diff --git a/view/src/nsViewManager.cpp b/view/src/nsViewManager.cpp
index d471bb1eb3c..19850e6a146 100644
--- a/view/src/nsViewManager.cpp
+++ b/view/src/nsViewManager.cpp
@@ -1691,17 +1691,12 @@ AccumulateIntersectionsIntoDirtyRegion(nsView* aTargetView,
   }
 }
 
-// This gets around an internal compiler error C1001
-// (compiler file 'E:\8799\vc98\p2\src\P2\main.c', line 494)
-#ifdef WINCE
-#pragma optimize( "", off )
-#endif
-void
+nsresult
 nsViewManager::WillBitBlit(nsView* aView, nsPoint aScrollAmount)
 {
   if (!IsRootVM()) {
     RootViewManager()->WillBitBlit(aView, aScrollAmount);
-    return;
+    return NS_OK;
   }
 
   NS_PRECONDITION(aView, "Must have a view");
@@ -1712,11 +1707,8 @@ nsViewManager::WillBitBlit(nsView* aView, nsPoint aScrollAmount)
   // Since the view is actually moving the widget by -aScrollAmount, that's the
   // offset we want to use when accumulating dirty rects.
   AccumulateIntersectionsIntoDirtyRegion(aView, GetRootView(), -aScrollAmount);
+  return NS_OK;
 }
-#ifdef WINCE
-#pragma optimize( "", on )
-#endif
-
 
 // Invalidate all widgets which overlap the view, other than the view's own widgets.
 void
diff --git a/view/src/nsViewManager.h b/view/src/nsViewManager.h
index 55755ed1976..f610af8e995 100644
--- a/view/src/nsViewManager.h
+++ b/view/src/nsViewManager.h
@@ -468,8 +468,24 @@ public: // NOT in nsIViewManager, so private to the view module
    * Called to inform the view manager that a view is about to bit-blit.
    * @param aView the view that will bit-blit
    * @param aScrollAmount how much aView will scroll by
+   * @return always returns NS_OK
+   * @note
+   * This method used to return void, but MSVC 6.0 SP5 (without the
+   * Processor Pack) and SP6, and the MS eMbedded Visual C++ 4.0 SP4
+   * (for WINCE) hit an internal compiler error when compiling this
+   * method:
+   *
+   * @par
+   *   fatal error C1001: INTERNAL COMPILER ERROR
+   *               (compiler file 'E:\8966\vc98\p2\src\P2\main.c', line 494)
+   *
+   * @par
+   * Making the method return nsresult worked around the internal
+   * compiler error.  See Bugzilla bug 281158.  (The WINCE internal
+   * compiler error was addressed by the patch in bug 291229 comment
+   * 14 although the bug report did not mention the problem.)
    */
-  void WillBitBlit(nsView* aView, nsPoint aScrollAmount);
+  nsresult WillBitBlit(nsView* aView, nsPoint aScrollAmount);
   
   /**
    * Called to inform the view manager that a view has scrolled.