state, returning the added layer of security.


     The boot.ini file switches:
    /NoExecute=OptIn - Default setting. Only Windows system binaries are monitored by DEP.
    /NoExecute=OptOut - Enables DEP for all processes. Users can create a list of applications which are not monitored by DEP using the DEP configuration options listed in the System Control Panel applet.
    /NoExecute=AlwaysOn - Enables DEP for all processes. DEP is always applied, and exceptions lists are ignored and not available for users to apply.
    /NoExecute=AlwaysOff - Disables DEP.


Related Information


Created: 11/4/2004
Last Modified: 9/2/2011

Article Rating: (9)
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Comments

By rrrmmm70 - 01/02/2012 8:10 AM

Great article! It helped a lot!

Thanks for the article..But i shared another article about this problem... plz check this dll failed to register post.. he explain very nice way that why happen this.. and how to solve this problem...

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By Anonymous - 03/09/2010 12:57 PM

The article is incorrect or the solution didn’t work.

The problem with this article is -- "ArcGIS should install normally with no Error 1904 messages". The operative word there is "should", but sometimes this doesn't fix the problem.

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By Anonymous - 12/11/2006 6:14 AM

Other - See details below.

Hi, we had to follow these instructions in order to install ArcGIS on a Dell Optiplex 520. Now, my question is: When the installation is finished, can we re-enable the DEP? It seems to me that DEP is a security feature that might be a part of a company's security policy - and you do not want to change a policy just because a single application refuses to install or work with DEP. Kind regards, Dietmar Gibietz-Rheinbay Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research Data & Computation Depa

By Anonymous - 08/22/2006 1:59 AM

Other - See details below.

Error: Error 1904: failed to register C:\Program Files\ArcGIS\Bin\xmlsupportui.dll or 3dsymbolsui.dll To fix this I have created a couple of VBScripts which will disable DEP then Reboot ------------------------------------------------------------ Const ForReading = 1 Const ForWriting = 2 Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") Set objFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile("C:\boot.ini", ForReading) strText = objFile.ReadAll objFile.Close strNewText = Replace(strText, "OptI

By Anonymous - 06/16/2006 2:45 PM

Other - See details below.

This was an excellent article!! My installation failed on my brand new system and I couldn't figure out why. thanks for the assistance.

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By Anonymous - 03/10/2006 1:07 AM

Thank You. I was going nuts!!! New Comp faster prosessing ext. But ArcView does not whant to install. Thanx

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By Anonymous - 12/07/2005 2:29 PM

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By Anonymous - 12/02/2005 10:30 AM

make a floder of installation problems and put it in that along with simular articals

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By Anonymous - 11/21/2005 5:24 PM

I experienced this problem with SceneGraph.dll and GlobeDisplay.dll when installing on Windows XP SP2. I followed the directions to disable DEP, and then just used regsvr32 to register the two dll's instead of reinstalling everything. Then switched back to optin mode.

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By Anonymous - 06/15/2005 7:46 AM

We have experienced this problem two times recently. This article provided the solution to this seemingly obscure problem.

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By Anonymous - 02/02/2005 3:49 PM

When do you plan on resolving the problem associated with XP SP2 and the DEP on specific processors? We are planning on deploying ArcGIS ArcView software to several machines that run a Zeon processor and are updated with XP SP2. These machines were recently purchased, and modifying the boot.ini file, “even temporally,” is not a viable solution for our IT group.

By Anonymous - 01/05/2005 1:54 PM

No improvements needed

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