Errors Opening or Saving Files in Word 6.0 for Windows

ID: Q106558

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a
Microsoft Windows for Workgroups version 3.1, running in standard mode (does not apply when running in enhanced mode)

SYMPTOMS

The following error message may occur in Word for Windows when you attempt to save a file:

      Word cannot save or create this file. Make sure the disk is not
      write protected. <path><filename>

The following error messages may occur when you attempt to open a second or third file in Word

      File is in use by another user. <path><filename>

-or-

      This file is currently in use by another application or user

followed by:

      Cannot open document.

The following error message may occur when you open a file based on a template in Word:
```
      Sorry, there is not enough disk space to make a
      required file in your temp directory.
```
-or-
```
      Word cannot open the document.
```
Note: The above error will only occur on systems running Windows 3.1, or Windows for Workgroups 3.1 in Standard mode. Windows for Workgroups 3.1 in Enhanced mode should not have this problem because Workgroups uses the device driver, VSHARE.386 for file locking.

CAUSE

All of the above error messages occur if you set the parameters for SHARE.EXE too low (by decreasing or removing the /L locks parameter from the SHARE command line). Word requires from three to eight file locks for each document it opens.

The Word Setup program sets 500 file locks, so this problem does not occur unless you decrease or remove the SHARE parameters after running Word Setup.

None of the following affect this problem: location of Word document, location of TEMP directory, APPEND settings, FASTOPEN, or DBLSPACE.

IMPORTANT: 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, you need to exit Word, exit Windows and restart your computer so the correct SHARE settings can take effect.

RESOLUTIONS

Update to Word 6.0a and use the VSHARE.386 device driver.
Close some of your open documents to free some file locks.
-or-
Increase the SHARE file locks (/L) parameter and restart your computer.

Microsoft recommends that you start SHARE with the following parameters:

   C:\DOS\SHARE /L:500 /F:5100

Note: Depending on your needs, you can use lower SHARE settings, which conserves conventional memory. If you decrease the file locks (/L) or file space (/F) settings and the above problems recur, simply increase the settings and restart your computer so the changes can take effect. When you increase the /L parameter, you may also need to increase the value of /F.

MORE INFORMATION

Word Setup adds SHARE to your AUTOEXEC.BAT system file with the following parameters:

   <path>SHARE.EXE /L:500 /F:5100

Note: If you are running MS-DOS version 4.01, Word Setup does not place SHARE in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Instead, Setup adds SHARE to your CONFIG.SYS system file with the following parameters:

   INSTALL=<path>\SHARE.EXE /L:500 /F:5100

SHARE must be loaded before you can run Word 6.0 or any other OLE 2.0 application under Windows 3.1 or Windows for Workgroups 3.1 in standard mode. SHARE loads at the command prompt (usually through your AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS file) before you start Windows, and it runs in conventional memory.

The /L SHARE parameter sets the number of files that can be locked at one time. The default value is 20.

The /F SHARE parameter allocates file space (in bytes) for the MS-DOS storage area used to record file-sharing information. The default value is 2048.

For more information about SHARE, refer to your MS-DOS documentation.

KBCategory: kbusage KBSubcategory: Additional query words: 6.0 object linking embedding word6 winword double space doublespace

Version           : 6.0 6.0a
Platform          : WINDOWS

Last Reviewed: February 5, 1998