OFF97: Troubleshooting Office Programs Under Windows NT 4.0

ID: Q178565

The information in this article applies to:

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SUMMARY

This article contains troubleshooting steps that you can use if error messages appear when you run any Microsoft Office 97 program or the Setup program under Microsoft Windows NT 4.0.


MORE INFORMATION

Start in Standard Video Graphics Adapter (VGA) Mode

Start your computer using VGA mode, especially if the display is distorted or if unreadable text appears on the screen. By default, the Windows NT boot loader menu offers options that allow you to start the computer normally or in VGA mode. To force Windows NT to use the standard VGA driver, choose the VGA Mode option.

Obtain the Latest Service Pack

Service packs contain Microsoft Windows NT product updates. Service packs keep the product current and extend and update your computer's functionality. Service packs include updates, system administration tools, drivers, and additional components. All of these files are conveniently bundled for easy downloading. Service packs are cumulative; each new service pack contains all the fixes that are contained in service packs released earlier, as well as any new fixes.

For additional information about obtaining the latest service pack, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q152734 How To Obtain the Latest Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack

Check Permissions

Make sure that the proper permissions are set for your account. To determine whether you have the proper permissions to run and use the Office program you are having problems with, log on to the computer as an administrator. When you log on to Windows NT 4.0 as an administrator, you have full read/write permission to all folders and files on the computer. If the problem does not occur after you log on as an administrator, check the permissions of your logon account.

For more information about permissions in Microsoft Office programs, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q169387 OFF97: Security Requirements When Using NTFS Partitions

Close Unnecessary Memory-Resident Programs

Programs that run in the background in memory are called terminate-and- stay-resident programs (TSRs). For example, these programs may be virus protection software, utility programs, print manager programs, or screen savers. To determine if a terminate-and-stay-resident program is running, follow these steps:
  1. Display the Close Program window (the task list) by pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL and then clicking Task List.


  2. Close any unknown or unnecessary programs in the Close Program list by clicking the program and clicking End Task.


  3. If you close a program and then want to close another one, press CTRL+ALT+DEL and click Task List to display the Close Program window again. Repeat steps 1 through 3 until you close all unknown or unnecessary programs.


Some TSRs may be load into memory but may not appear on the Task List. These TSRs are loaded via the Windows NT registry.

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it.

To see what programs are loaded via the registry, follow these steps:
  1. On the Start menu, click Run. In the Open box, type "regedit" (without the quotation marks), and then click OK.


  2. Select the following key in the registry: 
    
      HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

    This key lists all programs that are started when Windows NT 4.0 is started. Programs that are started can cause problems in Office programs and should be disabled.


  3. Select the following key in the registry: 
    
      HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce

    Entries in this key are run once when the computer is restarted and then are deleted by the system. This key should be empty. Other programs that are started can cause problems in Office programs and should be disabled.


  4. Select the following key in the registry: 
    
      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

    This key lists all programs that are started when Windows NT 4.0 is loaded. The only program that is required in this key is System Tray (SysTray.exe). Other programs that are loading can cause problems with Office programs and should be disabled.


  5. Select the following key in the registry: 
    
      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce

    Entries in this key are run once when the computer is restarted and then are deleted by the system. This key should be empty. Other programs that are loaded can cause problems in Office programs and should be disabled.


Check the TEMP and TMP Environment Variables

An invalid TEMP or TMP environment variable can cause errors with Office programs. Make sure your temporary folders are properly set up. To do so, follow these steps:
  1. Click the Start menu, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.


  2. In Control Panel, double-click the System Icon. When the System Properties dialog box appears, click the Environment tab.

    This tab lists the current System and User variables. Look under the User variables for the TEMP and TMP environment variable settings. Ensure that the folders referenced by these variables exist and have valid folder names. Also ensure that the hard disk on which the folders are located has at least 3 megabytes (MB) of free hard disk space and that you have read/write permissions to those folders.


Temporarily Disable the Network

If you do not require network access to run or install the Office programs, try to temporarily disable the drivers that allow you to use the network. This troubleshooting step prevents the system from loading the drivers that are required to use the network when you restart the computer. Disabling the network drivers and may reduce or eliminate system conflicts. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Click Settings on the Start menu, and then click Control Panel. In the Control Panel, double-click the System icon.


  2. In the System Properties dialog box, click the Hardware Profiles tab.


  3. Click Properties, and then click the Network tab. Click the Network-Disabled Hardware Profile check box. Then, click OK twice.


  4. Next, restart the computer. To do this, click Shutdown on the Start menu. In the Shut Down Windows dialog box, click Restart The Computer and click Yes.


NOTE: To restore network access, repeat the previous steps but clear the Network-Disabled Hardware Profile check box in step 3.

If disabling network access resolves your problem, you try doing the following:

Additional query words: tshoot tshooting winnt 


Keywords          : kbenv kbtshoot 
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: May 25, 1999