XL97: Error Opening Workbook That Contains MS Access Table

• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel 97, when you open a workbook that contains a chart, you may receive the following error message:

   This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down.
   If the problem persists, contact the program vendor.

   EXCEL caused an invalid page fault in module MSO97.DLL at
   0137:30705766.

CAUSE

This problem may occur if all of the following conditions are true:

• The workbook contains one or more chart sheets or charts that are embedded in worksheets.

      -and-
  

• You use the Save As/Export command in Microsoft Access 97 to export a table into the workbook.

      -and-
  

• In Microsoft Excel 97, you click Save As and click Microsoft Excel Workbook (*.xls) in the Save As dialog box.

NOTE: The problem described in the "Symptoms" section in this article does not occur if you export a table from Microsoft Access 97 into a workbook that is saved in the Microsoft Excel 5.0 or 7.0 format.

WORKAROUND

It may be possible to recover data in the workbook if you follow the steps in the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q142117
   TITLE     : Excel: Summary of Methods to Recover Data from Corrupted
               Files

   ARTICLE-ID: Q147216
   TITLE     : XL: Linking to Data in a Damaged File (5.0 and Later)

CAUTION: If you follow these steps, certain features that are supported in only Microsoft Excel 97, such as UserForms, class modules, and code associated with sheets, may not be saved with the workbook. Use the following steps with caution:

1. In Microsoft Excel 97, open the workbook.

2. On the File menu, click Save As. In the Save As Type list, click Microsoft Excel 5.0/95 Workbook (*.xls) and click Save.

3. On the File menu, click Close.

4. In Microsoft Access 97, select the table that you want to export. Then, click Save As/Export on the File menu.

5. In the Save As dialog box, click "To an External File or Database." Then, click OK.

6. In the Save As Type list, click Microsoft Excel 5-7. In the list of files, click the Microsoft Excel workbook to which you want to export the table. Then, click Export.

7. In Microsoft Excel 97, reopen the workbook.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

The problem described in this article occurs because Microsoft Access 97 incorrectly writes information to workbooks saved in the Microsoft Excel 97 workbook format. If the workbook contains charts, the charts are not saved correctly by Microsoft Access 97, and you cannot open the workbook. This problem does not occur when you use Microsoft Access 97 to make changes to a workbook saved in the Microsoft Excel 5.0/95 Workbook (*.xls) format.