ID: Q105771
The information in this article applies to:
This article answers the most frequently asked questions regarding SHARE.EXE in Word for Windows.
1. Q. Why does the following error message occur when I start
Word 6.0? "You must exit Windows and load SHARE.EXE in order to
run Word."
A. To run Word 6.0 under Windows version 3.1 in standard mode or
386 enhanced mode or under Windows for Workgroups version 3.1
in standard mode, you must run the MS-DOS SHARE command before
starting Windows. Word uses the Share program for object
linking and embedding (OLE) version 2.0 operations.
Specifically, Share provides the range-locking functionality
that Word uses in compound files. Word 6.0 will not start under
Windows 3.1 or Windows for Workgroups 3.1 in standard mode
unless Share is loaded.
You do not need Share if you run Word under Windows for
Workgroups 3.1 in 386 enhanced mode. Windows for Workgroups
uses a comparable file-sharing utility called VSHARE.386.
Similarly, you do not need Share if you run Word under Windows
NT(TM) because this operating system includes built-in range-
locking functionality.
2. Q. How do I load SHARE.EXE?
A. If you want to automatically load SHARE.EXE each time you start
your computer, do one of the following:
- For all versions of MS-DOS except version 4.01, add the
following line to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file:
<path>\share.exe /L:500 /F:5100
where <path> is the drive and directory where the SHARE.EXE
file is located (usually the MS-DOS directory).
For example, if your MS-DOS directory is called DOS and is
on drive C, add the following line to your AUTOEXEC.BAT
file:
c:\dos\share.exe /L:500 /F:5100
- For MS-DOS version 4.01, add the following line to your
CONFIG.SYS file:
install=<path>\share.exe /L:500 /F:5100
For example, if your MS-DOS directory is called DOS and is
on drive C, add the following line to your CONFIG.SYS file:
install=c:\dos\share.exe /L:500 /F:5100
3. Q. What is the difference between SHARE.EXE and VSHARE.386,
which is supplied with Windows for Workgroups 3.1?
A. Both VSHARE.386 and SHARE.EXE are file-sharing programs that
provide range-locking functionality to applications, such as
Word 6.0, that support OLE 2.0. VSHARE.386 functions as a
replacement for SHARE.EXE. VShare is an enhanced mode virtual
device driver (VxD), and it contains several network-specific
features that improve file sharing when you run Windows for
Workgroups in enhanced mode.
4. Q. I'm running Windows for Workgroups but when I try to start
Word 6.0, I still get the error message "You must quit Windows
and load SHARE.EXE in order to run Word." What's wrong?
A. If you are running Windows for Workgroups in standard mode,
neither VSHARE.386 nor SHARE.EXE is running, so Word cannot
start. This happens because Word Setup does not add SHARE.EXE
to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file if you are running Windows for
Workgroups in either standard or 386 enhanced mode. As a
result, you must quit Windows for Workgroups and do one of the
following:
- Restart Windows for Workgroups in 386 enhanced mode.
-or-
- At the MS-DOS command prompt, load SHARE.EXE by typing the
following and then pressing ENTER:
c:\dos\share.exe /L:500 /F:5100
In the above command, "C:\DOS" is the drive and directory
where SHARE.EXE is located - usually your MS-DOS directory.
You can now restart Windows for Workgroups in standard mode
and run Word 6.0.
5. Q. Why does the following error message occur in Word?
Word cannot save or create this file. Make sure the disk is
not write protected. <path>\<filename>
A. This error message may occur if you set the parameters for
SHARE.EXE too low (by decreasing or removing the /L locks
parameter from the Share command line). The Word Setup program
sets 500 file locks, so this problem should not occur unless
you decrease or remove the Share parameters after running Word
Setup.
Use one or more of the following steps to resolve this problem:
- If you have not restarted your computer since installing
Word, the Share settings in your AUTOEXEC.BAT (or
CONFIG.SYS) file may be correct, but the settings have not
yet taken effect. In this case, quit Word, quit Windows, and
restart your computer so the correct Share settings can take
effect.
- Close some of your open documents to free some file locks.
- Increase the Share file locks (/L) parameter and restart
your computer. Microsoft recommends that you use the
following Share parameters:
/L:500 /F:5100
6. Q. My Share parameters are correct, and I have restarted my
computer, but I still receive the following error message:
Word cannot save or create this file. Make sure the disk is
not write protected. <path>\<filename>
What else can I do?
A. Below is a list of possible causes for this error message and
resolutions or workarounds for each cause.
1. Cause: You may have insufficient disk space to save the
file.
Resolution: Check the drive where you want to save the file
to be sure it is not full. While you are checking for
available disk space, you should also check for and delete
any extraneous temporary (.TMP) files.
2. Cause: You are running MasterWord or other third-party add-
in programs that conflict with Word.
Workaround: Quit Word, then restart Word with the /a switch.
For more information on this switch, see the "Starting Word
Without Loading Global Items" section at the end of Chapter
10 in the "Microsoft Word User's Guide."
3. Cause: The TEMP setting in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file points to
an invalid location or to a drive with less than 6 to 8
megabytes (MB) of available disk space.
Resolution: Modify the SET TEMP line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT
file so it defines a valid location with at least 6 to 8 MB
of available disk space.
4. Cause: An older version of Adobe Type Manager(R) (ATM)
may be conflicting with Word 6.0.
Workaround: To rule out this cause, quit Word, turn off
ATM, and then quit and restart Windows. If the error
message does not recur when you run Word, your older version
of ATM may be causing the "Cannot Save File" error
message. Phone Adobe technical support for more information.
5. Cause: You loaded SHARE.EXE in the upper memory area using
an upper memory manager (such as Qemm) other than
EMM386.EXE, which is supplied with MS-DOS .
NOTE: You should not have a problem running Share in upper
memory when you use the EMM386.EXE upper memory manager and
the MS-DOS loadhigh command.
Workaround: Microsoft has received several reports that the
"Cannot Save File" error message no longer occurs if you
load Share in conventional memory instead of upper memory.
To do this, remove "LOADHIGH" or "LH" from the SHARE.EXE
line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. For example (where "C:\DOS"
is the location of your MS-DOS directory), change this line
loadhigh c:\dos\share.exe /L:500 /F:5100
to the following:
c:\dos\share.exe /L:500 /F: 5100
NOTE: Microsoft does not support the mixing of load-high
methods. You should not use the MS-DOS loadhigh command
when you run a third-party upper memory manager such as
Qemm.
6. Cause: Your EMM386.EXE settings are incorrect.
Resolution: Make sure you are using correct EMM386.EXE
settings. For information about EMM386.EXE settings, refer
to your MS-DOS documentation.
7. Cause: You have more than one Share line in your
AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS file.
-or-
You have a Share line in both your AUTOEXEC.BAT and
CONFIG.SYS files.
Resolution: Remove all but one Share line from your
AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files.
7. Q. Why do the following error messages occur when I open a
file in Word?
File is in use by another user.
Cannot open document.
A. These error messages, which Word displays when you open a
second or third file or when you open a file based on a
template, occur if you set the parameters for SHARE.EXE too low
(by decreasing or removing the /L locks parameter from the
Share command line). The Word Setup program sets 500 file
locks, so this problem should not occur unless you decrease or
remove the Share parameters after running Word Setup.
Use one or more of the following steps to resolve this problem:
- If you have not restarted your computer since installing
Word, the Share settings in your AUTOEXEC.BAT (or
CONFIG.SYS) file may be correct, but the settings have not
yet taken effect. In this case, quit Word, quit Windows, and
restart your computer so the correct Share settings can take
effect.
- Close some of your open documents to free some file locks.
- Increase the Share file locks (/L) parameter and restart
your computer. Microsoft recommends that you use the
following Share parameters:
/L:500 /F:5100
Additional query words: fast tips voice script msav q & a word6 winword Q&A 6.0
Keywords : kbprint word6
Version : WINDOWS: 6.0
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbinfoLast Reviewed: May 20, 1999