"Exit and Load SHARE.EXE" with SHARE.EXE or VSHARE.386 Running

ID: Q121428

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c

SYMPTOMS

When you start Word for Windows version 6.0, the Word logo screen appears and then the following error message appears(even though SHARE.EXE or VSHARE.386 are correctly loaded on your computer):

You must exit and load SHARE.EXE. When you choose OK in the error message dialog box, Word closes.

NOTE: If you are receiving this message and your operating system is Windows95, Windows 98 or Windows NT please use please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base for additional information:

Q166673 "Cannot Find Share.exe" Installing MS Office Under Windows 95

CAUSE

This error message occurs if your local hard disk (for example, drive C) is write-protected. When you start the program, Word 6.0 tests the local hard disk to determine whether the system supports file and byte-range locking (both are required by all OLE applications for OLE functionality) on that partition. Word 6.0 tests the root directory of the local hard disk instead of the TEMP directory; Word cannot start if your local hard disk is write- protected, even if you have a valid TEMP directory on a logical drive on which you have read-write privileges. For more details about this process, see the "More Information" section of this article.

RESOLUTION

Your hard disk (usually drive C) must not be write-protected while Word for Windows version 6.0 is being started. If you have a Bernoulli cartridge, you must make it non-removable using its supplied utility. There is no other workaround.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Word for Windows versions 6.0, 6.0a, and 6.0c. This problem has been corrected in Word version 7.0 for Windows 95. Windows 95 and Windows NT have the required locking built into the operating system, so OLE applications can be assured that the required functionality will be available, and they don't need to test for it. However, the behavior of Word for Windows version 6.0 does not change under these operating systems; it functions as it does under Windows versions 3.10 and 3.11. It must still have write-access to the partition at startup.

MORE INFORMATION

All OLE 2.0 applications require file- and byte-range-locking functionality. At start-up, Word tests for this functionality by attempting to create and then lock a temporary file. Instead of testing the directory specified in the MS-DOS TEMP statement, Word 6.0 uses the Windows GetDriveType() API call to check for local non-removable media (such as a hard disk or another disk such as a locked Bernoulli cartridge).

If found, Word 6.0 issues an INT21,5Bh call to write the temporary (.TMP) file to the root directory of the first partition in the series (usually drive C) and an INT21,5Ch call to attempt to lock the file. If either the write or the lock attempt fails, Word displays the "...exit and load SHARE.EXE" message and quits. These routines were removed in Word95 and WordNT.

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Keywords :
Version : WINDOWS:6.0,6.0a,6.0c
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type :