WD97: "Word Cannot Save or Create This File" Error Quitting Word

• Microsoft Word 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

When you quit Microsoft Word 97, you may receive the following error message:

   Word cannot save or create this file. The disk may be full or write
   protected.

   Try one or more of the following:
   - Free more memory.
   - Make sure that the disk you want to save the file on is not full,
     write-protected, or damaged.
     (<path>\NORMAL.DOT)

CAUSE

The problem occurs when all of the following conditions are true:

• You are running Windows NT or Windows 95 with user profiles enabled.

  -and-

• Office 97 installation has been performed for other users of the workstation, but not for you.

  -and-

• The Office folder is in a location that you cannot write to. This may occur if you installed Word with a Run From CD installation, a Run From Network Server installation, or a local installation on a Windows NT workstation if you do not have permissions to write to the Office folder.

  -and-

• You start and exit Word for the first time, without using the File New command.

RESOLUTION

To work around this problem, follow these steps:

1. Start Microsoft Word 97.

2. On the Tools menu, click Options.

3. Click the File Locations tab.

4. Under File Types, click User Templates, and then click Modify.

5. In the Modify Location dialog box, select a new Folder Name and click OK. The default value is:

         C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates
   

6. Under File Types, click Workgroup Templates, and then click Modify.

7. In the Modify Location dialog box, select a new Folder Name and click OK twice. The default value is undefined (blank).

8. Quit Word without saving changes to Normal.dot and then restart Word.

If Word writes the Normal.dot file in a location other than the one you specified, follow these steps:

1. Manually move (don't copy) the Normal.dot file to the directory you want.

2. Follow steps 1 through 5 above to set the User Templates path to the directory that contains the Normal.dot file.

STATUS

This behavior is by design, and is different from earlier versions of Word. Earlier versions of Word search the program (Office) directory for a Normal.dot file before searching the User Templates or Workgroup Templates locations.

MORE INFORMATION

Template Search Order

When Word 97 starts, it automatically searches for a Normal.dot template file upon which to base Document 1. The search order is as follows:

1. Local Templates path - On the Tools menu, click Options, and click the File Locations tab. The setting is called "User Templates." This setting is stored in the following registry location:

         HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.0\Common\FileNew
         \LocalTemplates
   

2. Shared Templates path - On the Tools menu, click Options, and click the File Locations tab. The setting is called "Workgroup Templates." This setting is stored in the following registry location:

         HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.0\Common\FileNew
         \SharedTemplates
   

3. The program folder that contains Winword.exe.

The search order for Word 97 is different than earlier versions of Word.

How the Registry Keys Are Written

Setup does not create the User Templates and Workgroup Templates paths mentioned earlier. The registry keys are first created in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, and Word copies them to HKEY_CURRENT_USER the first time someone uses the File New command.

Word does not create the SharedTemplates registry key unless the installation is an upgrade over a previous version of Office in which a WorkGroups Templates location was specified. The process is as follows:

1. Setup writes the User Templates and Workgroup Templates settings to the following respective registry keys:

         HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.0\Common\FileNew
         \LocalTemplates
   

         HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.0\Common\FileNew
         \SharedTemplates
   

2. You then log into Windows and start Word 97.

3. When you click the File menu and click New, Word copies the settings in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE to HKEY_CURRENT_USER.

Possible Problems

If you never use the File New command, Word never copies the registry entries from HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE to HKEY_CURRENT_USER. In this situation, the LocalTemplates and SharedTemplates keys in HKEY_CURRENT_USER do not exist; therefore, Word attempts to write the Normal.dot file to the program directory. (See item 3 in the "Template Search Order" section earlier in this article.)

Run from Network Server Installation:

If you are running Office 97 from a network server, the error message described earlier occurs because Word cannot save the Normal.dot file to the program directory on the network server: a directory to which you do not have write permissions.

Run from CD Installation:

If you are running Office 97 using a Run From CD installation, the error message occurs because Word is trying to save the Normal.dot file to the program directory on the Office CD: a directory which cannot be written to.

Run Local Installation:

If you are running a local installation of Office 97, Word writes the Normal.dot file to the program directory as long as you have permission to write to that directory. Otherwise, the error message occurs.

REFERENCES

For more information about saving the Normal.dot file, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE ID: Q167284
   TITLE     : WD97: Problem Saving Normal.dot on Computer with Multiple
               Users

   ARTICLE ID: Q172674
   TITLE     : WD: Where Word Settings Are Stored