Microsoft KB Archive/110266

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OFF: Err Msg:  Cannot Find or Run the Application

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Q110266

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Office for Windows, versions 4.0, 4.2, 4.3
 * Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows, version 4.0
 * Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a
 * Microsoft Excel for Windows, version 5.0
 * Microsoft Works for Windows, version 3.0
 * Microsoft Access 2.0

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SYMPTOMS
When you run one of the applications listed above and then start a shared application (such as Microsoft Graph, Microsoft Equation Editor, or Microsoft System Information), you receive an error message similar to the following:

Word cannot find or run the application. (Y:\APPS\MSAPPS\MSINFO\MSINFO.EXE)

When you check your network connections, you find no persistent logical connection to the network drive letter indicated in the error message ("Y" in the above error message).

CAUSE
This problem occurs with networks that support the Universal Naming Convention (UNC) when Setup cannot use the UNC path returned by the Windows API WNetGetConnection function.

Note that if a network does NOT support UNC, the MSAPPS are installed to the local workstation. For additional information, please see the following article(s) in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

"Q111687 Workstation Setup Installs MSAPPS Files Locally" There are two known cases where this problem occurs:

Banyan Vines Network
On a Banyan VINES network, Setup may convert the Network Server field to all uppercase letters. If the true Network Server connection string contains lowercase letters, then the path returned by WNetGetConnection does not match the upper case path that Setup is using, and Setup maps a a new network connection (ghost drive).

A connection string that is not case-correct does not cause the call to WNetGetConnection to fail; however, it causes Setup to be unable to recognize a current connection to the Network Server. Thus while it sees a valid path to use MSAPPS on the server, the proposed connection doesn't EXACTLY match the current connection so a new "Ghost" connection is generated (possibly using the Volume Drive setting for the File Service as defined in the Banyan configuration).

This problem is corrected in version 1.1 of the Setup program. The "C" releases of the Microsoft Office programs (Microsoft Excel 5.0c, Microsoft Word 6.0c, Microsoft Access 2.0c, etc.) do not exhibit this behavior.

Server and Volume Names Greater Than 39 Characters
On a Novell network, if the network server and volume names are longer than 39 characters, you can't use the NetBIOS UNC name in the registry (REG.DAT file) because it exceeds the 64 - character limit for the path. Because of this limitation, Setup maps a separate logical (ghost) connection to use. If Setup cannot use the UNC path as in the above cases, Setup uses a drive letter (such as K) in place of the "\\\ syntax. As a result, when you perform a Workstation installation of one of the applications listed above, Setup creates a new temporary logical connection (such as Y) to the server location of your shared components. Setup uses this temporary drive letter to update your system files with the server locations of shared applications, such as Microsoft Equation Editor and Microsoft Graph (MSAPPS), and other shared components, such as the spelling checker and Thesaurus. This behavior occurs even if you are already connected to the network server using a persistent drive letter; Setup does not check for an existing connection before it establishes the temporary connection.

Because the connection is temporary, it no longer exists the next time you log on to your network; therefore, none of your Office applications can find the shared applications using the locations listed in your WIN.INI and other settings files (such as WINWORD6.INI, EXCEL5.INI, POWERPNT.INI, and WINHELP.INI, located in your user directory). Setup does not notify you that it has established a new logical connection, so you are unaware that a necessary persistent logical connection is missing.

For example, if Setup cannot use the UNC connection returned during a Workstation Installation, it creates a temporary network connection and creates WIN.INI entries similar to those in the following sample:

  [EMBEDDING] MSGraph=Microsoft Graph,Microsoft Graph,Y:\APPS\MSAPPS\MSGRAPH\GRAPH.EXE, picture Equation.2=Microsoft Equation 2.0,Microsoft Equation 2.0,Y:\APPS\MSAPPS\EQUATION\EQNEDIT.EXE,picture "NOTE: Office applications do not use the [MSAPPS] section of your WIN.INI file, so settings in that section do not affect this behavior." IMPORTANT: This behavior does not occur if you install the MSAPPS files on the local hard disk drive of the workstation. This problem occurs ONLY when the Workstation Setup configures your system to share the MSAPPS files on a network file server, or a shared directory, and Setup cannot use the UNC connection returned during installation.

WORKAROUNDS
This section contains four workarounds. Use method 3 if you have not yet performed the Workstation Installation of your Office applications. Use method 4 to correct the temporary, incorrect drive letter if you have already run the Workstation Installation.

Method 1: Banyan Vines Network
To correct this problem, edit your SETUP.STF file to reflect the correct case-sensitive server location in the MSAPPS Network Server field. To do this, use the following steps:

  Open your SETUP.STF file in a suitable editor, such as Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Windows Write, or Windows Notepad. If you use Microsoft Excel, please query on the following words in the Microsoft Knowledge Base for more information and specific instructions: "excel and setup.stf and 'quiet mode'" IMPORTANT: You should NOT use MS-DOS Editor to modify your SETUP.STF file because MS-DOS Editor replaces tabs with spaces, which causes Setup errors.  Locate the MSAPPS Network Server line. Change the path, located to the right of the "MSAPPS Network Server" line, to the correct case-sensitive server location. If you are using a text editor or word processor, be very careful that you do not delete any of the tab characters that separate entries. Save and close the file. Use this modified SETUP.STF file when you run the workstation setup at each workstation.

Method 2: Server and Volume Names Greater Than 39 Characters
To correct this problem, shorten the server and volume names or correct the entries in the REG.DAT file.

Method 3: Local Installation of MSAPPS
When you perform the administrative installation of an application on the network file server, select Local instead of Server or User's Choice when Setup prompts you for the location of the MSAPPS applications. The advantage of this method is that the MSAPPS applications usually run more quickly from a local hard disk. The disadvantage of this method is that it consumes local hard disk space.

If you have already performed an administrative installation and chosen Server or User's Choice, you can avoid rerunning the administrative installation by modifying your SETUP.STF file. Instead of running Setup again, use the following procedure to modify your SETUP.STF file:

  Open your SETUP.STF file in a suitable editor, such as Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Windows Write, or Windows Notepad. If you use Microsoft Excel, please query on the following words in the Microsoft Knowledge Base for more information and specific instructions: "excel and setup.stf and 'quiet mode'" IMPORTANT: You should NOT use MS-DOS Editor to modify your SETUP.STF file because MS-DOS Editor replaces tabs with spaces, which causes Setup errors. </li> Locate the top-level "MSAPPS Mode" line, usually located in line 9, column A.</li> Change the "MSAPPS Mode" description line, located to the right of the "MSAPPS Mode" top-level line, from Shared or User Choice to Local. If you are using a text editor or word processor, be very careful that you do not delete any of the tab characters that separate entries.</li> Save and close the file.</li> Use this modified SETUP.STF file when you run the workstation setup at each workstation to install the MSAPPS applications on the workstation's local hard disk.</li></ol>

Method 4: Modify .INI and REG.DAT Files
Change the path in all of the affected configuration files to reflect the correct drive letter of your MSAPPS server.

If you use this workaround, you must modify settings in your WIN.INI file and application-specific .INI files (such as WINWORD6.INI for Word for Windows, EXCEL5.INI for Microsoft Excel, and POWERPNT.INI for PowerPoint). For example, to correct the [Embedding] section in your WIN.INI file if your MSAPPS server is mapped to the K drive, change Y: to K: in each path setting.

NOTE: To make these changes, you can open your WIN.INI file in Word for Windows and use the Replace command on the Edit menu.

In addition, you must update the .REG files on the server for each shared application, then use the updated .REG files to update the Windows REG.DAT file for each workstation. The procedure for updating REG.DAT varies depending on which Office applications you have installed. Use the instructions below that apply to your Office installation.

Word 6.0 or 6.0a for Windows, Installed as a Separate Application:

  Locate the following files in the shared MSAPPS sub directory on the network server: EQUATION\EQNEDIT2.REG

MSGRAPH\MSGRAPH3.REG

WORDART\WORDART2.REG NOTE: You need to modify the .REG files on the network server only, not those at each workstation. </li>  Open each file in a text editor or word processor. In each .REG file, the path to the shared application appears in one or more locations in a format similar to the following (where "c:\windows" and "<Windows dir>" both refer to your Windows program directory): <pre class="FIXEDTEXT">HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Equation.2\protocol\StdFileEditing\server = C:\WINDOWS\MSAPPS\EQUATION\EQNEDIT.EXE "-or-" <pre class="FIXEDTEXT">HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\MSWordArt.2\protocol\StdFileEditing\server = <Windows dir>\MSAPPS\WORDART\WORDART2.EXE </li>  Modify each occurrence of the path to the shared application so it points to the correct location on the persistent drive connection (such as K:). For example, change the sample entries above to the following (replace "C:\WINDOWS" or "<Windows dir>" with "K:\APPS"): <pre class="FIXEDTEXT">HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Equation.2\protocol\StdFileEditing\server = K:\APPS\MSAPPS\EQUATION\EQNEDIT.EXE

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\MSWordArt.2\protocol\StdFileEditing\server = K:\APPS\MSAPPS\WORDART\WORDART2.EXE </li> Save and close each .REG file after you modify it. If you use Word for Windows to edit these files, choose No if Word prompts you to overwrite the file in Word file format.</li>  At each workstation, open Windows File Manager and locate the modified .REG files on the network server. Double-click each .REG file to merge the new information into the workstation REG.DAT file.

NOTE: This step assumes that .REG files are associated with REGEDIT.EXE. If the following error message occurs, you need to reassociate .REG files with REGEDIT.EXE:

There is no application associated with this file. Choose Associate from the File menu to create an association.

</li> After you make these changes, quit and restart Windows so that the changes can take effect.</li></ol>

Microsoft Office, Installed on the Server:

  Copy the following files from your Office disks (or from the Office CD-ROM) to the listed MSAPPS sub directory: <pre class="FIXEDTEXT">  Copy this file           To this MSAPPS sub directory

ARTGALRY.REG            ARTGALRY GRAPH5.REG              MSGRAPH5 ORGCHART.REG            ORGCHART NOTE: These files are not compressed on the disks. </li> Follow steps 1-5 in the Word 6.0 section above to edit and merge each .REG file. Include the three additional Office .REG files listed in the Word section above, and exclude the MSGRAPH3.REG file in the Word list. (Office does not use the MSGRAPH3.REG file).</li></ol>

Other Office Applications, Installed as Stand-Alone Applications on the Server:

NOTE: Each Office application uses some combination of the .REG files mentioned above. If necessary, copy the appropriate file(s) from the application disks to the server directory, as noted above for the complete Office installation.


 * 1) For each shared application in the MSAPPS directory tree on the network server, edit the .REG file to change the temporary, incorrect drive letter to the correct, persistent drive letter.
 * 2) At each workstation, double-click the .REG files to merge them with each user's local REG.DAT file. Use the procedure in steps 1-5 in the Word 6.0 section above.

IMPORTANT: The procedures in Method 2 assume that all users are using the same drive letter for their persistent connections to the MSAPPS server sub directory. If this is not the case, you must copy the relevant .REG files to a unique location for each user, edit the .REG files for each user, and then merge the .REG files at the user's workstation to update the local REG.DAT file.

STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Setup version 1.0 that ships with the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. The Banyan Vines/casing issue was corrected in Microsoft Setup version 1.1, which ships with Microsoft Office for Windows, versions 4.2c and 4.3c, Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows, version 4.0c, Microsoft Word for Windows, version 6.0c, and Microsoft Excel for Windows, version 5.0c.