OFF: Setup Cannot Locate the Program Files Folder

• Microsoft Office 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Office for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, you should first make a backup copy of the registry files (System.dat and User.dat). Both are hidden files in the Windows folder.

SYMPTOMS

When you run the Microsoft Office Setup program, the Setup program may fail to identify the Program Files folder on your computer. The Setup program may then attempt to install certain Microsoft Office components (see the "More Information" section) in a folder other than the Program Files folder.

NOTE: This behavior occurs regardless of the type of installation (Typical, Custom, and so on) you perform.

CAUSE

The Microsoft Office Setup program determines the location of the Program Files and Common Files folders by checking the following registry keys:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
      ProgramFilesDir

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
      CommonFilesDir

RESOLUTION

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall Windows 95. 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 online Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe). Note that you should make a backup copy of the registry files (System.dat and User.dat) before you edit the registry.

For the Microsoft Office Setup program to detect the path to the Program Files folder, you must correct the path in the registry keys. To do this, use the following steps:

1. On the Start menu, click Run.

2. In the Open box, type "regedit" (without the quotation marks) and click OK.

3. Double-click the plus sign (+) to the left of the following items in order

         HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
         SOFTWARE
         Microsoft
         Windows
         CurrentVersion
   

   to open the following registry key:

         HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion
   

4. In the value pane, note the value to the right of ProgramFilesDir. If the folder name does not exist on your hard disk, proceed to step 5. Otherwise, skip step 5.

5. Click ProgramFilesDir. On the Edit menu, click Modify. In the Value Data box, type the correct path to the Program Files folder (for example, C:\Programs). Then, click OK.

6. In the value pane, look at the value to the right of CommonFilesDir. If the folder name does not exist on your hard disk, proceed to step 7. Otherwise, skip step 7.

7. Click CommonFilesDir. On the Edit menu, click Modify. In the Value Data box, type the correct path to the Common Files folder (for example, C:\Common). Then, click OK.

8. On the Registry menu, click Exit.

MORE INFORMATION

Microsoft Office 97

The Microsoft Office 97 components that are automatically installed in the Program Files folder are the following:

   Microsoft Excel:
   
      Microsoft Map
   
   Microsoft Word:
   
      Help
      Proofing Tools
      Text Converters
   
   Microsoft Powerpoint:
   
      Help
   
   Data Access:
   
      Data Access Objects for Visual Basic
   
   Office Tools:
   
      Spelling Checker
      Organizational Chart
      Equation Editor
      Microsoft Photo Editor
      MS Info
      Clip Gallery
      Find All Word Forms
   
   Converters and Filters:
   
      Text Converters
      Graphics Filters

Microsoft Office 95

The Microsoft Office 95 components that are automatically installed in the Program Files folder are the following:

   Microsoft Excel:
   
      Help for Visual Basic
      Microsoft Map
   
   Microsoft Word:
   
      Hyphenation
      Grammar
      Thesaurus
      Lotus 1-2-3 Converter
      Text with Layout Converter
   
   Office Tools:
   
      Spelling Checker
      WordArt
      Organizational Chart
      Microsoft Graph version 5.0
      Microsoft Graph version 5.0 Help
      Equation Editor
      MS Info
      Clip Art Gallery
      Find All Word Forms
   
   Converters, Filters and Data Access:
   
      Converters
      Filters
      Microsoft Query
      Data Access Objects for Visual Basic
      Help for Data Access Objects

REFERENCES

For more information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q157030
   TITLE     : OFF97: Change Directory Unavailable for Office Tools