diff --git a/source/lib/res/font.cpp b/source/lib/res/font.cpp
index 5bb71c0e17..631662d30f 100755
--- a/source/lib/res/font.cpp
+++ b/source/lib/res/font.cpp
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ static int Font_reload(Font* f, const char* fn)
 	// load glyph texture
 	const Handle ht = tex_load(tex_filename);
 	if(ht <= 0)
-		return ht;
+		return (int)ht;
 	tex_upload(ht);
 
 	const int tex_dim = 256;
diff --git a/source/lib/res/h_mgr.cpp b/source/lib/res/h_mgr.cpp
index 3f8ccfe132..7f54b3c3d5 100755
--- a/source/lib/res/h_mgr.cpp
+++ b/source/lib/res/h_mgr.cpp
@@ -134,7 +134,9 @@ static i32 last_in_use = -1;	// don't search unused entries
 // get an array entry (array is non-contiguous).
 // fails (returns 0) if idx is out of bounds, or if accessing a new page
 // for the first time, and there's not enough memory to allocate it.
-// used by h_alloc to find a free entry.
+// used by h_data, and alloc_idx to find a free entry.
+// beware of conflict with h_data_any_type:
+//   our i32 param silently converts to its Handle (= i64) param.
 static HDATA* h_data(const i32 idx)
 {
 	// don't compare against last_in_use - this is called before allocating
@@ -156,15 +158,18 @@ static HDATA* h_data(const i32 idx)
 
 
 
-int hdataseq=0;
+int h_data_tag = 0;
 
 // get HDATA for the given handle. verifies the handle
 // isn't invalid or an error code, and checks the tag field.
-// used by functions callable for any handle type, e.g. h_filename.
-static HDATA* h_data(const Handle h)
+// used by the few functions callable for any handle type, e.g. h_filename.
+static HDATA* h_data_any_type(const Handle h)
 {
-hdataseq++;
-_heapchk();
+	h_data_tag++;
+
+#ifdef PARANOIA
+	check_heap();
+#endif
 
 	// invalid, or an error code
 	if(h <= 0)
@@ -193,7 +198,7 @@ _heapchk();
 // used by most functions accessing handle data.
 static HDATA* h_data(const Handle h, const H_Type type)
 {
-	HDATA* hd = h_data(h);
+	HDATA* hd = h_data_any_type(h);
 	if(!hd)
 		return 0;
 
@@ -440,27 +445,15 @@ void* h_user_data(const Handle h, const H_Type type)
 	return hd? hd->user : 0;
 }
 
+
 const char* h_filename(const Handle h)
 {
-	HDATA* hd = h_data(h);
+	HDATA* hd = h_data_any_type(h);
+		// don't require type check: should be useable for any handle,
+		// even if the caller doesn't know its type.
 	return hd? hd->fn : 0;
 }
 
-/*
-// some resource types are heavyweight and reused between files (e.g. VRead).
-// this reassigns dst's (of type <type>) associated file to that of src.
-int h_reassign(const Handle dst, const H_Type dst_type, const Handle src)
-{
-	HDATA* hd_dst = h_data(dst, dst_type);
-	HDATA* hd_src = h_data(src);
-	if(!hd_dst || !hd_src)
-		return -1;
-
-	hd_dst->fn = hd_src->fn;
-	hd_dst->key = hd_src->key;
-	return 0;
-}
-*/
 
 int h_reload(const char* fn)
 {
diff --git a/source/lib/sysdep/sysdep.cpp b/source/lib/sysdep/sysdep.cpp
index ca2fedbf19..5052f6c4f3 100755
--- a/source/lib/sysdep/sysdep.cpp
+++ b/source/lib/sysdep/sysdep.cpp
@@ -23,4 +23,9 @@ void debug_out(const char* fmt, ...)
 	va_end(args);
 }
 
+
+void check_heap()
+{
+}
+
 #endif	// #ifndef _WIN32
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/source/lib/sysdep/sysdep.h b/source/lib/sysdep/sysdep.h
index 123b87ea13..bb37b1f2c8 100755
--- a/source/lib/sysdep/sysdep.h
+++ b/source/lib/sysdep/sysdep.h
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@ extern "C" {
 extern void display_msg(const wchar_t* caption, const wchar_t* msg);
 extern void debug_out(const char* fmt, ...);
 
+extern void check_heap();
+
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 }
 #endif
diff --git a/source/lib/sysdep/win/win.cpp b/source/lib/sysdep/win/win.cpp
index 37cc45e9e7..f4bf3b5d64 100755
--- a/source/lib/sysdep/win/win.cpp
+++ b/source/lib/sysdep/win/win.cpp
@@ -30,6 +30,13 @@
 // (they're more convenient)
 //
 
+
+void check_heap()
+{
+	_heapchk();
+}
+
+
 void display_msg(const wchar_t* caption, const wchar_t* msg)
 {
 	MessageBoxW(0, msg, caption, MB_ICONEXCLAMATION);