Microsoft KB Archive/92909

= Works Err Msg: Unable to Write to MSWORKS3.INI or MSWORKS.INI =

Article ID: 92909

Article Last Modified on 10/6/2003

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Works 2.0 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Works 2.0a
 * Microsoft Works 3.0 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q92909



SUMMARY
Microsoft Works for Windows may display the error message: &quot;Unable to Write to MSWORKS3.INI&quot; or &quot;Unable to write to MSWORKS.INI&quot; if you are completing an operation that must write to this file, such as exiting the tutorial or saving a workspace. This may happen on a network or a local installation and it may be caused by one of the following reasons:
 * The user may not have read/write privileges to the MSWORKS3.INI or MSWORKS.INI file.
 * The user may not have read/write privileges to the Windows user's directory.
 * Windows may not be installed correctly for each workstation on a network.

Note: This problem may not occur on the network if they are logged in as an administrator.



MORE INFORMATION
Before troubleshooting this problem, determine the location of the Windows user's directory using the following steps:
 * 1) If you are using Windows 3.0 or 3.1, double-click the MS-DOS prompt icon in the Main group of the Program Manager window, or use the arrow keys to select the MS-DOS prompt icon, and then press ENTER.

If you are using Windows 95, click the Start button, point to Programs, and then click MS-DOS Prompt.
 * 1) At the MS-DOS command prompt, type set.
 * 2) The directory indicated by the &quot;WinDir=&quot; line is the user's directory. (Note: The directory indicated by the WinDir= line will be referred to as &quot;WinDir&quot; throughout this article.)

Use the following steps to troubleshoot the error message:  Make sure the user has read/write privileges to the MSWORKS3.INI or MSWORKS.INI file in the user's Windows directory, by doing the following:

 From the MS-DOS prompt, switch to the WinDir by typing cd\windows, then pressing ENTER.

NOTE: The above directory should match what the windir= line states. If using Works 2.x, type: attrib msworks.ini and press ENTER. If MS- DOS returns the filename with an &quot;r&quot;, the file is read-only.

If using Works 3.0, type: attrib msworks3.ini and press ENTER If the file is read-only, remove the read-only attribute from the file by typing:

attrib -r msworks.ini

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attrib -r msworks3.ini

  Determine whether the Windows network installation is shared by multiple users by doing the following:

 If the network installation of Windows is used by a single user only, make sure that the user has read/write privileges to the WinDir by doing the following:

 Type attrib followed by the WinDir. For example:

attrib e:\windows

Press ENTER. If MS-DOS returns the directory with an &quot;r&quot;, the directory is read-only.</li> If the directory is read-only, remove the read-only attribute. See your network administrator or the network administrator's documentation for more information on how to do this.</li></ol> </li> If the Windows installation is shared by multiple users, make sure that it was installed correctly for each workstation on the network. To check if Windows was installed for shared network use, check the directory indicated by the WinDir= line: If there is no SYSTEM subdirectory in the WinDir, make sure that the user has read/write privileges using the steps above. If there is a SYSTEM subdirectory,</li></ol>

If Windows was not installed for shared network use, you will need to erase the current installation of Windows and reinstall for shared network use, by doing the following:</li></ol>

Windows 95
For information about installing Windows 95 on a network, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

133221 Installing a Server-Based Windows 95 Setup

Windows 3.1
 Use the Setup /A command to install Windows into the shared Windows directory.</li> Use the Setup /N command for each workstation. See pages 6-9 of &quot;Getting Started with Microsoft Windows&quot; for more information.</li></ol>

Windows 3.0
 Use EXPALL.BAT to install Windows into the shared Windows directory.</li> Use the Setup /N command for each workstation.</li></ol>

WORKS 2.X
To install Works for Windows version 2.x on the network, see the &quot;Guide to Using Microsoft Works for Windows on a Network,&quot; available from Microsoft. Call Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400.

To install Works for Windows version 2.x locally, follow the instructions on pages 4-7 in &quot;Getting Started with Microsoft Works.&quot;

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