problem with ddutil.cpp

i have spent a very long time trying to get the bitmap loading function in "ddutil.cpp" to work, but with no luck. The program was generated with the app wizzard, then i added the necessary directx initialization stuff. Everything works all right, but whenever i try to use the DDLoadBitmap function, it simply returns NULL. This is not good. I tryed using a lower level bitmap loader, which actually reads and interprets the data from a file, and this works ok. Has anyone encountered similar problems? I am using DX 6.1 SDK, 16bit surfaces, 24bit BMPs, and a flippable primary surface. any suggestions would be very helpful. -FH