Microsoft KB Archive/257522

Knowledge Base

WD2000: Error Message: Can't Open This Item. Microsoft WordMail Could Not Be Started

Article ID: 257522

Article Last Modified on 1/27/2007

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APPLIES TO

• Microsoft Word 2000 Standard Edition
• Microsoft Outlook 2000 Standard Edition
• Microsoft Works Suite 2000

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This article was previously published under Q257522

SYMPTOMS

If you are using Microsoft Word as your e-mail editor in Outlook and you open and close three messages, the following error message may appear:

Can't open this item. Microsoft WordMail could not be started.

CAUSE

This problem occurs if an add-in is installed for Word. The problem can also occur if the Microsoft Works in Word Add-In that is included with Microsoft Works Suite 2000 is installed on your computer.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, obtain Microsoft Office 2000 Service Release 1/1a (SR-1/SR-1a).

To obtain SR-1/SR-1a, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

245025 OFF2000: How to Obtain and Install Microsoft Office 2000 Service Release 1/1a (SR-1/SR-1a)

To temporarily work around this problem, do one of the following.

Method 1: Remove the Works in Word Add-In

To do this, follow these steps:

NOTE: This removes all Works templates and tasks from the Works Task Launcher and removes Works enhancements from Word.

1. On the Windows taskbar, click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Add/Remove Programs.
3. On the Install/Uninstall tab, click Works in Word Suite Add-In.
4. Click Add/Remove to uninstall the Works in Word Suite Add-In.NOTE: For steps 3-4 in Windows 2000, click Works in Word Suite Add-In and then click Change/Remove.

Method 2: Turn Off Microsoft Word 2000 as Your E-mail Editor

To turn off Microsoft Word 2000 as your e-mail editor, use the following steps:

1. Start Microsoft Outlook 2000.
2. On the Tools menu, click Options, and click the Mail Format tab.
3. Clear the Use Microsoft Word to edit e-mail messages check box, and click OK.

For additional information about how to do this in earlier versions of Microsoft Outlook, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

159476 WD97: How to Enable, Disable Microsoft Word as the E-Mail Editor

Method 3: Remove Add-Ins from the Startup Folder

NOTE: Removing these items may result in lost custom functionality in Word.

Word has the ability to automatically load templates, WLLs (Word libraries), and COM add-ins at startup. To remove these files, follow these steps:

1. Quit all Microsoft Office applications.
2. Using the Windows Explorer or My Computer, go to the Office Startup folder and the Word Startup folder.
   
   The default location for the Office Startup folder is:

   C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Startup

   The default location for the Word Startup folder is:

   In Windows 95/98:
   
   C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Microsoft\Word\STARTUP

   In Windows 95/98 with profiles enabled and in Windows NT 4.0:
   
   C:\WINDOWS\Profiles\<username>\Application Data\Microsoft\Word\STARTUP

   In Windows 2000:
   
   C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Microsoft\Word\Startup

3. Drag the contents of this folder to another location, such as your desktop.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Office 2000 SR-1/SR-1a.

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

241758 WD2000: Works 2000 Adds Functionality to Word 2000

Additional query words: can t

Keywords: kbbug kbnofix KB257522

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