OFF97: "Enter Network Password" Error Running Office Programs

• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0
• Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0

SYMPTOMS

When you click any of the Microsoft Office shortcuts on the Programs menu, the following message appears:

   Enter Network Password

CAUSE

This problem occurs when you do the following:

• You install Microsoft Office 97 to a FAT partition under Microsoft Windows NT 4.0.

      -and-
  

• You run the Convert utility to convert the FAT partition to a Microsoft NT File System (NTFS) partition.
• You log on as a user without administrative privileges.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Recreate the Shortcuts

1. Right-click Start and click Explore.

2. On the View menu, click Options, click the View tab, click Show All Files, and then click OK.

3. Open the Winnt\Profiles\<UserName>\StartMenu\Programs folder and delete each of the shortcuts to the Microsoft Office programs.

   Note that <UserName> is your logon name.

4. Create new shortcuts to the Microsoft Office programs.

   For information about how to perform this task in Windows, see your Windows printed documentation or online Help.

   NOTE: If there is another shortcut to a Microsoft Office program on your hard disk, you must delete and recreate it.

Method 2: Reinstall Microsoft Office

Run the Setup program from the media from which you originally installed Microsoft Office. When you are prompted, click Reinstall.

Method 3: Install Microsoft Office AFTER Converting the Partition

If you plan to convert other drives from a FAT partition to an NTFS partition, do not install Microsoft Office until after you convert the file systems.

MORE INFORMATION

Under Windows NT, after you install Microsoft Office 97 to a FAT partition, you can start the programs without receiving the error message described in the "Symptoms" section in this article. However, if you convert the hard disk partition to an NTFS partition, the shortcuts to run the Microsoft Office programs become unusable unless you log on as an administrator.

For additional information, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q158682
   TITLE     : Shortcuts Created Under NT 4.0 Resolve to UNC Paths
   ARTICLE-ID: Q163007
   TITLE     : Drive Letters Automatically Map to Network Drives