The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Office 97 for Windows
- Microsoft Outlook 97 for Windows
- Microsoft Exchange, version 4.x
SYMPTOMS
You may receive the following error message when you try to start Microsoft
Outlook 97:
A required .DLL file, MAPI32.DLL, was not found.
CAUSE
This will occur if both of the following are true:
- Microsoft Exchange 4.x was installed on your computer.
-and-
- You removed it (by clicking Remove All in the Microsoft Exchange Setup
program) after you installed Microsoft Outlook 97.
RESOLUTION
If this occurs, you should reinstall Microsoft Outlook 97. Use the
following steps to do this:
- On the Start menu, point to Settings, and click Control Panel.
- In the Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs.
- In the list of installed applications, click either "Microsoft
Office 97, Professional Edition" or "Microsoft Outlook 97",
whichever is available. Click Add/Remove.
The Setup program starts and after a brief period of time you should
see a dialog box containing up to four buttons: Add/Remove (not visible
for "Run from Server" installations of Office), Reinstall, Remove All,
and (in some cases) Online Registration.
- Click Reinstall.
The reinstallation process copies all required files onto your hard
disk. When Setup is complete, restart Windows if you are prompted do so.
Microsoft Outlook 97 should now start properly.
STATUS
This behavior is by design of the Microsoft Exchange 4.x Setup program.
MORE INFORMATION
The file Mapi32.dll, normally stored in the \Windows\System folder, is used
by both Microsoft Exchange 4.x and Microsoft Outlook 97. However, the file
is treated differently by the two different programs:
- Microsoft Outlook 97 treats Mapi32.dll as a shared component. That
is, the Microsoft Outlook Setup program (as a separate program or as
part of the Microsoft Office 97 Setup program) does not remove
Mapi32.dll from your system unless it is sure that no other program is
using the file.
- Microsoft Exchange 4.x, on the other hand, does not treat Mapi32.dll
as a shared component. So, if you use the Setup program to remove
Microsoft Exchange 4.x from your computer, Mapi32.dll is removed, even
if you click "Remove None" when prompted by the Setup program whether
you want to remove shared components.
When you remove Microsoft Exchange 4.x, you also remove the Mapi32.dll
file, which prevents Microsoft Outlook 97 from starting properly. If this
occurs, you must reinstall Microsoft Outlook 97 to correct the problem.
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