OFF97: Office Programs Require Virtual Memory

When you start any of the Microsoft Office 97 programs, for example, Microsoft Excel 97, you receive an error message similar to the following: If you click OK, you receive the following error message:

This behavior occurs when you turn off (disable) virtual memory on a computer that is running Microsoft Windows 95 and you start any of the programs included in Microsoft Office 97. You may also receive these error messages when you start a Microsoft Office 97 program on a computer that is running Microsoft Windows NT if the paging file is too small.

To resolve this behavior, turn on virtual memory (under Windows 95), or increase the size of the paging file (under Windows NT).

Microsoft Windows 95

Microsoft Office 97 programs require that virtual memory be turned on when you run them under Windows 95. To turn on virtual memory, use the following steps:

1. Right-click the My Computer icon on the desktop, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.
2. Click the Performance tab.
3. Click Virtual Memory.
4. Select "Let Windows manage my virtual memory settings (recommended)."
5. Click OK, and then click Close.
6. When you are prompted to restart the computer, click Yes.

Microsoft Windows NT

In Windows NT, you cannot turn off virtual memory; however, you can increase the size of the paging file (the file that provides virtual memory). To do this, follow these steps:

Microsoft Windows NT 4.0

1. Right-click the My Computer icon on the Desktop. Click Properties on the shortcut menu that appears.
2. Click the Performance tab.
3. Click Change.
4. In the Virtual Memory dialog box, you can change the parameters for your paging file (initial size, maximum size, and so on). After you change the settings, click Set, and then click OK.
5. Click Close.
6. When you are prompted to restart the computer, click Yes.

Microsoft Windows 2000

1. Right-click the My Computer icon on the Desktop. Click Properties on the shortcut menu that appears.
2. Click the Advanced tab.
3. Click Performance Options.
4. Click Applications, and then click Change.
5. In the Virtual Memory dialog box, you can change the parameters for your paging file (initial size, maximum size, and so on). After you change the settings, click Set, and then click OK.
6. Click OK.
7. When you are prompted to restart the computer, click Yes.

In Windows 95 and Windows NT, virtual memory allows the computer to use hard disk space as random access memory (RAM). The computer uses virtual memory to augment the normal RAM that is installed on the computer.

If, for some reason, you turned off virtual memory in Windows 95, or if you reduced the size of the paging file in Windows NT, Microsoft Office 97 programs may not start correctly, or at all. This behavior may occur even if the computer has a very large amount of installed RAM (32 megabytes or more).

NOTE: By default, virtual memory is turned on in both Windows 95 and Windows NT.

For more information about virtual memory in Windows 95, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: