Error DLL crdb_p2sifmx.dll

[Former Member]

Ok I saw someone else had asked this about a month ago, but I need more info from him.

We have VS2005 developers addition. with CR for 2005 included. I built CR for Informix database.

All works well until I try to deploy the package. I get the error. DLL crdb_p2sifmx.dll' isn't able to load.

The other person was given the answer that the basic version doesn't have it but the developer version does. But this answer does not settle my questions. Don't we have a developers version of CR in the VS developers edition???

Also we had a Heck of a time getting the download merge modules for crystal.. They weren't in the package, and almost all links went to downed web pages. We finally did find it, We created our deployment package with it and we installed it out to the server with the CR Merge module in it.. But could this be where we ended up with a basic version as this is what would setup the CR dlls on the server?

Does VS developer edition give us entitlement to the dlls for a developer CR? If so how on earth do we get to them to download them. If not, what do we need to purchase to get the correct dlls, yet still have it compatable with VS 2005?

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Ok we did start out in CR 8.5.. When we converted neither crdb_p2sifmx.dll worked, nor the ODBC driver which Merant wanted us to purchase.

We choose to purchase the crdb_p2sifmx.dll, from dll4you website.. which obvious open things up for us to design but not package & deploy.

If we now buy the Merant ODBC driver will this work when we deploy it to the server? Will it work if the driver is purchased for my development computer & the server? Will I need to purchase it for all machines accessing the intranet? Or like the crdb_p2sifmx.dll will it only allow me to develop and then die.

I don't like the option of buying a stand alone package for Crystal, simply to get a missing dll (which I have now purchased seprately and still did not allow me to deploy).. Obviously the price of VS includes purchasing CR.. If we upgrade VS in the future that CR will also be worthless and we will need to either stay with the older version, or buy CR again seprately, which is an expense my company does not have in this economy.

[former_member183750 · Accepted solution]

We choose to purchase the crdb_p2sifmx.dll, from dll4you website..

- where to start...

1) not sure how "legal" this site is...

2) If you go to properties of the dll, what does it say about who created it?

3) I believe you are saying that this dll works for you in the development environment? If that is the case, see below

which obvious open things up for us to design but not package & deploy.

- not sure what the licensing of all of this is, given the above, however

1) if all of this is "legal" (I'll check on that later) and

2) if the dll does work on your development computer, then all you'd need to do is add it to your deployment project and ensure it is copied to the same directory as what works on your dev system (remember that the Crystal reports MSM / MSI file you are using, does not include the dll, thus it will not be installed)

If we now buy the Merant ODBC driver will this work when we deploy it to the server?

- should. Don't know as Merant is a product of it's own and we do not support it...

Will it work if the driver is purchased for my development computer & the server?

- should - see answer above

Will I need to purchase it for all machines accessing the intranet?

- not sure - see answer above

Or like the crdb_p2sifmx.dll will it only allow me to develop and then die.

- not sure - see answer above

I don't like the option of buying a stand alone package for Crystal, simply to get a missing dll (which I have now purchased separately and still did not allow me to deploy)..

- note that this was your decision. This web site has nothing to do with Crystal Reports and may not be legal...

So, in conclusion re. all of your Merant questions. You will have to contact Merant and find out from them re. licensing and functionality.

Obviously the price of VS includes purchasing CR.. If we upgrade VS in the future that CR will also be worthless and we will need to either stay with the older version, or buy CR again separately, which is an expense my company does not have in this economy.

- standalone version of CR are fully featured, bundled versions are not. Upgrades from the bundled versions of CR are the only source of money for Crystal Reports. E.g.; contrary to popular belief, MS does not pay us for the bundled versions of Crystal Reports

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Thanks,

Well we were trying to be legal, that's why we purchased it. Let me know if it is.

Pretty new to deploying, didn't know you could add anything into the msm or msi area.. figured it would need to be in msm or msi format..

The fact Microsoft doesn't pay you anything doesn't make sense, wouldn't that then be stealing? Why are you supporting people using CR thru VS? Not arguing with you, you would know better then me, but in my small nieve world of buisness, this does seem very odd to me.

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

one more thought.. The full message is this...

Failed to load database information. Details: The database DLL 'crdb_p2sifmx.dll' could not be loaded. Error in File C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\r_TearSheet {87A1634E-1386-41BE-A35F-A5E65B8A9861}.rpt: Failed to load database information.

We have been stuck on the DLL 'crdb_p2sifmx.dll' could not be loaded

Could the error really be with the Failed to load database information ?... Like it can read the DB path in my area, but we may not have the DB path correctly set on the target server?

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hi, Wenda;

That is a possibility. Often when errors refer to the Temp folder it is a permissions issue.

I didn't see if we asked if this is a web or windows based application? If it is a web based application, it could be that the process that is running the application does not have full permissions to the temp folder. Try giving full permissions to that folder for the ASPNET or IIS_WPG accounts.

Regards,

Jonathan

[former_member11696 · Accepted solution]

Hi Wenda,

Here's why....

CR .NET is a basic version of Crystal Report Developer. It has a limited set of API's that are included in .NET 2005 which is version 10.2.x.x. We don't charge because it gets CR out there and we've partnered with Microsoft since CR version 4.5, if you want more functionality in code then you must upgrade to Cr Developer which is where it works for us. .Net is like an introduction into CR programming, works for simple report viewing but if extended functionality or supported platforms and database driver and Exporting is required you must upgrade.

Next issue, because the native Informix driver is not shipped with .NET it's therefore not officially supported in your application. To be "Licensed you must purchase CR Developer and then you have the rights to use the native driver. It will be deployed within our MSI and Merge Modules. Therefore if you have issues with the driver you purchsed you must ask them for support. The other issue is we do version checking. I'm not sure what versions of Cr you have installed and there are various reasons why it works on your DEV PC but not when deployed, but we do Version checking on 99.9 % of our dll's so it's not clear why this works for you on your DEV PC.

In all versions of Crystal Reports we ship DataDirects ODBC driver or in current version we provide a link to download them for free. They also check if accessing is done through CR so they will not work outside of one of our Report engines and will pop up a licensing message if tried.

You can download then from this [link|https://smpdl.sap-ag.de/~sapidp/012002523100008666562008E/cr_datadirect53_win32.zip]

Solutions:

1.What you need to do to stay legal is return the dll to dll4you. It's the wrong version anyways, I believe it's version 9 and you need version 10. ( which is why it's unclear why it works on your DEV PC )

2. Purchase/Upgrade to Crystal Reports Developer XI R2 or CR 2008 ( if not done so already ) then you have the rights to distribute the native informix driver which should be included with the Merge Modules or MSI

3. Download the DataDirect ODBC drivers and convert all your reports to ODBC. May be upgrade issues, ODBC and native SQL may change the way the reprots work due to the native of ODBC.

Thank you for your understanding

Don

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

We are looking at the ODBC, but I have to figure out how to pass the password too it progmatically. Currently although I now can link to informix this way, it prompts for the password, then never runs the program.. But I just know I have to pass the info differently.

Our boss said to price the CR developer XI in case we have to go that way.

We have looked at prices for full version & the upgrade. Strangely no one states what is the lowest required version you need to qualify for the upgrade. It may just be CR X.. But with some software it sometimes goes 2 or 3 versions back.

We currently have stand alone CR developer 8.5 then went to the bundled software in Visual Studio. So is this too old of a version?

thanks..

[former_member183750 · Accepted solution]

I would highly recommend the latest version; CR 2008.

One version you do not want to go with (not even sure if you can buy it anymore) is CR XI release 1 (11.0). That version does not hace the CR assemblies for framework 2.0. The only stand-alone versions of CR that have assemblies for framework 2.0 are CR XI release 2 (11.5) and CR 2008.

Re. database logon issues. Search the forum. There are a number of good posts on how to do this. Also, this White Paper may be of help:

http://www.businessobjects.com/global/pdf/dev_zone/VS2005_Walkthroughs.pdf

Ludek

[former_member11696 · Accepted solution]

Hi Wenda,

We don't sell ourt product in Customer Services, you need to contact our sales department. They can give you pricing on upgrading. I beleive upgrading from .NET to Cr 2008 is possible.

Here's the info:

Sales InquiriesU.S. and Canada

For sales inquiries in the U.S. and Canada, please call +1 866 681 3435 between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Pacific time, Monday to Friday.

Thanks again

Don

[Former Member]

Still have some reading to do to get the CR converted from Informix Online Server DB connect to ODBC connection it is doable.

Found out more about bundled CR packages & standalone packages.

Found out that the dll we purchased was not legal. I would send it back per your suggestion, but their contact page has no place to attach, I sent an email asking how I would return a dll to them, and looked to see if that email would show me something in my sent area. It did not. I will have to see if they will give me some way to return it to, them. Otherwise, know I tried.

[former_member183750]

Wenda, I have forwarded info about that web site to someone here that should know what can be done there - if anything. Bad experience, so let's put that behind us and see where to go from here. As Don mentioned, in tech support we really do not dabble in the pricing, so contacting sales will be a good idea. If you are thinking of upgrading to CR 2008, you may want to download an eval copy from here:

http://www.businessobjects.com/forms/default.asp?id=701600000009BXP

Now, before you download the eval; the eval will install CR assemblies of version 12.0.2200 and you will have to upgrade your project to use those assemblies. A trivial process. The thing to remember is that if you decide not to go to CR 2008, you will have to uninstall the product eventually and reset your Crystal Reports assemblies to 10.2.36000.

In order to get the native Informix driver, you will have to do a custom install and select the Informix driver (crdb_p2ssyb10.dll) as this driver is not installed by default (I guess not that much demand for it to be installed by default...).

Ludek

[Former Member]

Thanks for all your help. We are seriously looking into it.

I found the info on "What is different in DB connection between using the crdb_p2sifmx.dll and using the ODBC?"... It took me hours to find but when I found it it was such an easy thing, I just needed to change the severname from the servername to the DSN name, I had figured that would be one change, but was looking for other code changes.." Bang head here!!! "

So now it works in development.. On to deploying it. (I only changed 1 report to test, not all 50 in this project. Crossing my fingers.."

Again thanks for all the help.

[former_member183750]

I suspect that the report was not created in Crystal Reports 10.2 (bundle with .NET 2005). E.g.; the report was created in a stand-alone version (anything from CR 8.5, to 9.2, 10.0, XI r1 to XI r2). All of those versions install crdb_p2sifmx.dll. Bundles versions of Crystal Reports do not ship with the dll.

Since you are using .NET 2005, your only option - if you want to use the crdb_p2sifmx.dll, is to upgrade to CR 2008.

Your other option is to convert the reports to use ODBC or OLE DB (if informix has an OLE DB provider).

Ludek