Word 6.0 for MS-DOS: Setup Questions and Answers

ID: Q99014

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Word for MS-DOS, version 6.0

SUMMARY

  1. Q. I have just installed Word version 6.0 for MS-DOS, and when I try to start the program, my computer hangs (stops responding) and the screen goes blank. What is happening?

    A. You may have another program running that conflicts with Word, or you may have a problem with the screen driver you selected during Word setup. Use the following steps to diagnose and resolve the problem:

    1. At the command prompt, change to your Word program directory and locate the SCREEN.VID file. If Word is running on a network workstation, the SCREEN.VID file is in the directory specified by the SET MSWNET6 variable. To find out what directory is specified by the set mswnet6 variable, type SET at the command prompt and then press ENTER.


    2. Rename the SCREEN.VID file to a different name, such as SCREEN.OLD, then restart Word.


    3. If Word does not start, do the following (if Word starts, skip to step 4):

      1. Restart your computer using an MS-DOS system disk.

        NOTE: If you don't have an MS-DOS system disk, you can create one by formatting a blank disk using the /S switch. For more information, refer to the MS-DOS user's guide (creating a system disk is described under the FORMAT command topic).


      2. Change directories to the Word program directory and start Word.

        When you restart your computer using an MS-DOS system disk, any specialty programs or terminate-and-stay- resident (TSR) programs in your AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS file do not start. No path or prompt statements are executed, and your mouse does not work when you restart your computer in this manner.

        If Word starts and no display corruption occurs, your problem is due to a conflict between Word and a TSR program. To resolve the conflict, use the following procedure:

        1. Open your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files in a text editor.


        2. Disable all commands that reference TSR programs by typing REM at the beginning of each TSR command line.


        3. Save and close the AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files.


        4. Remove the MS-DOS system disk from the floppy disk drive and restart your computer.


        5. Start Word. No display problems should occur.


        6. You can add one remarked line at a time back to your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files. Restart your computer after each modification and start Word. When you add the line that caused a conflict with Word, the program fails to start or the display problems resume. You should not run this conflicting TSR when you run Word.






    4. If Word starts, you either selected the incorrect video driver during Word setup or your SCREEN.VID file is damaged. Use the following steps to resolve this problem:

      1. Determine what kind of video card you have by using the Microsoft Diagnostics (MSD) utility, located in your Word directory. At the command prompt, change to your Word directory and type MSD to start the utility.


      2. After MSD examines your system, note the name of your video adapter, which is displayed in the Video field. Quit the MSD program.


      3. Run the Word Setup program again and select the "Modify an Existing Version of Word" option. Select the "Install a Video Adapter" option. Select the video adapter you noted in step 4b above. Complete Setup and restart Word.






  2. Q. When I try to run Word version 6.0 for MS-DOS, screen corruption occurs - or the screen goes blank - and the system hangs (stops responding). What can I do about this?

    A. Sometimes terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) programs conflict with Word, causing screen display problems or causing your computer to hang. Use the following steps to diagnose and resolve this conflict:

    1. Start Word by typing WORD /X at the command prompt. The /X command-line switch overrides expanded memory and may allow you to run Word and your TSR programs concurrently. If your system stops again, a conflict still exists.


    2. To disable all TSR programs and then determine which one conflicts with Word, use the procedure in step 3 of answer 1.




  3. Q. I am having trouble setting up Word version 6.0 for MS-DOS on a network. What should I do?

    A. Do any or all of the following steps to resolve problems with a network installation of Word. For a full description of these items, see Chapter 4 in "Getting Started and Printer Information" for Word version 6.0.

    1. Add the file server location of the Word program to the PATH statement in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file on the workstation computer.


    2. At the workstation, specify the network user directory. To do this, add the SET MSWNET6 variable to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file on the workstation computer. If you installed Word by typing SETUP USER at the workstation, Word Setup added the MSWNET6 variable to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file.


    3. Create a unique MSWNET6 variable for each network user. The network user must have full privileges in the directory specified by the MSWNET6 variable. Word creates dictionaries and places the MW.INI file in this directory.


    4. If you experience display problems, Word may be unable to locate the user's SCREEN.VID file. Make sure the MSWNET6 variable points to the location of the user's SCREEN.VID file. Word version 6.0 also searches for SCREEN.VID in the directory specified by the MSWNET55 variable.


    5. Make sure network users start Word from their unique user directories in which they have read and write privileges.


    6. On a Novell(R) network, you must start Word the first time with an /N switch. Word stores this setting in the MW.INI file after you use it once, so you do not need to use the /N switch again unless you delete your MW.INI file.


    7. If you have trouble locating or using style sheets, glossaries, or spelling dictionaries, do the following:

      1. Make sure the standard style sheet, NORMAL.STY, and the standard glossary, NORMAL.GLY, are located in the current user directory or in the directory specified by the MSWNET6 variable. If Word cannot find the files in these locations, it searches the Word program directory on the network server. Network users should store their individualized style sheet and glossary files in the Word directory specified by the MSWNET6 variable.


      2. If network users share the NORMAL.STY and NORMAL.GLY files, change these files' attributes to read-only and place them in the Word program directory on the network server. Use the RDONLY.EXE utility, supplied with Word, to set the read-only attribute.


      3. Make sure the Spelling program files are located in the Word program directory on the network server.






  4. Q. How can I use my mouse in Word version 6.0 for MS-DOS?

    A. You can use version 8.2 of the mouse driver, supplied with Word version 6.0, with an IBM(R) PS/2(R) mouse, Microsoft Mouse, or compatible pointing device. If you want to use a third-party mouse with Word version 6.0, you must use third-party mouse software that is compatible with Word version 6.0. To receive a mouse driver for your third-party mouse, call the manufacturer of your mouse. If you do not know what version of the mouse driver you are using, restart your computer; mouse driver information displays during startup.


  5. Q. I have an earlier version of Microsoft Word for MS-DOS that I want to delete from my hard disk. Why do I receive an "Access Denied" error message when I try to delete some of the Word program files?

    A. Some Word version 5.0 program files have a Read-Only attribute. When you try to delete these files, an "Access Denied" error message appears at the command prompt. Use the following steps to remove the Read-Only attribute:

    1. At the command prompt, change to the Word program directory.


    2. Use either of the following procedures to remove the Read- Only attribute from all files in the current directory:

      1. At the command prompt, type the following:
        ATTRIB -R *.*
        NOTE: If the MS-DOS directory is not in your path, you must type the full path to the ATTRIB.EXE file or copy that file from the MS-DOS directory to your Word directory.


      2. Word versions 5.0 and 6.0 for MS-DOS contain the RDWRITE.EXE file, which removes the Read-Only attribute. Perform the following steps to use the RDWRITE utility:

        1. If it is not already present, copy and decompress the RDWRITE.EXE file from the Word Utility/Printers disk to your Word directory. For information on manually decompressing a file, see pages 62 through 63 of "Getting Started and Printer Information" for Word version 6.0.


        2. At the command prompt, type the following to remove the Read-Only attribute:
          RDWRITE *.*




      You can now delete the Word version 5.0 program files.




  6. Q. I just installed Word for MS-DOS on my laptop computer. Why can't I see my text cursor?

    A. The text cursor may not appear on laptops with CGA video adapters and monochrome or gas plasma displays if the background color is set to a color other than black. The text cursor may be the same color as the background color. To avoid this problem, do the following:

    1. From the View menu, choose Preferences.


    2. Choose the Colors button.


    3. In the Things To Color box, select Window Background.


    4. Select the A option and choose the OK button.




  7. Q. How can I optimize the performance of Word version 6.0 for MS-DOS running with Microsoft Windows version 3.0?

    A. Start Word using the program information file (PIF) called WORD.PIF, supplied with Word version 6.0, when you run with Windows version 3.0. PIFs are used to optimize the performance of MS-DOS - based applications running under Windows.

    Use these steps to run Word by using WORD.PIF:

    1. In Windows Program Manager, choose the Non-Windows Applications group or its equivalent.


    2. From the File menu, choose New.


    3. Select the Program Item option button and choose the OK button.


    4. In the Program Item Properties dialog box, type Word 6.0 in the Description box.

      NOTE: The Description box is optional; you can type anything or nothing in this box.


    5. In the Command Line box, type "<PATH>\WORD.PIF" (without quotation marks or angle brackets) (<path> is the location of your Word program directory), and choose the OK button. For example, type:
      C:\WORD\WORD.PIF
      A new program-item icon appears. To start Word, choose this icon.


    Below are the WORD.PIF settings you should use to run Word version 6.0 with Windows version 3.0. The Word Setup program does not modify these WORD.PIF settings based on the options you select during installation. To customize WORD.PIF, use the Windows version 3.0 PIF Editor and modify the Optional Parameters and Start-up Directory settings.

    NOTE: Microsoft recommends that you do not change the KB Required setting to a value of less than 384 kilobytes (KB). 
    
         Standard WORD.PIF Settings
         ---------------------------------------
         Program Filename         WORD.EXE
         Window Title             Microsoft Word 6.0
         Optional Parameters      None
         Start-up Directory       None
                                  Memory Requirements  KB Required: 384
                                  KB Desired: 640
         Display Usage            Full Screen
         Execution                Exclusive
         Close Window on Exit     Yes

         Advanced WORD.PIF Settings
         (available in 386 enhanced mode only)
         -------------------------------------
         Multitasking Options
         Background Priority      50
         Foreground Priority      100
         Detect Idle Time         Yes

         Memory Options
         EMS Memory               KB Required: 0
                                  KB Limit: 1024
                                  Locked: No
         XMS Memory               KB Required: 0
                                  KB Limit: 1024
                                  Locked: No
         Uses High Memory Area    Selected
         Lock Application Memory  Unselected
         Display Options          Video memory: High Graphics
         Monitor Ports            Text (selected)
                                  Low Graphics (selected)
         Emulate Text Mode        Selected
         Retain Video Memory      Selected
    NOTE: Word version 6.0 can access expanded memory (EMS) that meets the Lotus/Intel/Microsoft (LIM) specification version 3.2 or later. Word accesses expanded memory when running in Windows 386 enhanced mode when the EMS Memory (KB Required) setting is a value other than 0. Word version 6.0 does not use extended memory (XMS). 
    
         Other WORD.PIF Settings
         -------------------------------------
         Allow Fast Paste         Unselected
         Allow Close When Active  Unselected
         Reserve Shortcut Keys
         ALT+TAB                  Unselected
         PRTSC                    Unselected
         ALT+ENTER                Unselected
         ALT+ESC                  Unselected
         ALT+PRTSC                Unselected
         CTRL+ESC                 Unselected
         ALT+SPACE                Selected
         Application Shortcut Key None


  8. Q. How can I optimize the performance of Word version 6.0 for MS- DOS running with Microsoft Windows version 3.1?

    A. You should start Word using the program information file (PIF) called WORD.PIF, supplied with Word version 6.0, when you run with Windows version 3.1. PIFs are used to optimize the performance of MS-DOS - based applications running with Windows.

    Use steps 7.A.1-5 above to run Word with Windows version 3.1 using WORD.PIF.

    Below are the Standard WORD.PIF settings you should use to run Word version 6.0 with Windows version 3.1. The Word Setup program does not modify these WORD.PIF settings based on the options you select during installation. To customize WORD.PIF, use the Windows version 3.0 PIF Editor and modify the Optional Parameters and Start-up Directory settings.

    NOTE: Microsoft recommends that you not change the KB Required setting to a value less than 384 kilobytes (KB). 
    
         Standard WORD.PIF Settings
         ---------------------------------------------------
         Program Filename         WORD.EXE
         Window Title             Microsoft Word 6.0
         Optional Parameters      None
         Start-Up Directory       None
         Video Memory             High Graphics (selected)
         Memory Requirements      KB Required: 384
         KB Desired: 640
         EMS Memory               KB Required: 0
         KB Limit: 1024
         XMS Memory               KB Required: 0
         KB Limit: 1024
         Display Usage            Full Screen
         Execution                Exclusive
         Close Window On Exit     Selected

         Advanced WORD.PIF Settings
         (available in 386 enhanced mode only)
         ------------------------------------------
         Multitasking Options
         Background Priority      50
         Foreground Priority      100
         Detect Idle Time         Yes
         Memory Options
         EMS Memory Locked        No
         XMS Memory Locked        No
         Uses High Memory Area    Selected
         Lock Application Memory  Unselected
         Display Options
         Monitor Ports            Text (selected)
         Low Graphics (selected)
         Emulate Text Mode        Selected
         Retain Video Memory      Selected


         Other WORD.PIF Settings
         ------------------------------------
         Allow Fast Paste         Unselected
         Allow Close When Active  Unselected
         Reserve Shortcut Keys
         ALT+TAB                  Unselected
         PRTSC                    Unselected
         ALT+ENTER                Unselected
         ALT+ESC                  Unselected
         ALT+PRTSC                Unselected
         CTRL+ESC                 Unselected
         ALT+SPACE                Selected
         Application Shortcut Key None


  9. Q. I just bought Word version 6.0 for MS-DOS, and I want to install it.

    How can I do this from the command prompt? How can I do it from within Microsoft Windows?

    A. To install Word version 6.0 for MS-DOS from a command prompt, use the instructions on pages 15 through 20 of "Getting Started and Printer Information".

    Use the following steps to install Word from within Windows:

    NOTE: The following steps assume that you are installing Word from drive A.

    1. Insert the Word Setup disk in drive A.


    2. In Windows Program Manager, choose Run from the File menu.


    3. Type the following in the Command Line box and choose the OK button.
      A:SETUP


    4. You should now be in the Word Setup program. Follow the instructions on the screen and on pages 15 through 20 of "Getting Started and Printer Information".




Additional query words: IVR appnote

Keywords : kbusage
Version : MS-DOS:6.0
Platform : MS-DOS
Issue type :


Last Reviewed: December 22, 1999
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