XL97: Implicitly Setting Value of Range Object Crashes Excel

ID: Q221568

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

When you run a Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications macro, you may receive an error message similar to the following:

EXCEL caused an invalid page fault in module <unknown> at 0000:000006ff.
-or-
An application error has occurred and an application log is being generated.

EXCEL.exe

Exception: access violation(0xc0000005), Address: 0x307de830


CAUSE

This problem may occur when the following conditions are true:

  • The Visual Basic procedure contains a line of code that implicitly sets the value of a Range object, as in the following example:

    
Range("A1") = 123
    • -and-

  • You have installed Oleaut32.dll version 2.30.4265.1 or later.

    NOTE: Microsoft has confirmed that the following programs install Oleaut32.dll version 2.30.4265.1 or later:

    • Microsoft Visual Basic version 6.0
    • Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) version 2.0 Service Pack 2
    • OLE Automation Fix for Windows 98


RESOLUTION

Microsoft has released a patch for Microsoft Excel that fixes this problem. See the "More Information" section later in this article for instructions on how to download and install this patch.

NOTES:

This patch is designed to update Microsoft Excel 97 Service Release 2 (SR-2).

This update includes all of the Excel-specific updates that were released since the last service release of Office, and the files included in this fix may be included in later service releases or patches. For information about the history of Excel 97 patches and releases and what they include, please click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q232652 XL97: Overview and History of Excel Patches


WORKAROUND

Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language being demonstrated and the tools used to create and debug procedures. Microsoft support professionals can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific needs. If you have limited programming experience, you may want to contact a Microsoft Certified Solution Provider or the Microsoft fee-based consulting line at (800) 936-5200. For more information about Microsoft Certified Solution Providers, please see the following page on the World Wide Web:

http://www.microsoft.com/mcsp/
For more information about the support options available from Microsoft, please see the following page on the World Wide Web:

http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/overview/overview.asp

To work around this problem temporarily, use the Value property when you set the value of a Range object. The following example illustrates how to do this:


Range("A1").Value = 123


STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.


MORE INFORMATION

How Do I Download the Excel 97 Range Object Patch?

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center. Click the file name below to download the file:
Xl8p5.exe
For more information about how to download files from the Microsoft Download Center, please visit the Download Center at the following Web address
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/search.asp
and then click How to use the Microsoft Download Center.

Updating Excel on your Hard Disk

If Excel is installed on your hard disk, follow these steps to install the update:
  1. Double-click the Xl8p5.exe file.


  2. Click OK when you receive the alert that the update has been installed.


Updating a Network Installation of Excel

  1. Download Xl8p5.exe and save it on the desktop.


  2. On the Start menu, click Run. Type the following command line
    c:\windows\desktop\xl8p5.exe /p "path to Excel.exe"
    where path to Excel.exe is the complete path to Excel.exe. You must type the path to Excel.exe in quotation marks; for example, type the following:
    "D:\Office\Excel.exe"
    Then, click OK.

    NOTE: The path cannot exceed 256 characters in length.

    The patch is applied to the specified copy of Excel.exe.


Running the patch in Silent Mode

You can run the patch in silent mode by using the /s switch when you run Xl8p5.exe. Note that you must run Xl8p5.exe from the command prompt (on the Start menu, click Run) to use these switches.

For example, the following runs the patch in silent mode:
path\xl8p5.exe /s"
where path is the location of xl8p5.exe.

How Can I Determine Whether the Patch Has Been Successfully Installed?

When you run this patch, it creates a log file named Xl8p5.log in the same folder that contains Excel.exe. You can open this log file to determine whether you have successfully installed the patch. If installation is successful, the status message in the log file is similar to the following: 

   Microsoft Excel 97 SR-2 KB Article 221568 Patch - Patch RUP 99030801
   Microsoft Excel has been patched successfully.
In addition, you can determine whether you have successfully installed the patch by following these steps:
  1. Use Microsoft Windows Explorer to locate the Excel.exe file.

    The default location for this file is the following folder:
    C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office
    NOTE: If you are running Microsoft Excel 97 from a network server, Excel.exe is located on the network server.


  2. Right-click Excel.exe. On the shortcut menu, click Properties. Click the Version tab.


  3. Note the File Version and compare it to the following table.

    The version that is displayed in the Properties dialog box indicates which version of Microsoft Excel 97 you are currently running. If the version number is 8.0g, you have successfully updated Microsoft Excel 97.

    You can also determine which version of Microsoft Excel you have installed by clicking About Microsoft Excel on the Help menu in Microsoft Excel 97, or by checking the value that is returned by Application.Build or Application.Version in a Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications macro. 


    4. 
   File              Application.Build/ 
   Version           About menu         Version      Application.Version
   ---------------------------------------------------------------------

   Excel 97 SR-2     Excel 97 SR-2      8.0e         5618 / 8.0e

   Excel 97 SR-2     Excel 97 SR-2(f)   8.0f         5619 / 8.0f
   and Xl8p4.exe

   Excel 97 SR-2     Excel 97 SR-2(g)   8.0g         5620 / 8.0g
   and Xl8p5.exe

Additional query words: XL97 GPF IPF crash

Keywords : kbdta kbdtacode xlvbainfo xlgpf
Version : WINDOWS:97
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbbug


Last Reviewed: December 10, 1999
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