OFF97: Mso97.dll and Mso7enu.dll Errors Appear When Starting a Program

When you start any of the programs listed at the beginning of this article, either of the following error messages may appear: where <Program> is the name of the program you are attempting to start.

This problem may occur if the following conditions are true:

• You run Setup from an administrative installation point and click "Run from Network Server."
  
  -and-
  
  
• You choose to keep all shared components on the server.
  
  -and-
  
  
• You then perform a Typical or a Custom installation for a stand-alone version of any of the Office programs listed at the beginning of this article from the program compact disc or from a different network server or share.
  
  -and-
  
  
• You start the stand-alone program.

To prevent this problem from occurring, do not install a stand-alone version of the program after you perform a "Run from Network Server" installation on the same computer. To install a stand-alone version of Microsoft Outlook after you perform a "Run from Network Server" installation of other Office 97 program, perform a "Run from Network Server" installation of Microsoft Outlook 97.

To work around this problem, use either of the following two methods.

Method 1: Copy Ms*.dll Files to the Folder Indicated in the Registry

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.


Copy the .dll files that the program cannot find to the folder that the program searches.

To determine which folder to copy the files to, look in the registry. The following registry key indicates the folder that an Office program search for the Mso97.dll and Mso7enu.dll files: If you copy Mso97.dll and Mso7enu.dll to the folder referenced by this key, you can prevent the problem from occurring. To do this, use the following steps:

1. On the Start menu, click Run. In the Open box, type regedit and click OK.
2. Double-click the plus signs (+) to open the following key:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\8.0
3. Click the folder to the left of 8.0.
4. Write down the name of the folder that appears to the right of the BinDirPath entry in the value pane. (Usually, the location is C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office.)
   
   The folder that is displayed is the folder in which you must copy Mso97.dll and Mso7enu.dll.
5. On the Registry menu, click Exit.

After you record the folder name referred by the BinDirPath key, use the Windows Explorer to copy Mso97.dll and Mso7enu.dll into that folder from the product's compact disc or from a network server that contains an administrative installation of the product.

After you copy the Mso97.dll and Mso7enu.dll files to the correct folder, start the stand-alone program.

Method 2: Change the PATH Statement in Autoexec.bat

You can also prevent this problem from occurring by modifying the PATH statement in the Autoexec.bat file so that it refers to the folder on the network server that contains Mso97.dll and Mso7enu.dll. (Usually, these files are located in the Msoffice\Office folder on the network server.)

NOTE: To use this method, you must assign a permanent drive letter to the network server and share. To do this, use the Map Network Drive button in the Windows Explorer to connect a drive letter.

To modify the Autoexec.bat file, follow these steps:

1. On the Start menu, click Run. In the Open box, type notepad c:\autoexec.bat and click OK.
2. If the PATH statement exists, add the path to the network server to it. For example, if Autoexec.bat contains the following line
   PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND
   add a semicolon (;) and the path to the network server.
   
   For example, if drive G is connected to the network, add "G:\MSOFFICE\OFFICE" (without the quotation marks) to the end of the line as in the following example:
   PATH=C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND;G:\MSOFFICE\OFFICE
   If the PATH statement does not exist, add the statement as in the following example:
   PATH=G:\MSOFFICE\OFFICE
3. On the File menu, click Save. Then click Exit on the File menu.

After you finish, restart the computer. You can then start the stand-alone program without receiving any error messages.

NOTE: If you must modify the PATH statement in the Autoexec.bat to resolve the problem, the symptoms in this article will occur when you restart Windows in Safe Mode or restart Windows in Step-by-Step Confirmation and choose not to load the Autoexec.bat.

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

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

When you install any of the programs listed at the beginning of this article, many keys, including the BinDirPath key, are created in your registry.

The BinDirPath key refers to the folders in which programs search for certain dynamic-link library (DLL) files, including Mso97.dll and Mso7enu.dll. In most cases, these two files are stored in the same folder as the program files that use them. However, if you perform a "Run from Network Server" installation of Microsoft Office 97, and then perform an installation of a stand-alone program, the BinDirPath key may point to a folder that does not contain Mso97.dll or Mso7enu.dll.

If this occurs, you may not be able to start the stand-alone program because it cannot find Mso97.dll and Mso7enu.dll in the folder. Programs installed as part of Microsoft Office 97 start correctly because the program files are in the same folder as the Mso97.dll and Mso7enu.dll files.