ACC97: "Microsoft Access Can't Find the Wizard" Error Message

When you try to use a Microsoft Access 97 Wizard, you may receive one of the following error messages:

This error can occur for several reasons:

• You may not have the Wizards component installed on your computer.
• Some Microsoft Access 97 files may not be registered correctly on your computer.
• You may have mismatched versions of some files that are shared in common with other Microsoft programs.

There are five methods that you can use to resolve this issue. Each method is more extensive than the one before it, so you may want to try each method in the order listed until the wizard problem is resolved.

Method 1: Verify That the Wizards are Installed

1. Run the Setup program to verify that the Wizards component is installed on your computer:
   
   For Microsoft Windows 95 or Microsoft Windows NT version 4.0:
   
   
   1. Click the Start button on the Taskbar, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
   2. Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon.
   3. In the Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box, select Microsoft Office 97 Professional Edition or Microsoft Access 97, and then click Add/Remove.
   For Microsoft Windows NT version 3.51:
   
   
   1. Double-click the Microsoft Office 97 or Microsoft Access 97 program group in Program Manager.
   2. Double-click the Microsoft Office Setup or Microsoft Access Setup icon.
2. In the Installation Maintenance dialog box, click Add/Remove.
3. Check to see that the correct wizard components are installed. For a list of which wizards are installed in Setup, search the Help Index for "wizards, installed in setup."
   
   If you are running Microsoft Office 97 Professional Edition:
   
   
   1. In the Microsoft Office 97 - Maintenance dialog box, select Microsoft Access, and then click Change Option.
   2. Verify that the Wizards or Advanced Wizards components are selected. If they are not, click the Wizards or Advanced Wizards option, click OK, and then click Continue. Follow instructions on the screen to complete the installation. If the Wizard components are already selected, click the Cancel button twice, and then click Reinstall.
   
   If you are running Microsoft Access 97 as a stand-alone program:
   
   In the Microsoft Access 97 - Maintenance dialog box, verify that the Wizards or Advanced Wizards components are selected. If they are not, click the Wizards or Advanced Wizards option, and then click Continue. Follow instructions on the screen to complete the installation. If the Wizard components are already selected, click the Cancel button, and then click Reinstall.
4. Start Microsoft Access and try to run the wizard that produced the error.

Method 2: Use Regsvr32.exe to Register the DAO Files

Regsvr32.exe is a program that you can use to register dynamic link library (.dll) files or ActiveX controls in Microsoft Windows 95 or Microsoft Windows NT.

If Regsvr32.exe is not already on your hard drive, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base for information about obtaining a copy of the program:

161983  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/161983/EN-US/ ) ACC: Regsv32a.exe Available in Download Center

Follow these steps to register the Data Access Objects (DAO) DLL on your computer with Regsvr32.exe:

1. Quit Microsoft Access if it is running.
2. Verify that Regsvr32.exe is in your Windows System folder, for example \Windows\System or \Winnt\System32.
3. In Microsoft Windows 95 or Microsoft Windows NT version 4.0, click the Start button on the Taskbar, and then click Run.
   
   In Microsoft Windows NT version 3.51, in Program Manager or File Manager, click Run on the File menu.
4. In the Run dialog box, type the following command in the Open box (or the Command Line box in Microsoft Windows NT version 3.51). Note that the path to Dao350.dll may be different on your computer.
   
   Regsvr32.exe C:\progra~1\common~1\micros~1\dao\dao350.dll
5. Start Microsoft Access and try to run the wizard that produced the error.

Method 3: Remove the DAO Folder and Reinstall

1. Remove Microsoft Office 97 Professional Edition or Microsoft Access 97 from your computer, depending on which program you have installed:
   
   For Microsoft Windows 95 or Microsoft Windows NT version 4.0:
   
   
   1. Click the Start button on the Taskbar, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
   2. Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon.
   3. In the Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box, select Microsoft Office 97 Professional Edition or Microsoft Access 97, and then click Add/Remove.
   4. In the Installation Maintenance dialog box, click Remove All. Confirm that you want to remove the program.
   
   For Microsoft Windows NT version 3.51:
   
   
   1. Double-click the Microsoft Office 97 or Microsoft Access 97 program group in Program Manager.
   2. Double-click the Microsoft Office Setup or Microsoft Access Setup icon.
   3. In the installation maintenance dialog box, click Remove All. Confirm that you want to remove the program.
2. Remove the following folder and any files it contains from your hard drive. The folder is in one of the following paths, depending on your operating system and whether you installed the operating system as a stand-alone version or an upgrade from an earlier version:
   

         \Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Dao
   
         -or-
   
         \Winnt\Msapps\Dao

3. Run Setup to reinstall Microsoft Office 97 Professional Edition or Microsoft Access 97. Do not choose a Compact installation.
4. Start Microsoft Access and try to run the wizard that produced the error.

Method 4: Remove the Program, Delete Leftover Files, and Reinstall

1. Complete step 1 in Method 3 above to remove all of Microsoft Office 97 Professional Edition or Microsoft Access 97 from your hard drive.
2. Manually delete all Microsoft Office 97 Professional Edition or Microsoft Access 97 files left on your hard drive after Setup removes the program.
   
   For a list of files to remove, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
   
   163997  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/163997/EN-US/ ) ACC97: How to Completely Uninstall Microsoft Access 97
   
   158658  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/158658/EN-US/ ) OFF97: How to Completely Remove Microsoft Office 97
   
   
   
   If you are removing Microsoft Office 97 Professional Edition, remove the files listed in both articles. If you are removing a stand-alone version of Microsoft Access 97, remove the files listed in 163997.  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/163997/EN-US/ )
3. Start Microsoft Access and try to run the wizard that produced the error.

Method 5: Use the Microsoft Office Upgrade Wizard

1. Complete step 1 in Method 3 above to remove all of Microsoft Office 97 Professional Edition or Microsoft Access 97 from your hard drive.
2. Start the Microsoft Office Upgrade Wizard by executing the following file on your Microsoft Office 97 Professional Edition or Microsoft Access 97 compact disc:
   

        \ValuPack\Offclean\Offcln97.exe

3. Click Next on the first screen of the Microsoft Office Upgrade Wizard.
4. On the second screen of the wizard, click "Completely remove all of my old Microsoft Office applications," and then click Next.
5. Follow the instructions on your screen to completely remove all old Microsoft Office files from your hard drive.
6. Run Setup to reinstall Microsoft Office 97 Professional Edition or Microsoft Access 97.
7. Start Microsoft Access and try to run the wizard that produced the error.

For information about troubleshooting a similar issue in Microsoft Access 95, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

162357  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/162357/EN-US/ ) ACC95: Err "Access Can't Find the Wizard" (Local Setup)

162358  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/162358/EN-US/ ) ACC95: Err "Access Can't Find the Wizard" (Workstation)