Windows Tries to Open File or Program When Starting

• Microsoft Office 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Office for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a, 7.0b
• Microsoft Project for Windows 95, versions 4.1, 4.1a
• Microsoft Windows 95

SYMPTOMS

When you start or restart the computer, the following problems may occur:

• Microsoft Windows 95 starts a program that is not in the StartUp folder.

      -or-
  

• The Open With dialog box appears. The file referenced in this dialog box may vary, depending on what has been installed on the computer.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs if an incorrect shortcut target path to Microsoft Find Fast is in the StartUp folder. The path in the Microsoft Find Fast shortcut is no longer valid because the file name in this path has changed and no longer points to Findfast.exe. Because the invalid shortcut to Findfast.exe is in the StartUp group, you receive the Open With dialog box when Microsoft Windows 95 starts.

If you click a program listed in the Open With dialog box and click OK, the file listed in the Open With dialog box will be associated with that program. The result is that a program that is not in the StartUp group opens when Microsoft Windows 95 starts in normal mode.

WORKAROUND

The Office 97 Remove All option in Setup changes the shortcut to Findfast.exe in the StartUp group. If you installed Microsoft Office 7.0 or Microsoft Project for Windows 95 before installing Microsoft Office 97, you may have two versions of Findfast.exe on your system. To have the shortcut refer to the correct Findfast.exe file, follow these steps:

1. When you start the computer and the Open With dialog box appears, click Cancel to close the dialog box.

2. Using the right mouse button (right-click), click the Start button, and click Open.

3. In the Start Menu dialog box, double-click the Programs icon.

4. In the Programs dialog box, double-click the StartUp icon.

5. In the StartUp dialog box, right-click the Microsoft Find Fast shortcut icon. On the shortcut menu, click Properties.

6. In the Microsoft Find Fast Properties dialog box, click the Shortcut tab.

7. In the Target box, edit the path to point to the Findfast.exe file, and click OK.

STATUS

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

MORE INFORMATION

When you install Microsoft Office 97, a new version of Findfast.exe is installed. In the StartUp folder, the shortcut target path to the Findfast.exe file is updated to reflect the new location of the Microsoft Find Fast file. By default, this location is the C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office folder. When you select the Remove All option in Microsoft Office 97 Setup, Findfast.exe is removed but the shortcut in the Startup folder is not updated.

A program, such as Microsoft WordPad, may accidentally be associated with the file in the Open With dialog box. When this occurs, Microsoft WordPad will start every time Microsoft Windows 95 is started even though it is not in the StartUp folder. This is because the Find Fast shortcut in the StartUp folder points to a file that is associated with Microsoft WordPad.

REFERENCES

For additional information about the Microsoft Find Fast Indexer utility, click the Index tab in Microsoft Find Fast, type the following text

   Find Fast overview

For information about the Microsoft Find Fast Indexer with Microsoft Office for Windows 95, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q135476
   TITLE     : OFF7: Office for Windows 95 Find Fast Indexer Overview