Error Messages During Word Setup Caused by Anti-Virus Software

ID: Q93277

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0a-CD, 2.0b, 2.0c, 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c

SUMMARY

If virus-protection software is running on your computer when you start the Setup program for Word for Windows, you may receive one or more of the following error messages and sometimes your computer may stop responding (hang):

   Unexpected DOS Error 5

   Setup Initialization Error

   Divide overflow

   Sharing Violation

   Insufficient Memory or Disk Space

   Error Reading from Drive A

   Cannot Detect setup.exe on Drive A

Before running the Setup program, you should disable any virus-scanning software in the CONFIG.SYS and the AUTOEXEC.BAT files and reboot (restart) your computer. This applies to new installations as well as upgrades. After you run the Setup program, re-enable the virus-scanning software and reboot your machine to allow the virus software to run normally.

Note: These error messages may also occur if not enough memory or disk space is available on your computer.

MORE INFORMATION

The above error messages have occurred while these anti-virus software programs are running when you start the Word Setup program:

   VDEFEND (PC Tools Deluxe version 7.1)

   VSAFE, by Central Point Software

   PC Cillin

   Norton AntiVirus 2.0, by Symantec Corporation

To disable a command line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS file, add the MS-DOS REM command at the beginning of the command line. To automate this task, you can use the REMAuto or REMConfig macros from the PSS.DOC file, supplied with Word versions 2.0a, 2.0b, 2.0a-CD and 2.0c. For more information on the REM command, see your MS-DOS documentation.

Notes on VSAFE and VDEFEND

If you are using SMARTDRV.EXE version 4.0, load it after VSAFE or VDEFEND.

VSAFE adds the following line to the WIN.INI:

   load=mwavtsr.exe

Note: The Setup program for Microsoft Windows operating system version 3.1 also fails with VSAFE or VDEFEND installed.

The virus-protection products included here are manufactured by vendors independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these products' performance or reliability.

For additional information, please see the following article(s) in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q49500
   TITLE     : List of Anti-Virus Software Vendors

KBCategory: kb3rdparty KBSubcategory:

Additional query words: 2.0 2.0a 2.0a-CD 2.0b 2.0c word6 winword winword2 hung crash lock reboot third errmsg err msg locked crash 3.10 vsafe.sys vsafe.com utilities stopped crashing crashed locks frozen freezes crashing gpf uae smartdrive hangs hometool powerpt

Keywords          : kbsetup kb3rdparty
Version           : 2.0 2.0a 2.0a-CD 2.0b 2.0c
Platform          : WINDOWS

Last Reviewed: February 6, 1998