OFF97: Errors After Using Orphan Finder to Remove DLLs

• Microsoft Office 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Word 97 for Windows
• Microsoft PowerPoint 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

If you use Orphan Finder, which is included in Quarterdeck CleanSweep 3.0, to remove orphaned dynamic link library (DLL) files from your computer, and then use the programs included with Microsoft Office 97, any of the following symptoms may occur:

• If you attempt to display the Visual Basic Editor in Microsoft Excel 97, the Visual Basic Editor does not appear on the screen, and you do not receive an error message.
• If you attempt to display the Visual Basic Editor in Microsoft Word 97, you receive the following error message:

        Could not open macro storage.
  

  When the Visual Basic Editor appears, you cannot work with modules, UserForms, or class modules.

• If you attempt to display the Visual Basic Editor in Microsoft PowerPoint 97, you receive the following error message:

        PowerPoint found an error that it can't correct. You should save
        presentations, exit, and then restart PowerPoint.
  

  The Visual Basic Editor does not appear.

• If you attempt to insert a control in Microsoft Excel 97, you may receive the following error message:

        Microsoft Visual Basic
        Can't find file 'FM20.DLL'
  

• If you attempt to insert a control in Microsoft Word 97, the control may not appear, and you do not receive an error message.
• If you attempt to insert a control in Microsoft PowerPoint 97, you may receive the following error message:

        An unknown error occurred during creation of ActiveX Control.
  

• When you restart your computer, you may receive the following error message:

        Error Starting Program
        A required .DLL file, TIPS.DLL, was not found.
  

• When you use Help in any of the programs included in Microsoft Office 97, you may receive one or more of the following error messages:

        Windows Help
        Cannot find or load the file HLP95EN.DLL. This file should be copied
        to C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM or a directory in your PATH.
  

        An error exists in this Help file. Contact your application vendor
        for an updated Help file. (1024)
  

• When you attempt to create a new query in Microsoft Excel 97, or when you attempt to start Microsoft Query 97, you may receive one or more of the following error messages:

        ODBC Driver Manager
        Failed to load resource DLL odbcint.dll
  

        The ODBC32.DLL file cannot start.
        Check the file to determine the problem.
  

        Microsoft Excel could not start Microsoft Query because it is not
        installed. To install it, run Setup again and select the Microsoft
        Query option in the Data Access category. If Microsoft Query is
        already installed, run it standalone to force it to register with
        the system.
  

  You receive this error message even though Microsoft Query 97 is installed on the computer.

CAUSE

This problem occurs because Orphan Finder incorrectly identifies many DLL files as orphaned files even though they are used by programs included with Microsoft Office 97.

If you allow Orphan Finder to remove these DLL files, the features provided by these files are no longer available in the programs included with Microsoft Office 97.

NOTE: Orphaned files are files that remain after you remove the program that originally installed them.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, use either of the following methods.

Method 1

Run the Microsoft Office 97 Setup program and click Reinstall. When you do this, the Microsoft Office 97 Setup program installs new copies of the removed DLL files.

Method 2

If you allowed Orphan Finder to make backup copies of the removed DLL files, you can use Orphan Finder to restore the copies of the DLL files.

Note that it may be necessary to reinstall other programs if Orphan Finder removed their DLL files.

STATUS

This problem occurs when you use the products listed at the beginning of this article and the Orphan Finder in Quarterdeck CleanSweep 3.0 to identify and remove orphaned DLL files.

MORE INFORMATION

In CleanSweep 3.0, you can access the Orphan Finder by clicking the Cleanup tab, and then clicking Orphan Finder. When you run Orphan Finder, it scans your computer and locates orphaned DLL files, .ini files, zero-byte files, and other items that remain after you remove the program that originally installed them.

If you allow Orphan Finder to remove orphaned DLL files, the program prompts you to create backup copies of the DLL files before you remove them so that you can restore them in the event of a problem. Use caution when you use Orphan Finder to remove DLL files that may still be in use by Microsoft Office 97 or other programs.

CleanSweep 3.0 is manufactured by Quarterdeck Corporation, a vendor independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding this product's performance or reliability.