OFF: Setup Fails from a Shared Location

 Last reviewed: December 3, 1996
Article ID: Q130581
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Office 97 for Windows
  • Microsoft Office for Windows 95, version 7.0
  • Microsoft Access 97 for Windows
  • Microsoft Access, version 7.0
  • Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
  • Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, version 7.0
  • Microsoft PowerPoint 97 for Windows
  • Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows 95, version 7.0
  • Microsoft Word 97 for Windows
  • Microsoft Word for Windows 95, version 7.0

SYMPTOMS

When Setup is run on a workstation by connecting to a remote server, you may get the error 

   Invalid command line option: 95\
where the server path is \\Server\Office 95\Setup.exe. This message is followed by another error: 

   Usage: setup [/A]. Use the /A switch to run setup in
   administrator mode.

CAUSE

The error occurs because Setup is a 16-bit program and cannot recognize a path that includes spaces. The share name can be up to twelve characters in length, but cannot include any spaces or special characters (such as "/", "\", "?", or "*").

WORKAROUND

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

Method 1

Change the name of the shared folder on the source machine so that it follows the rules listed above. For example, change: 

   \\Server\Office 95

   -to-

   \\Server\Office95

Method 2

On the Start-Run command line, type 

   "\\server\office 95\acmsetup.exe" /t "\\server\office 95\setup.stf"
where "\server\office 95\setup.stf" is the location of the Setup.stf file. Note the above line should be entered on a single line with a space between Office and 95. Note also that the quotation marks are necessary.

This method works because the Acmsetup.exe program does not have the same limitations as Setup.exe when you use a long file names.

KBCategory: kbsetup kbnetwork
KBSubcategory: offwin offwinsetup ppt95 ppt97
Additional reference words: 7.00 95 off97 Long Filename 8.00

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Last reviewed: December 3, 1996
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