OFF2000: Errors Starting Office Programs with Outdated Oleaut32.dll

ID: Q217440

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Office 2000
  • Microsoft Word 2000
  • Microsoft Excel 2000
  • Microsoft PowerPoint 2000
  • Microsoft FrontPage 2000
  • Microsoft Outlook 2000
  • Microsoft Access 2000

SYMPTOMS

When you start any of the programs included with Microsoft Office 2000, the following error message appears:

There was a problem starting the Office Assistant. Would you like to try reinstalling it?
If you click Yes, the following error message appears:
The Office Assistant could not be started. Please repair the Assistant by running Office 2000 setup and selecting "Repair Office 2000".
When you start Microsoft Excel 2000, the following error message appears:
Microsoft Excel requires file OLEAUT32.DLL to run. The version of OLEAUT32.DLL that is on your computer is older than the one required by this version of Microsoft Excel.

Please run Setup again, and select the Reinstall option to install the correct version of the file.
When you start Microsoft Outlook 2000, the following error message appears:
The required file OUTLRPC.dll cannot be found in your path, please reinstall Microsoft Outlook.
When you start Microsoft PowerPoint 2000, the following error message appears:
The AGENTSVR.EXE file is linked to missing export OLEAUT32.DLL:277.
When you start Microsoft FrontPage 2000, the following error message is displayed:
Microsoft FrontPage is not installed properly on this system and cannot function. Please reinstall Microsoft FrontPage.

Click OK to exit.
followed by:
This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down. If the problem persists, contact the program vendor.
If you click Details, an error message similar to the following appears:
FRONTPG caused an invalid page fault in module MFC42.DLL at 0137:5f4086f7.
When you start Microsoft Access 2000, the following error message appears:
The file 'OLEAUT32.DLL' is out of date. This program requires a newer version.


CAUSE

This problem occurs if you have an outdated version of Oleaut32.dll installed on your computer.


RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, please use one of the following methods:

Method 1: Run Detect and Repair

If the application does not close after you receive any of the error messages in the "Symptoms" section of this article, follow these steps to resolve the problem:
  1. Click Detect and Repair on the Help menu.


  2. Click Start in the Detect and Repair dialog box.


The Office Setup program replaces the outdated copy of Oleaut32.dll.

If the application closes after the error message appears, use these steps to resolve the problem:
  1. Click Start, point to Settings, and click Control Panel.


  2. Double-click Add/Remove Programs.


  3. Double-click Office 2000.


  4. Click Repair Office.


  5. Click Reinstall Office and click Finish.


NOTE: Because of the outdated version of Oleaut32.dll, you may receive error messages during the reinstallation. Click Ignore in each error message dialog box to continue.

Method 2: Rename Oleaut32.dll

If Method 1 does not resolve the problem, follow these steps:
  1. Quit all running programs.


  2. Click Start, point to Find, and click Files or Folders.


  3. In the Look in list, click My Computer. Select the Include subfolders check box. In the Named box, type the following file name:
    Oleaut32.dll


  4. In the list of files found, right-click the file, and on the shortcut menu, click Rename.


  5. Rename the file by changing the file name extension to ".old" (without the quotation marks).


  6. Run Office Setup again.


NOTE: You can also manually copy Oleaut32.dll from the Office 2000 CD1 and paste it into the Windows\System folder. The location of the file on CD1 is:
<drive>:\CD1\SYSTEM\Oleaut32.dll
where <drive> is the drive letter for the CD-ROM drive.


REFERENCES

For additional information about Office errors that can occur with an outdated version of Oleaut32.dll, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q224315 OFF2000: Error Starting Visual Basic Editor with Outdated Oleaut32.dll

Additional query words: OFF2000 xl xl2000 wd wd2000 ol ol2000 ppt ppt2000 fp fp2000 acc acc2000 ole fp2k ppt2k xl2k ol2k wd2k

Keywords : kbdta
Version : WINDOWS:2000
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbprb


Last Reviewed: January 6, 2000
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