ACC: Troubleshooting Setup & Installation Problems (1.x/2.0)

• Microsoft Access versions 1.0, 1.1, 2.0

SUMMARY

Moderate: Requires basic macro, coding, and interoperability skills.

This article explains the following troubleshooting techniques that you can use to resolve Microsoft Access Setup and installation problems:

• Checking the installation disks
• Checking the TEMP directory
• Checking what loads when you start Microsoft Windows
• Clean booting your system

MORE INFORMATION

Checking the Installation Disks

The following steps help determine whether your problem is related to a bad installation disk. To check a specific disk, follow these steps:

1. Quit Microsoft Windows.

2. At the MS-DOS command prompt, type the following command:

         md \disktest
   

3. Put the suspect disk in the disk drive, and then type the following command:

         copy <drive>:*.* c:\disktest
   

   where <drive> is the appropriate disk drive letter.

4. If the disk is copied successfully, the MS-DOS command prompt returns and no error message appears. This means that this disk is not the problem, and you should continue troubleshooting.

   If an error message is displayed, call Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400 and request a replacement disk.

5. Delete the temporary DISKTEST directory and any files in it by typing the following command:

         erase c:\disktest\*.*
   

   Press the Y key when you are asked if you really want to erase everything. Then, type the following command

         rd c:\disktest
   

   to remove the directory.

Checking the TEMP Directory

1. Quit Windows.

2. At the MS-DOS command prompt, type the following command:

         set
   

3. Change to the directory pointed to by the TEMP variable. For example, if you are at the root of drive C when you type SET and "TEMP=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP" is displayed, type the following command:

         cd \windows\temp
   

   If an "invalid directory" message is displayed when you change to the TEMP directory, you must create the TEMP directory using the MS-DOS Make Directory (MD) command.

4. There should be no *.TMP files in your TEMP directory when Windows is not running. If there are *.TMP files in this directory, you should erase them. To see whether there are any .TMP files in your TEMP directory, type the following command:

         dir *.tmp
   

   If there are *.TMP files in the TEMP directory, erase them by typing the following command:

         erase *.tmp
   

   For more information about the TEMP directory, query on the following words here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

         windows and temporary and files and definition
   

5. Use the MS-DOS CHKDSK command to check your hard drive. At the command prompt, type the following command:

         chkdsk
   

   NOTE: Refer to your Microsoft MS-DOS "User's Guide and Reference" if you have lost allocation units, lost clusters, or cross-linked files.

6. Check the amount of free space on your hard drive by looking at the line that reads "bytes available on disk." If this number is less than 4000000 bytes (4 MB), free up some additional hard drive space by removing unnecessary files.

Checking What Loads When You Start Windows

For troubleshooting purposes, it is important that you have a clean Windows configuration before you boot from a clean, bootable floppy disk (refer to "Clean Booting Your System" below). The following steps ensure a clean Windows configuration:

1. Using a text editor, such as the MS-DOS Editor or Windows Notepad, open the WIN.INI file. Check the following two lines:

         load=
         run=
   

   If there is anything to the right of the equal sign (=) on either of these two lines, place a semicolon (;) at the beginning of line. For example:

         ;load=c:\mydir\myprogram.exe
   

   The semicolon causes Windows to ignore that line.

2. Save your changes and quit the text editor.

3. When you are clean booting, you do not want anything to load automatically from your Startup group. To temporarily disable this functionality, hold down the SHIFT key as soon as you see the Windows logo screen. Keep the SHIFT key depressed until Windows is completely loaded.

4. Make sure that you are using a Windows video driver. To do this, quit Windows. At the C:\WINDOWS command prompt, type the following command:

         setup
   

   Windows displays a System Information screen that indicates the type of display that you are using. If the Display field does not show EGA or VGA, follow the instructions on your screen to change the display to VGA.

   NOTE: If you receive a Welcome To Windows Setup screen, you were not at the Windows prompt when you typed SETUP.

Clean Booting Your System

A clean boot eliminates many variables that may be related to your Setup or installation problem. Follow these steps to clean boot your system:

1. Create a bootable floppy disk by putting a blank floppy disk in drive A, and then type the following command at the MS-DOS command prompt:

            format a: /s
   
   

2. Use a text editor, such as MS-DOS Editor or Windows Notepad, to create a CONFIG.SYS file on the bootable floppy disk that you created in step 1.

   A simple CONFIG.SYS file contains the following lines:

         files=50
         buffers=20
         device=c:\windows\himem.sys
         <third-party disk partitioner>
         <third-party disk compression driver>
         <Other third-party driver if necessary to boot your computer>
         shell=c:\<valid path>\command.com /p
   

   NOTE: If you have the following line in your current CONFIG.SYS file, you should include it in your clean boot CONFIG.SYS file:

         device=c:\windows\smartdrv.sys /double_buffer
   

   NOTE: If there is hard disk partitioning, disk compression, or other third-party software required to boot your computer, these files must be included in your CONFIG.SYS file.

3. Using a text editor, create an AUTOEXEC.BAT file on the bootable floppy disk that you created in step 1. A simple AUTOEXEC.BAT contains the following lines:

         prompt $p$g
         path=c:\windows
         set temp=c:\<valid path>
   

4. Quit the text editor.

5. With the clean, bootable floppy disk in drive A, reboot your system.

6. If you still experience Setup problems, try starting Windows in standard mode by typing

         win /s
   

   at the drive A command prompt. Windows does not try to create any virtual memory in standard mode. If running in standard mode resolves your problem, contact Windows Product Support for further assistance.