Microsoft KB Archive/164808

= OFF: Setup Cannot Locate the Program Files Folder =

Article ID: 164808

Article Last Modified on 8/17/2005

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Office 97 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Office 95 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Office 95a

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This article was previously published under Q164808



IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, you should first make a backup copy of the registry files (System.dat and User.dat). Both are hidden files in the Windows folder.



SYMPTOMS
When you run the Microsoft Office Setup program, the Setup program may fail to identify the Program Files folder on your computer. The Setup program may then attempt to install certain Microsoft Office components (see the "More Information" section) in a folder other than the Program Files folder.

NOTE: This behavior occurs regardless of the type of installation (Typical, Custom, and so on) you perform.



CAUSE
The Microsoft Office Setup program determines the location of the Program Files and Common Files folders by checking the following registry keys:

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ ProgramFilesDir

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ CommonFilesDir

If these keys contain an incorrect drive letter or path information, Microsoft Office Setup may be unable to install files in the existing Program Files folder.



RESOLUTION
WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall Windows 95. 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 online Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe). Note that you should make a backup copy of the registry files (System.dat and User.dat) before you edit the registry.

For the Microsoft Office Setup program to detect the path to the Program Files folder, you must correct the path in the registry keys. To do this, use the following steps:  On the Start menu, click Run. In the Open box, type regedit and click OK.  Double-click the plus sign (+) to the left of the following items in order

     HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE Microsoft Windows CurrentVersion

to open the following registry key:

     HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion  In the value pane, note the value to the right of ProgramFilesDir. If the folder name does not exist on your hard disk, proceed to step 5. Otherwise, skip step 5.</li> Click ProgramFilesDir. On the Edit menu, click Modify. In the Value Data box, type the correct path to the Program Files folder (for example, C:\Programs). Then, click OK.</li> In the value pane, look at the value to the right of CommonFilesDir. If the folder name does not exist on your hard disk, proceed to step 7. Otherwise, skip step 7.</li> Click CommonFilesDir. On the Edit menu, click Modify. In the Value Data box, type the correct path to the Common Files folder (for example, C:\Common). Then, click OK.</li> On the Registry menu, click Exit.</li></ol>

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Microsoft Office 97
The Microsoft Office 97 components that are automatically installed in the Program Files folder are the following:

Microsoft Excel:

Microsoft Map

Microsoft Word:

Help

Proofing Tools

Text Converters

Microsoft Powerpoint:

Help

Data Access:

Data Access Objects for Visual Basic

Office Tools:

Spelling Checker

Organizational Chart

Equation Editor

Microsoft Photo Editor

MS Info

Clip Gallery

Find All Word Forms

Converters and Filters:

Text Converters

Graphics Filters

Microsoft Office 95
The Microsoft Office 95 components that are automatically installed in the Program Files folder are the following:

Microsoft Excel:

Help for Visual Basic

Microsoft Map

Microsoft Word:

Hyphenation

Grammar

Thesaurus

Lotus 1-2-3 Converter

Text with Layout Converter

Office Tools:

Spelling Checker

WordArt

Organizational Chart

Microsoft Graph version 5.0

Microsoft Graph version 5.0 Help

Equation Editor

MS Info

Clip Art Gallery

Find All Word Forms

Converters, Filters and Data Access:

Converters

Filters

Microsoft Query

Data Access Objects for Visual Basic

Help for Data Access Objects

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