XL5 Err Msg: "Must Exit Windows and Load SHARE.EXE. . ."

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Excel for Windows, version 5.0

SUMMARY

In order to run Microsoft Excel version 5.0 for Windows, you must have the Share program loaded on your computer. If you try to run Microsoft Excel when Share is not loaded, you will receive one of the following error messages:

   You must exit Windows and load SHARE.EXE in order to run Microsoft
   Excel.

   -or-

   Cannot open or save any more documents

To Correct This Problem

If you receive this error message, you can do one of the following:

• Add the following line to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file

        <path>\share.exe /l:500 /f:5100
  

  where <path> is the drive and directory where the SHARE.EXE file is located (usually the MS-DOS directory). For example, if your MS-DOS directory is called DOS and is on drive C, add the following line to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file:

        c:\dos\share.exe /l:500 /f:5100
  

  You may need to add this line if it was removed from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file or if the Setup program was unable to add it.

  NOTE: When troubleshooting this line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, double check that the letter l is being used instead of the number 1.

  -or-

• If you are running Microsoft Windows for Workgroups, try running Windows in 386 enhanced mode.

  -or-

• If you load SHARE.EXE into high memory and encounter the error message, try loading it into conventional memory.

  -or-

• If the path designation for the temp directory does not contain a drive letter, such as set temp=temp, or if the backslash (\) designator is not used in the path, for example, set temp=c:temp.

  The valid set statement in both these cases should be:

        set temp=c:\temp
  

MORE INFORMATION

The Share program provides the range locking functionality to Microsoft Excel that is required in object linking and embedding (OLE) version 2.0 operations.

If you are using Microsoft Excel version 5.0 under Windows version 3.1, or under Windows for Workgroups version 3.1 in standard mode, the MS-DOS Share program must be run before you start Windows. If you are using Windows for Workgroups version 3.1 or 3.11 in enhanced mode, an equivalent of the Share program (VSHARE.386: see below) is automatically loaded for you.

If the Microsoft Excel Setup program detects that Share (or an equivalent such as VSHARE.386) is not loaded on your computer, the SHARE command is added to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

You do not need to run the MS-DOS Share program if you run Microsoft Excel under Windows for Workgroups 3.1 or 3.11 in 386 enhanced mode. Windows for Workgroups uses a comparable file-sharing utility called VSHARE.386.