Microsoft KB Archive/136973

= PPT: Sorry, PowerPoint Could Not Start or Locate 'PPT Tools' =

Article ID: 136973

Article Last Modified on 8/17/2005

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft PowerPoint 95 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q136973



IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.



SYMPTOMS
When you try to start the AutoContent Wizard, you may get the following error message:

Sorry, PowerPoint could not start or locate 'PPT Tools.' You should run Setup and reinstall.

You may also experience other symptoms such as:
 * The Quick Preview will not run.
 * There is no Interactive Settings command on the Tools menu.



CAUSE
These problems may occur as a result of one or both of the following situations:
 * If your computer has multiple user profiles, only the profile that is in use when you ran Setup will run correctly. If you log in as someone else who has a profile on your computer, you may experience these problems. For example, if you log on to Windows NT version 3.51 as a user, Help may not run. But, if you log on to Windows NT as the administrator, Help does run. In this case, the Pptools.ppa file is not registered for the user account, but it is registered for the administrator account because PowerPoint was installed while you were logged on as administrator.
 * The Registry information for PowerPoint is incorrect or has become corrupted. In this case, all users of your machine will receive the error.



Method 1: Update to PowerPoint 97
PowerPoint 97 no longer writes these registry keys to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER branch. The keys are now written to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE branch, this branch of the registry is available to all users of the computer.

Method 2: Use the /y switch to re-register PowerPoint
 Log on to your computer using the user profile that exhibits the problems. Insert PowerPoint Disk 1 in drive A or B, or insert the PowerPoint compact disc in the CD-ROM drive. Click the Windows Start button, and then click Run. In the Open box, type the following, and then click OK:





Setup will run but will not copy any files to your hard disk. It will simply update the registry.

Method 3: Re-register PowerPoint
WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

If Method 2 for registering the program does not work, use this method to export keys related to PowerPoint, and then re-register the program.  Click the Windows Start button, and then click Run.</li> In the Open box, type the following, and then click OK:

regedit

</li>  Select the following registry key: <pre class="fixed_text">     HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.ppt </li> On the Registry menu, click Export Registry File.</li> In the Save Registry File dialog box, type a file name for the registry key, and then click Save.

When you return to the Registry Editor, the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.ppt key is still selected.</li> On the Edit menu, click Delete. When you receive a message box asking you if you want to delete this registry key, click Yes.</li> Repeat steps 3 through 6 for the .pot, .pwz, and .pps keys.</li> Start PowerPoint to reregister it.</li></ol>

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MORE INFORMATION
In Windows NT, separate user profiles are defined for each person that logs onto the computer. If Setup was run while you were logged on to a different profile, such as the Administrator profile, the registration information is stored with that profile instead of your profile. Separate registration information is stored for each profile, so if you log on using a different profile than the one you used when you installed the program, some components may not be accessible.

Because PowerPoint stores most of its features and settings in the registry, all other users who log on to the computer are prevented from accessing those features. If the registry is corrupt or if the PowerPoint entries are invalid, the registry settings are inaccessible to PowerPoint, regardless of who is logged on.

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STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was corrected in Microsoft PowerPoint 97 for Windows.

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