Microsoft KB Archive/179999

= MacXL: Cannot Save to Floppy Disk or Network Disk Drive =

Article ID: 179999

Article Last Modified on 1/22/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Excel 2001 for Mac
 * Microsoft Excel 98 for Macintosh

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This article was previously published under Q179999



SYMPTOMS
When you open or save files in Microsoft Excel, the following problems may occur:  When you save a file to a floppy disk or a network drive, the file is not saved to the floppy disk or network drive. Instead, it is saved to your computer's hard disk drive.

If a file with the same name already exists on your hard drive, the existing file is overwritten by the new file. You do not receive an error message warning that the file is being overwritten. When you save a file to a floppy disk or a network drive, you may receive the following error message:

Microsoft Excel cannot access the file Drive Name:Folder Name. There are several possible reasons:

 The file name or path name does not exist. The file you're trying to open is being used by another program. Close the document in the other program, and try again. The name of the workbook you're trying to save is the same as the name of another document that is read-only. Try saving the workbook with a different name.

You receive this error message even though none of the listed reasons are true. When you open a file from a floppy disk or a network drive, you may receive the following error message:

' ' could not be found. Check the spelling of the file name, and verify that the file location is correct.

If you are trying to open the file from your list of most recently used files on the File menu, make sure that the file has not been renamed, moved, or deleted.

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CAUSE
These problems may occur if the name of the floppy disk or network drive is the same as the name of your computer's hard disk drive. For example, if your computer's hard disk drive is named "Fred's Disk", these problems will occur if you have a floppy disk or network drive whose name is also "Fred's Disk".

See the "More Information" section later in this article, for a more detailed description of these problems.

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RESOLUTION
To prevent these problems from occurring, make sure that none of your floppy disks or network drives have the same name as your computer's hard drive.

You can rename a floppy disk by following these steps:
 * 1) Insert the floppy disk into your computer's floppy disk drive.
 * 2) Click the title below the icon for the floppy disk on the desktop. The cursor should turn into an I-beam cursor.
 * 3) Type a new name for the floppy disk, and press RETURN.

If a network drive has the same name as your hard disk drive, you may need to contact your network administrator to have the network drive renamed. Or, in some cases, you may have to rename your hard disk drive.

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STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

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MORE INFORMATION
These problems occur because of the way in which the Macintosh operating system converts full pathnames. When you select a file to open or save, Microsoft Excel sends the pathname of the file to the operating system, which then searches for the specified pathname. If two drives have the same name, the operating system may use the incorrect location for the file, and one of the problems described may occur.

For example, assume the following:
 * Your hard drive is named "Fred's Disk".
 * You have a floppy disk which is also named "Fred's Disk".
 * The floppy disk contains a folder named "Test". The hard disk drive does not contain such a folder.

File Is Not Saved to Floppy Disk, Overwrites Existing File

 * 1) In Microsoft Excel, create a new workbook. In cell A1 of Sheet1, type first.
 * 2) On the File menu, click Save. Save the workbook as Test1, in the root folder of your hard disk drive.
 * 3) Change the value in Sheet1 to second.
 * 4) On the File menu, click Save As. Save the workbook as Test1, in the root folder on your floppy disk.
 * 5) On the File menu, click Close.
 * 6) Open Test1 from the root folder of your hard disk drive.

Note that cell A1 contains "second", even though the workbook that you saved to the hard drive contained "first". When you attempted to save the workbook to the floppy disk, the pathname sent to the operating system was:

Fred's Disk:Test1

When the operating system searched for this pathname, the first valid pathname it found was on your hard disk drive, and the file was saved to that location. You do not receive an error message because Microsoft Excel is unaware that the file is being saved to the incorrect location.

"Cannot Access" Error Saving File

 * 1) In Microsoft Excel, create a new workbook.
 * 2) On the File menu, click Save As. Save the workbook as Test2, in the Test folder on your floppy disk.

You receive the first error message shown above. The pathname sent to the operating system was:

Fred's Disk:Test:Test2

When the operating system searched for this pathname, the first valid pathname it found was on your hard disk drive. However, because the folder "Test" does not exist on the hard disk drive, the pathname cannot be used, and the file cannot be saved.

"Could Not Be Found" Error Opening File

 * 1) In the Finder, copy a workbook to the Test folder on the floppy disk.
 * 2) In Microsoft Excel, click Open on the File menu. Select the workbook in the Test folder on the floppy disk, and click Open.

You receive the second error message shown above. The pathname sent to the operating system was:

Fred's Disk:Test:Workbook Name

When the operating system searched for this pathname, the first valid pathname it found was on your hard disk drive. However, because the folder "Test" does not exist on the hard disk drive, the pathname cannot be used, and the file cannot be opened.

Additional query words: XL98 data loss overwrite

Keywords: kberrmsg KB179999

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