Microsoft KB Archive/74048

= Running Excel 2.1 with Run-time Windows and MS-DOS 5.0 =

Article ID: 74048

Article Last Modified on 12/3/1999

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft MS-DOS 5.0 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q74048



SYMPTOMS
The following error message may be displayed when you attempt to run Microsoft Excel version 2.1 with run-time Windows under MS-DOS 5.0.

Incorrect DOS Version

The problem isn't with Excel, but with the run-time version of Windows, which is not compatible with MS-DOS 5.0 HIMEM.SYS.



WORKAROUND
To get Excel 2.1 and run-time Windows to work properly, reinstall the run- time version of Windows with the &quot;No Extended Memory&quot; option during Setup. At this point, Setup determines which of the following user files to load:


 * USERS.EXE, which is called the &quot;skinny user,&quot; because it allows no high memory functionality -or-


 * USERF.EXE, which is called the &quot;fat user,&quot; because it uses high memory functionality

In this case, you will use USERS.EXE.

Note that using USERS.EXE will decrease the available memory for Excel by approximately 40K because it can no longer use the high memory area (HMA). However, by loading DOS into the HMA, more space will be available in conventional memory, so this will not be a problem. If an 80386 coprocessor is present, you can free more conventional memory by loading device drivers and terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) programs into the upper memory area.

Another workaround is to NOT use HIMEM.SYS. However, this will not allow for the use of any extended memory. Therefore, the first workaround is more functional for most users.

Additional query words: 2.10 5.00 noupd

Keywords: KB74048

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