OFF97: Error Adding/Removing Files After Patching Office 97

• Microsoft Office 97 for Windows, Service Release 1 (SR-1)

SYMPTOMS

When you run the Microsoft Office 97 Setup program in maintenance mode, click Add/Remove to add or remove components, and then select one or more components to add or remove, you may receive the following error message:

   Setup Message
   Setup could not open the file: '<path\filename>'.

   Setup is not yet complete.
   If you quit now, the product will not be installed properly.
   Quit Setup?

CAUSE

This problem may occur when the following conditions are true:

• You install Microsoft Office 97 from floppy disks or from folders that contain the images of floppy disks.

  -and-

• You download and install the Microsoft Office 97 SR-1 Patch.

  -and-

• You run the Microsoft Office 97 Setup program and attempt to add or remove components by clicking Add/Remove.

NOTE: This problem does not occur if you uninstall Microsoft Office 97 by running Setup and clicking Remove All.

WORKAROUND

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

Method 1: This Problem Has Occurred

To work around this problem, run the Microsoft Office 97 Setup program from floppy disks, from a Microsoft Office 97 CD, or from a network server that contains an administrative installation of Microsoft Office 97. After Setup is finished, it may be necessary to reinstall the Microsoft Office 97 SR-1 Patch.

Method 2: This Problem Has Not Yet Occurred

To add or remove components after you install Microsoft Office 97 from floppy disks and run the SR-1 Patch, enable a feature by editing the Acme.lst file used by Microsoft Office 97 Setup. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Use Windows Explorer to open the following folder on your hard disk:

         Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Setup
   

2. Right-click the Acme.lst file. On the shortcut menu, click Open With. In the list of programs, click NOTEPAD. Clear the "Always use this program" check box, and then click OK.

3. Scroll down through the Acme.lst file until you see a line that is similar to the following:

         C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~2\OFFICE\SETUP\OFF97PRO.INF=Off97Pro.inf
   

   NOTE: This line appears twice. You must perform steps 4 and 5 for each line.

4. Insert a semicolon (;) at the beginning of the line so that the line is similar to the following:

         ;C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~2\OFFICE\SETUP\OFF97PRO.INF=Off97Pro.inf
   

5. Add the following new line:

         Off97Pro.inf=Off97Pro.inf
   

6. On the File menu, click Save. Then, click Close on the File menu.

NOTE: After you perform these steps, Microsoft Office 97 is not completely removed from your computer when you run Setup and click Remove All.

To completely remove Microsoft Office 97 from your computer, perform the following steps:

1. Use Windows Explorer to open the following folder on your hard disk:

         C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Setup
   

2. Right-click the Acme.lst file. On the shortcut menu, click Open With. In the list of programs, click NOTEPAD. Clear the "Always use this program" check box, and then click OK.

3. Scroll down through the Acme.lst file until you see a line that is similar to the following:

         ;C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~2\OFFICE\SETUP\OFF97PRO.INF=Off97Pro.inf
   

   NOTE: This line appears twice. You must perform steps 4 and 5 for each line.

4. Remove the semicolon (;) from the beginning of the line so that the line is similar to the following:

         C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~2\OFFICE\SETUP\OFF97PRO.INF=Off97Pro.inf
   

5. Delete the following line:

         Off97Pro.inf=Off97Pro.inf
   

6. On the File menu, click Save. Then, click Close on the File menu.

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.