OFF97 Err Msg: "Vbe.dll Was Unable to Register Itself"

• Microsoft Office 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Excel 97
• Microsoft Access 97
• Microsoft Word 97
• Microsoft PowerPoint 97
• Microsoft Project 98

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

When you run Setup, you may receive the following error message after all files have been copied to the hard disk on your computer:

   Vbe.dll was unable to register itself in the system registry.

   Microsoft <program> Setup was not completed successfully.

CAUSE

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

Case 1

• You perform a Run From CD or Run From Network installation of Microsoft Office 97 on your computer.

      -and-
  

• You remove Microsoft Office 97 from your computer by running the Setup program in maintenance mode and clicking Remove All.

      -and-
  

• You attempt to perform a Typical or Custom installation of Microsoft Office 97 on your computer.

Case 2

• You install one of the programs listed at the beginning of this article from an administrative installation point on a network server and install the shared components so that they run from the network server.

      -and-
  

• You install a second program listed at the beginning of this article.

WORKAROUND

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

Method 1

Modify the path to point to the shared programs, and then run Setup again.

NOTE: This modification is required only while you are running Setup. You can remove the modification to the path statement after you successfully install the program.

Under Microsoft Windows NT:

If you are running Microsoft Windows NT, follow these steps:

1. First, use Windows Explorer to map a network drive to the location of the shared programs on the server. For example, map drive F to the following location

         \\<server name>\<share name>
   

   where <server name> is the name of the server and <share name> is the name of the share in which the shared programs are stored.

2. On the Start menu, point to Settings and click Control Panel.

3. Double-click the System icon.

4. Click the Environment tab.

5. In the System Variables box, select the Path variable.

6. At the bottom of the window, click after the Value statement for the Path.

7. Type a semicolon (;), and then type the path to the location to the shared programs on the network.

   For example, type the following:

         f:\msapps\os\system
   

8. Click Set.

9. Click OK, and then run Setup for the program you want to install.

If you are running Microsoft Windows 95, follow these steps:

1. On the Start menu, click Run. Type "sysedit" (without the quotation marks) in the Open box.

2. In the Autoexec.bat window, find the Path statement.

3. Type a semicolon (;), and then type the path to the location of shared programs on the network.

   For example, type the following

         \\<servername>\msoffice\msapps\os\system
   

   where <servername> is the name of the server.

4. On the File menu, click Save.

5. On the File menu, click Exit.

6. Restart the computer.

7. Run Setup for the program you want to install.

Method 2

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it.

To prevent this problem from occurring, follow these steps:

1. On the Start menu, click Run. In the Open box, type "regedit" (without the quotation marks), and then click OK.

2. In the Registry window, click the plus sign (+) to the left of the following keys, in order:

         HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
         SOFTWARE
         Microsoft
         Shared Tools
   

   Then, click the yellow folder to the left of "Vba332.dll." The text in the status bar should be the following:

         My Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared Tools
            Vba332.dll
   
   

3. On the Edit menu, click Delete, and then click Yes to delete the key.

4. On the Registry menu, click Exit.

5. Run the Setup program.

1. Using Windows Explorer, manually create the following folders on your hard disk drive (usually, drive C):

         Program Files\Common Files
         Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared
         Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\VBA
   

   NOTE: The Program Files folder should already exist on your hard disk. If it does not, create it before you create the folders listed in this step.

2. Copy the following files from the OS\System folder on your Microsoft Office 97 compact disc:

         Vba332.dll     (file size 1,596,688 bytes, version 3.0.6908, 11/96)
         Vbe.dll        (file size 745,232 bytes, 11/96)
   
      Paste the files in the Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft
      Shared\VBAfolder on your hard disk.
   
   

3. In the Windows Explorer, go to the Windows\System folder on your hard disk.

       a. If the file Oleaut32.dll is present, select it. Right-click the
          file, and click Rename on the shortcut menu. Type
          "Oleaut32.old" (without the quotation marks) and press ENTER.
   

       b. If the Ole32.dll file is present, select it. Right-click the
          file, and click Rename on the shortcut menu. Type "Ole32.old"
          (without the quotation marks) and press ENTER.
   

4. Copy the following file from the OS\System folder on your Microsoft Office 97 compact disc:

         Oleaut32.dll   (file size 491,792 bytes, version 2.20.4054,
                        11/96)
   
      Paste the file in the Windows\System folder on your hard disk.
   
   

5. Copy the following file from the Office\WMS\Common folder on your Microsoft Office 97 compact disc:

         Ole32.dll      (file size 558,704 bytes, version 2.1, 11/96)
   
      Paste the file in the Windows\System folder on your hard disk.
   
      NOTE: If any of the four files mentioned in steps 2-4 are in use, you
      may receive an error message when you attempt to copy them to your hard
      disk. If this occurs, you may need to restart your computer in MS-DOS
      mode, copy the files to your hard disk, and then restart your computer
      again.
   
   

6. Run Microsoft Office 97 Setup.

If none of the above solutions resolve the problem, try following the steps in the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE ID: Q158658
   TITLE     : OFF97: How to Completely Remove Microsoft Office 97

 ~ Eraser97.exe (size: 1131232 bytes) 

   ARTICLE-ID: Q138552
   TITLE     : How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services

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.