we are using Origin 6.0 Professional in a network.
First it worked very well, when an Origin Client was installed on a new computer by Origin Client Setup, but the last two times i had problems. After running the Origin Client Setup Origin i could not start Origin. I only received the error message:

Order number 6905 could not be found in the dynamic link library "MFC42.dll". (freely translated, the original error message is german)

The computers on which Origin should be installed use WinNT 4.0 Service Pack 5.
May you can help me.

Thanks Ralph

To the best of my knowledge, here is the complete system dll saga. I would love to hear from anyone who understands this differently.

This is a common and sticky Windows problem. Many applications use Windows system dlls such as MFC42.DLL and MSVCRT40.DLL. As stated above, there are many different versions of these files and different applications require different versions. The different versions are generally but not completely backwards compatible. Some installation programs blindly replace the dlls with the version they need without regard to versions currently installed (i.e. those required by other previously installed applications). If Origin 6.0 was working correctly at one time and then started giving the "Ordinal 6905" error message, it may be that some other installation program replaced the existing system dlls with older versions after Origin was installed.

I am not sure how old versions of these dlls came to be located in the Origin 6.0 software folder. The Origin 6.0 installation program checks the Windows 95/98 \System (or \System32 on Windows NT) folders and only replaces older versions of these dlls (backwards compatibility should prevent this from causing problems for other applications). If it does replace any system dlls it backs up the old versions in the subfolder \Origin 6.0\OldSystemDLLs. The old dlls should not be seen by Origin when it launches and are backed up just in case some other previously installed application specifically needs those older versions. If older versions of these dlls are in your root Origin 6.0 software folder you should definitely remove (or move) them.

Most reports of this problem occur on Windows NT computers. This is because in Windows NT you must be logged on to an account with administrator privileges in order to replace system dlls. Many people install Origin while logged on to accounts without administrator privileges. The Origin installation program is then prevented by Windows NT from replacing the system dlls it needs (even after restarting the computer). This is a security feature of Windows NT.

Another problem that can sometimes happen is that some other application that uses older versions of these dlls is left running when the Origin installation program is run. The Origin installation program is prevented from replacing the old system dlls if the other application has loaded the old versions into memory. Restarting Windows should install the new system dlls but... This is one reason why many software vendors strongly recommend that you close all other applications when installing a new one.

If you are getting the "Ordinal 6905" error message the best thing to do is to follow the procedure outlined in an item from our on-line database. A down loadable file containing the versions of the dlls that Origin 6.0 requires is also provided. Open your web browser and go to

http://www.originlab.com/www/tech/SystemDLL.asp

If you still have the "Ordinal 6905" problem even after following the above procedure, I have two last resort ideas:

Idea 1:
1. Use the procedure outlined in the database item mentioned above to ensure the correct versions are in the \System(32) folder.
2. Restart your computer and then log on to the computer with administrator privileges. (make sure you restart not just log off).
3. Use the Windows Find feature to find all occurrences of the dlls MFC42.DLL and MSVCRT40.DLL on your computer. Except for the correct versions in the \Windows\System(32) folder, re-name all of these dlls (to something like MFC42x.DLL and MSVCRT40x.DLL).
4. Test launch Origin and see if the problem persists.

Idea 2:
1. Un-install Origin.
2. Log on to the computer with administrator privileges.
3. Re-install Origin 6.0. Make sure that NO other applications are running when you re-install Origin.
4. Restart your computer (make sure you restart not just log off) and then log on again with administrator privileges. In theory, this second log on with administrator privileges is when the system dlls should be replaced.
5. Log off and then log on to your regular account. The very best situation is if you can have your account be permanently granted administrator privileges. The next best thing is to have administrator privileges granted to your account at least for the installation and the second log on.
6. Test launch Origin and see if the problem persists.

I hope this is helpful. Good luck...

-Gary

searching the Web, I observed that such an error-message (with different numbers) is known from several other applications too and usually due to getting replaced the MFC42 by a different version during an installation.
Microsoft provides at least 50+(!) versions of that DLL, including some Debug-versions and several of them got different internal references, that cause such error-messages!

Regarding NT, sometimes it helps, to re-install your SP again, esp. after installing e.g. MS-Office! Did you already try that? Maybe, it solves the problem.