WD6X: MacWord Setup Repeatedly Requests the Same Disk

• Microsoft Word for the Macintosh, versions 6.0. 6.0.1

SYMPTOMS

When you run Setup to install Word for the Macintosh, Setup may repeatedly prompt you to insert a specific disk, even though you already inserted the correct disk in the disk drive.

CAUSE

There are two main causes for this behavior. Case 1 below is the most frequent cause.

Case 1: Disk Volume Label Changed

You did not start your Macintosh without extensions, so an extension is running that interferes with automatic disk ejection. (To start without extensions, hold down the SHIFT key when you start the Macintosh. When you see the message "Welcome to Macintosh Extensions Off," you can release the SHIFT key.)

If your Macintosh does not eject the first Word Setup disk automatically and you eject it manually using a paper clip, your computer retains the internal volume label for the first disk (in this case, "Disk - 1 Setup"). When you insert the second disk, the computer changes the volume label for that disk from "Disk - 2" to "Disk 1 - Setup." As a result, you no longer have a disk with the label that Setup is requesting. Setup continues to conclude that you inserted the wrong disk and continues to request the correct disk.

If you ejected the first Word Setup disk by pressing COMMAND+SHIFT+1, Setup may accept the disks you insert for awhile. Then, if Setup prompts you to switch back and forth between two or more disks, it may mistakenly conclude that you inserted the wrong disk in the disk drive. At that point, Setup repeatedly requests the same disk, even though the correct disk is in the disk drive.

If you now quit Setup and restart your Macintosh without extensions, the problem recurs because the internal volume label on your Word disk has been changed. In other words, none of your Word disks has the internal volume label that Setup is requesting.

Case 2: Misaligned Floppy Disk Drive

Your floppy disk drive may be physically misaligned. In other words, this is a hardware problem. This happens infrequently (it accounts for less than 5 percent of the reported instances of this problem).

WORKAROUND

Case 1: Rename the Internal Disk Volume

1. Quit Word Setup.

2. Insert the disk that Setup will not accept in the disk drive.

3. Rename the disk volume to a different name. For example, change its name to "Wrong Disk" (without the quotation marks).

4. Click on the hard disk name to exit edit-name mode. The internal disk label for your Word disk is now changed to the new name you typed, such as "Wrong Disk."

5. Click again on the Word Setup disk whose name you changed in steps 3 and 4. Rename the disk volume to the correct name. For example, if it is Word Disk 2, change the name to "Disk - 2" (without the quotation marks).

6. Click on the hard disk name again to exit edit-name mode. The internal disk label of your Word disk is now correct.

7. Restart your Macintosh without extensions.

8. Run Word Setup. The problem should no longer occur.

Case 2: Repair Your Floppy Disk Drive

If the workaround for Case 1 does not work, you may have a misaligned floppy drive that needs to be repaired by your hardware service provider.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Setup program for Word version 6.0 for the Macintosh. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.