Don't Delete Settings/Preferences Files When Troubleshooting

 Last reviewed: February 2, 1998
Article ID: Q124063
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Office for the Macintosh, versions 4.2, 4.2.1
  • Microsoft Office 98 Macintosh Edition
  • Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, version 5.0, 5.0a
  • Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition
  • Microsoft Word for the Macintosh, version 6.0. 6.0.1
  • Microsoft Word 98 Macintosh Edition
  • Microsoft PowerPoint for the Macintosh, version 4.0
  • Microsoft PowerPoint 98 Macintosh Edition

SUMMARY

When you are troubleshooting a problem with one of the Microsoft applications listed above, do not delete any of these applications settings or registration files from your computer. Instead, move the files out of the Preferences folder onto the desktop to disable them, and then start the application to create the new files.

If the problem that you are troubleshooting still occurs after you move and re-create these files, you can then delete the newly created files, and move the original files back to the Preferences folder to restore them.

MORE INFORMATION

The Registration Database file (and the PPC Registration Database file) stores information about how Microsoft Office and the Microsoft Office applications are configured for a specific computer. If you delete this file, then the Setup program for Microsoft Office, or one of the Microsoft Office applications is not able to perform certain maintenance operations.

The settings file for each of the Microsoft Office applications, such as Word Settings (6), contains information that is not restored if the file is not created by the installation process. For example, if you delete an application's settings file, and you then run the application, the settings file is created again. However, the new settings file does not contain all of the information that the file contained when you installed the application.

For example, if you remove the Registration Database file from the System:Preferences folder and then try to use Find File from the Office Manager, you may receive the following error message: 

   The Registration Database information was not
   found. Please run Setup to install the necessary
   files.
In order to get the Find File feature to work after getting this error message, put the original Registration Database file back into the System:Preferences folder to replace the new one that is created.

Additional query words: 4.00 4.20 5.00 6.00 ppt mac reg db macppt
Keywords : offmac kbole
Version : MACINTOSH:4.2,4.2.1,98
Platform : MACINTOSH
Issue type : kbtshoot

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Last reviewed: February 2, 1998
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