Microsoft KB Archive/247602

= Error message: The Works Task Launcher cannot access the task you selected =

Article ID: 247602

Article Last Modified on 1/25/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Works 8.0
 * Microsoft Works 7.0
 * Microsoft Works 6.0
 * Microsoft Works 2000 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Works Suite 2005
 * Microsoft Works Suite 2004
 * Microsoft Works Suite 2003
 * Microsoft Works Suite 2002
 * Microsoft Works Suite 2001
 * Microsoft Works Suite 2000
 * Microsoft Works Suite 2006

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This article was previously published under Q247602



Important This article contains information that shows you how to help lower security settings or how to turn off security features on a computer. You can make these changes to work around a specific problem. Before you make these changes, we recommend that you evaluate the risks that are associated with implementing this workaround in your particular environment. If you implement this workaround, take any appropriate additional steps to help protect your system.



SYMPTOMS
When you click a task in the Microsoft Works Task Launcher, you may receive one of the following error messages:

The Works Task Launcher cannot access the task you selected. Necessary files may be missing, corrupted, or may have been deleted. To restore or replace files, reinstall Works, and then try starting the task again. If you no longer use the task, with the right button, click the task name, and then click Delete.

Works cannot access one or more files.

When you select a task in the Task Launcher with Microsoft Works Suite 2002, you may receive an error message that is similar to the following:

has caused a serious error.

In this error message,  is the name of the task that you are trying to run.



CAUSE
This issue may occur if the following conditions are true:
 * Norton AntiVirus is running on your computer.
 * You may have to repair the Microsoft Word 2000 installation on your computer (Works Suite only).
 * A Works Task Launcher file is damaged or is missing.
 * Too many fonts are installed in the Fonts folder on your computer.
 * Multiple printer drivers are installed on your computer.
 * You must start the Works Task Launcher from inside Word 2000 (Works Suite only).
 * You may have to reinstall both the Microsoft Word in Works Suite installation and the Microsoft Word 2000 installation on your computer (Works Suite only).
 * The Windows profile or user account may be corrupted.



RESOLUTION
Important These steps may increase your security risk. These steps may also make your computer or your network more vulnerable to attack by malicious users or by malicious software such as viruses. We recommend the process that this article describes to enable programs to operate as they are designed to, or to implement specific program capabilities. Before you make these changes, we recommend that you evaluate the risks that are associated with implementing this process in your particular environment. If you choose to implement this process, take any appropriate additional steps to help protect your system. We recommend that you use this process only if you really require this process.

Warning This workaround may make your computer or your network more vulnerable to attack by malicious users or by malicious software such as viruses. We do not recommend this workaround but are providing this information so that you can implement this workaround at your own discretion. Use this workaround at your own risk.

Note An antivirus program is designed to help protect your computer from viruses. You must not download or open files from sources that you do not trust, visit Web sites that you do not trust, or open e-mail attachments when your antivirus program is disabled.

For additional information about computer viruses, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

129972 Computer viruses: description, prevention, and recovery

To resolve this issue, use the appropriate method.

Norton AntiVirus is running on your computer
Contact Norton to obtain an updated version of their product or for help reconfiguring their product to resolve this problem. For additional information about the Norton AntiVirus OfficeAV.dll plug-in, see the "More Information" section.

You must start the Works Task Launcher from Word 2000 (Works Suite only)
To start the Works Task Launcher from Word 2000 (Works Suite only), follow these steps:
 * 1) Click Start, point to Programs, and then click Microsoft Word.
 * 2) Click File, and then point to New.
 * 3) In the flyout menu, click to select Works Task Launcher.
 * 4) If steps 1 through 3 work, try to start Word from the Task Launcher that you started.
 * 5) If step 4 works, close all open windows on your desktop, start the Task Launcher, and then start Word from the Task Launcher.
 * 6) If this method fails, continue to the next method.

You must repair Microsoft Word 2000 (Works Suite only)
To repair Microsoft Word 2000, follow these steps:
 * 1) Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
 * 2) Double-click Add/Remove Programs.
 * 3) Click Microsoft Word 2000, and then click Add/Remove.
 * 4) Click Repair Word.
 * 5) Click Repair errors in my Word installation, and then click Finish.
 * 6) Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to repair Microsoft Word 2000.

If the issue continues to occur, continue to the next method. For the remaining steps if you are using Windows 2000 or Windows XP, you must create a new user account, assign it to the Local Administrators Group, and then log in that account while you complete the steps. If your computer is part of a Network Domain, you may have to contact your Network Administrator for if you need help with this. For information about how to do this, click Start - Help and search on the following topic: "To add a new user to the computer". As soon as you have created the new account with administrative credentials and logged into it, go on to the next step.

A Works Task Launcher file is damaged or missing
To replace these files, remove Works, remove the Microsoft Works folder, clean boot your computer, and then reinstall Works. To do this, follow the steps in the order that they appear in.

Remove Works Suite
To remove the Works Suite products, follow these steps:
 * 1) Insert the Works Setup CD in your computer's CD-ROM drive or DVD-ROM drive.
 * 2) On the Works Setup screen, click Remove.
 * 3) Select all the products that are listed.
 * 4) Follow the instructions to remove each product.

Remove folders and registry components
Remove key registry components for Works by downloading and running the utility appropriate for your operating system.

Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98, or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me)

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:

http://download.microsoft.com/download/works60/Utility/1/WinMe/EN-US/wks6.exe

Microsoft Windows 2000

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:

http://download.microsoft.com/download/works60/Utility/1/NT5/EN-US/wks6w2k.exe

For additional information about how to download Microsoft Support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

119591 How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services

Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help to prevent any unauthorized changes to the file. To run these files, follow these steps:
 * 1) Save the file to your desktop.
 * 2) Double-click the file, and then follow the prompts.

Download and run the Windows CleanUp Utility
 Download, install, and then run the Windows Installer CleanUp utility to remove the Windows Installer registry settings associated with your products installation.

For additional information about how to download, install, and use the Windows Installer CleanUp utility, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

290301 Description of the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility

 To use the Windows CleanUp utility, follow these steps:  Click Start, point to Programs, and then click Windows Installer Clean Up. Select the program that you want to remove, and then click Remove. Click OK, and then click Exit.</ol>

Note Because the Windows Installer CleanUp utility removes Windows Installer related registry settings and not the program files, make sure that you install your program in the same folder it was originally installed in to prevent duplication of files on your hard disk.</li></ol>

Clean boot the computer
Programs that run in the background can interfere with the installation process. To make sure that you are only running the programs that you want, clean boot the computer before you install one of the programs listed in the "Applies to" section. To do this, use the appropriate method for your version of Windows.

Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me)

Run the System Configuration Utility (msconfig.exe). To do this, follow these steps:
 * 1) Click Start, click Run, type msconfig in the Open box, and then click OK.
 * 2) Click the General tab.

Click Selective startup.
 * 1) Click to clear all the check boxes under Selective startup.
 * 2) Click the Startup tab.

Click to select the *StateMgr check box.
 * 1) Click OK.

When you are asked to restart your computer, click Yes.
 * 1) After the computer restarts, click Start, click Run, type msconfig, and then click OK.

Important On the General tab, check to make sure that the check boxes that you cleared are still cleared. If none of the check boxes are selected, continue to step 7. If you see a disabled check box or a gray check box, your computer is not truly "clean-booted". Contact the manufacturer of the product that has a gray check box to determine how to boot into Windows without running that program.
 * 1) Isolate the problem.

If the problem does not occur again after the clean boot, rerun msconfig, click the General tab, and then click to select one check box in the Selective startup section. Restart your computer to determine if selecting that item reproduces the original issue. Microsoft Windows 98

Run the System Configuration Utility (msconfig.exe). To do this, follow these steps:
 * 1) Click Start, click Run, type msconfig in the Open box, and then click OK.
 * 2) Click the General tab.

Click Selective Startup, and then click to clear the following check boxes:
 * 1) * Process Config.sys file
 * 2) * Process Autoexec.bat file
 * 3) * Process Winstart.bat file (if available)
 * 4) * Load startup group items
 * 5) Click the Win.ini tab.
 * 6) Expand the [windows] folder.
 * 7) Under the [windows] folder, click to clear the following check boxes:
 * 8) * Load=
 * 9) * Run=
 * 10) Click OK.
 * 11) When you are prompted to restart the computer, do so.

For additional information about how to clean boot Windows 98, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

192926 How to perform clean-boot troubleshooting for Windows 98

Note To restore your original Startup options, rerun the System Configuration Utility, click the General tab, and then click Normal Startup. If the issue continues to occur, continue to the "Repair Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5" section.

Microsoft Windows 95
 * 1) Restart the computer.

When you see the "Starting Windows 95" message, press F8. On the Startup menu, select Command Prompt Only.
 * 1) At the command prompt, type win, and then press ENTER.

Press and hold down SHIFT until the Windows startup sequence is complete.
 * 1) Disable any antivirus or disk tool programs installed on the computer.

For information about how to disable these programs, see the printed or online documentation for the program.
 * 1) Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE.
 * 2) In the =Close Program dialog box, click any program except Explorer or Systray (which are components of Microsoft Windows), and then click End Task.

If you receive a message that states that the program is busy or not responding, click End Task again.
 * 1) Repeat steps 4 and 5 to quit all programs except Explorer and Systray.

For additional information about how to clean boot Windows 95, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

177604 Multimedia: Troubleshooting using clean boot of Windows 95

Note To restore your original Startup options, restart the computer normally, and then enable any anti-virus or disk tool programs that are installed on the computer.

For information about how to enable these programs, see the printed or online documentation for the program.

Reinstall Works Suite
After you remove the Works Suite programs and their registry keys, the Works Installer functions as expected. Reinstall the programs by running the Setup Program on the Works Suite CD-ROM #1.

Too many fonts are installed in the fonts folder
To resolve this issue, remove infrequently used fonts from the Fonts folder.

Note The number of fonts that you must remove varies depending on your computer configuration. Generally, this issue does not occur if fewer than 500 fonts are installed in the Fonts folder. However, this issue has been reported with as few as 300 fonts installed in the Fonts folder.

Multiple Printer Drivers Are Installed on the Computer
If multiple printer drivers are installed on the computer, there may be a conflict with one of the drivers. Remove any printer drivers that you are not using. To do this, follow these steps:
 * 1) Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Printers.
 * 2) Right-click the icon for the printer that you want to remove, and then click Delete.
 * 3) When you are prompted to confirm the deletion, click Yes.

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MORE INFORMATION
When you disable the Norton AntiVirus OfficeAV.dll plug-in by using the steps in the "Norton AntiVirus is running on your computer" section, the plug-in no longer scans documents for macro-virus infections.

However, the Norton AntiVirus Auto-Protect feature continues to provide ongoing protection by scanning any file that is run, downloaded, opened, created, or deleted.

For more information about Norton AntiVirus 2000, contact the software manufacturer or see your product documentation.

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.

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