WD95: Unable to Set File Locations to NT 4.0 NTFS Partition

• Microsoft Word for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
• Microsoft Project for Windows 95, version 4.1
• Microsoft Office for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a, 7.0b
• Microsoft Windows NT Workstation versions 3.51, 4.0
• Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 3.51, 4.0

SYMPTOMS

In Word, when you click Options on the Tools menu and click the File Locations tab to modify the file location settings, the modified settings are not retained. Instead, the settings revert to the folder where Word is located or to some other local directory.

CAUSE

This problem occurs if you attempt to change the file location to a share on a computer running Microsoft Windows NT version 4.0. This problem occurs if you specify the new location using a universal naming convention (UNC) path.

NOTE: This problem occurs only when you connect to a share on a Windows NT version 4.0 NTFS partition from a Windows NT version 3.51 client using one of the programs listed at the beginning of this article.

This problem does not occur when you connect using any of the following methods:

• Connect from a Windows NT version 4.0 client to a Windows NT version share.
• Connect from a Windows 95 client to either Windows NT version 3.51 or Windows NT version 4.0 share.
• Connect to a share located on a FAT partition.

RESOLUTION

To work around this problem, use any of the following methods:

• Assign a drive letter to (map) the shared network resource.

  For more information about how to do this, see Windows online Help.

  -or-

• Rather than sharing a folder off of another sub-folder, share the folder that resides directly off of the root drive.

  -or-

• In Explorer, click File, and then type the UNC path and file name to the document.

  -or-

• Upgrade the Windows NT version 3.51 clients to Windows NT version 4.0.

  -or-

• Upgrade the Microsoft Office 95 clients to Microsoft Office 97. This problem does not occur in Office 97.

  NOTE: Office 97 ignores the error returned by the OS.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT version 4.0. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

REFERENCES

For additional information about connecting to UNC drives under NT, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID:Q167871
   Title     :Error "Directory Is Not A Subdirectory of The Root Directory"

   ARTICLE-ID: Q160843
   Title     : Win95 Clients Cannot See Long Share Names on
               WinNT 4.0 Servers