OFF97: Troubleshooting the Microsoft Office 97 SR-1 Patch

This article contains steps you can use to troubleshoot the installation of the Office 97 SR-1 Patch, if it fails.

Ensure That System Requirements Are Met

In addition to the normal Office 97 system requirements, the Office 97 SR-1 Patch requires the following service packs to be installed before you run it:

• For computers running Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 3.51 or Windows NT Server 3.51, install service pack 5 or later.
  
  
• For computers running Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 or Windows NT Server 4.0, install service pack 2 or later.
  
  
• No service pack is required for computers running Microsoft Windows 95.

The Office 97 SR-1 Patch requires 35 megabytes (MB) of disk space to run. The patch adds 10 MB of files to your hard disk.

Expanded and temporary files used during the patch installation are placed in the Windows temporary folder and are removed after the patch is finished.

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

Close Unnecessary Memory-Resident Programs

Programs that run in the background in memory are called terminate-and- stay-resident programs (TSRs). For example, these programs may be virus protection software, utility programs, print manager programs, or screen savers.

If Your Operating System Is Microsoft Windows 98 or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me)

Quit all unnecessary programs that are running before you install the Office 97 SR-1 Patch. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. Type msconfig in the Open box and then click OK.
3. Click Selective startup on the General tab of the System Configuration Utility dialog box. Clear the following check boxes under Selective Startup:
   
   
   • Process Config.sys file
   • Process Autoexec.bat file
   • Process Winstart.bat file
   • Process System.ini file
   • Process Win.ini file
   • Load startup group items
   
   NOTE: One or more of these check boxes may not be available, depending on the files present on your computer.
4. If your operating system is Windows Me, click the Startup folder tab so that it is in front, and then click to select *StateMgr.
5. Click OK.
6. Click Yes when you are prompted to restart your computer.
7. Install the Office 97 SR-1 Patch.
8. Click Start, and then click Run.
9. Type msconfig in the Open box and then click OK.
10. Click Normal startup on the General tab of the System Configuration Utility dialog box.
11. Click OK.
12. Click Yes when you are prompted to restart your computer.

If Your Operating System Is Microsoft Windows 95

To clean boot Microsoft Windows 95, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base, and follow the instructions:

Start Windows in Safe Mode: Windows 95 and Windows 98 Only

Windows 95 and Windows 98 have a built-in troubleshooting mode called Safe Mode. It bypasses startup files and uses only basic system drivers, including basic networking. When you start Windows in Safe mode, Windows uses only the mouse, keyboard, and standard video graphics adapter (VGA) device drivers. This makes Safe Mode useful for isolating and resolving error conditions that are caused by both real-mode and Windows-based drivers. Windows 95 and Windows 98 also have troubleshooting features that may help you identify the problem.
To start Windows 95 in Safe Mode and make the additional troubleshooting features available, follow these steps:

1. Restart your computer.
2. Press F8 when you see the "Starting Windows 95" message.
3. On the Windows Startup menu, select option 3 (Safe Mode).
4. After Windows is running again, attempt to apply the Patch again.

To start Windows 98 in Safe Mode, follow these steps:

1. Restart your computer.
2. Hold down CTRL until the Microsoft Windows 98 Startup Menu appears.
   
   NOTE: On some computers, you can press F8 instead of CTRL to bring up the Microsoft Windows 98 Startup Menu.
3. Type the number for Safe mode, and then press ENTER.

Check for Beta Software

When you use beta software, you use a pre-release version of software that has not been thoroughly tested by Microsoft. This software may contain newer versions of untested files that may conflict with the Office 97 SR-1 Patch. Remove all beta software from your computer before you run the Office 97 SR-1 Patch. For information about how to remove beta software from your computer, contact the program vendor for the software.

For more information about some problems with using beta software, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Determine Whether You Are Using the Correct Patch

There have been multiple versions of the Office 97 SR-1 patch. Verify that you are using the most recent Office 97 SR-1 Patch; the Office 97 SR-1 Patch installer program is the Sr1off97.exe file. It is downloadable from the following Microsoft Web sites: Make sure you have the right version and the right procedure sequence by reading Office 97 Service Release 1: Version and Compatibility Information. Here you'll find solutions to known issues regarding the compatibility of some versions of Office products and the SR-1 Patch. The address is: For information about how to obtain the correct version of the Office 97 SR-1 Patch, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Check Permissions on an NT File System

If you are running the Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 operating system and you are using the NT File System (NTFS), you must have administrative permissions to the computer. Administrative permissions include permissions to read, write, create, delete, and rename files.

For information about permissions required on an NT File System, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Check for a Valid Temporary Folder and Excess Temporary Files

There should be at least 3 MB of free space on the hard disk that contains the temporary folder. To check for a temporary folder and clear excess files from that folder, use the appropriate method for your operating system.

Windows 95 and Windows 98

1. Restart your computer. Press F8 when you see the "Starting Windows 95" message, and then choose "Safe mode command prompt only."
   
   In Windows 98, hold down CTRL until the Microsoft Windows 98 Startup Menu appears and choose "Safe mode command prompt only.". On some computers, you can press F8 instead of CTRL to bring up the Microsoft Windows 98 Startup Menu.
2. Type set and press ENTER. Note the location of the TEMP variable.
3. Go to the folder noted in step 2. For example, if TEMP is set to C:\WINDOWS\TEMP, type the following line and then press ENTER:
   cd\windows\temp
   If the folder noted in step 2 does not exist, you must create the folder. For example, you can create a temporary folder called win95tmp on your hard disk by typing the following line at the command prompt:
   md c:\win95tmp
4. If the folder noted in step 2 does not exist, you must create the folder. For example, you can create a temporary folder called win95tmp on your hard disk by typing the following line at the command prompt: Delete any temporary files in this folder. Temporary files typically have a .tmp extension. To delete these files, type the following line and then press ENTER:
   del *.tmp
   NOTE: Do not delete these files from within the Windows 95 graphical user interface (that is, when you are running Windows 95) because Windows 95 or a Windows program may be using one of these files.

Windows Me

1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click System Information.
2. On Tools menu, click System Configuration Utility.
3. Click the Environment tab and look for the TEMP variable. If the TEMP variable is missing, click New and type TEMP for Variable Name, and C:\Windows\Temp for Variable Value. Click OK.
4. Click OK, and then click No if you are prompted to restart your computer.
5. Insert your Windows Me startup disk in your disk drive.
6. Click Start, and then click Shut Down. Make sure Restart is selected is the drop-down list. Click OK.
7. After you restart Windows to a command prompt, type the following and then press ENTER:
   cd\windows\temp
   If the cd\windows\temp folder does not exist, you must create the folder. You can create the temporary folder on your hard disk by typing the following line at the command prompt:
   md c:\windows\temp
8. Delete any temporary files in this folder. Temporary files typically have a .tmp extension. To delete these files, type the following line and then press ENTER:
   del *.tmp

Check the Log File

The patch records a log file of all the actions it performs. This log file is named 97sr1_0.txt and is created in the Office subfolder of the Microsoft Office folder (the default is Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office). If you run the patch more than once, additional log files are created. These files are named 97sr1_1.txt, 97sr1_2.txt, and so on. The log file lists the files that were successfully patched and the files that were not successfully patched. You can read this log file in any text editor program.

If a program file (a file with an .exe file name extension) is not successfully patched, determine which program the file is associated with and remove and reinstall the program. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon. In the list of installed programs, click Microsoft Office 97, and then click Add/Remove. If you installed Office from a compact disc, you are prompted to insert the first disc.
   
   If a dialog box appears that states programs are running, quit these programs, and then click OK.
3. In the Office 97 Setup dialog box, click Add/Remove.
   
   A list of the Office 97 components is displayed.
4. Click to clear the check box for the program that the patch failed to update. For example, if the patch failed to update the Excel.exe file, clear the check box next to the Microsoft Excel component.
5. Reinstall the program.

If the patch failed to update a file other than a program file, replace the file on your hard disk with a new copy of the file from the Office 97 compact disc.