Microsoft KB Archive/121448

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"Newer Speller Already Installed" Running Word 6.0c Setup

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Q121448

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Office for Windows, version 4.2c
 * Microsoft Word for Windows, version 6.0c

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SYMPTOMS
If you run Setup to install Word 6.0c over Word 6.0a or to install Microsoft Office version 4.2c over Microsoft Office version 4.2a, the following error message may occur:

Setup has detected an existing Spelling Checker which is newer and

incompatible with the version Setup wanted to install. Please contact a

Microsoft Subsidiary to obtain newer copies of the following

dictionaries: US English and British.

By contrast, this error does not occur if you install Word 6.0c over Word 6.0 for Windows.

CAUSE
This error occurs when Setup attempts to install the proofing tools if all three of the following conditions are true:


 * 1) The existing MSSPEL2.DLL file on your system is version 1.63.0000, with a file date of 1/11/94, 1/17/94, or 1/28/94. The MSSPEL2.DLL file dated 1/11/94 was shipped with the retail packages of Word 6.0a, and the file dated 1/28/94 was shipped with the Word 6.0a Patch.
 * 2) The [Microsoft Word] section of your WINWORD6.INI file contains incorrect path specifications for the Spelling files.

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The [MS Proofing Tools] section of your WIN.INI file does not specify a Spelling path or it specifies an invalid path or file.
 * 1) The PROOF statement in the [MSAPPS] section of your WIN.INI file specifies the correct location of the Word 6.0a MSSPEL2.DLL file.

This error does not occur if the [Microsoft Word] section of your WINWORD6.INI specifies the correct path for Spelling files and the [MS Proofing Tools] section of your WIN.INI specifies a correct Spelling path. Setup looks for the Spelling path in the WINWORD6.INI file location first, followed by the Spelling path of the WIN.INI file, so if the path it finds a valid setting, it does not continue looking in the [MSAPPS] section of WIN.INI.

STATUS
We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

WORKAROUND
Method 1: Choose OK from the error message dialog box. This will preserve the latest version of MSSPELL2.DLL on the hard drive and will not install the earlier version of MSSPELL2.DLL from the floppy disk.

Method 2: Before you run Word 6.0c Setup, rename your MSSPEL2.DLL file to MSSPEL2.OLD. When you run Word 6.0c Setup, it will not find a valid MSSPEL2.DLL file, so it will install the new version of the file, and this error does not occur.

Method 3: Change the Spelling path in the [Microsoft Word] section of the WINWORD6.INI and the [MS Proofing Tools] section of your WIN.INI file so that they point to the correct location of the current MSSPEL2.DLL file.