Troubleshooting damaged presentations on Windows 95

If you are experiencing unexpected behavior when you are working with a Microsoft PowerPoint file, your presentation may be damaged. Symptoms of a damaged presentation include the following:

• Invalid Page Fault, General Protection Fault, or Illegal Instruction errors.
• A message that says:
  This is not a PowerPoint Presentation
  -or-
  PowerPoint can't open the type of file represented by Filename
  when you attempt to open a presentation, where Filename is the file name of the presentation you are attempting to open.
• Out of memory errors, or low system resources errors.

If this unexpected behavior occurs only in one presentation, the presentation may be damaged. This article provides some steps you can use to attempt to recover a damaged presentation. However, these steps do not guarantee successful recovery of the damaged file. In some cases, depending on the type of damage, you will not be able to recover any data, and you will have to re-create the damaged presentation.

NOTE: In some cases, you may see these symptoms for reasons other than a damaged presentation.

If you determine that the presentation is damaged, try the following methods to attempt to recover the damaged file. The methods are listed in the following sections:

• General Troubleshooting
• If You Are Unable to Open a Presentation
• If You Are Able to Open a Damaged Presentation

Follow the procedures in the "General Troubleshooting" section first.

General Troubleshooting

NOTE: Although you can use some of these troubleshooting steps in Microsoft Windows NT, many are targeted for Microsoft Windows 95.

Restart Windows in Safe Mode:

1. Restart the computer. When you see the "Starting Windows 95" message, press F8, and then select Command Prompt Only from the Startup menu.
   
   NOTE: If Windows starts, edit the Autoexec.bat file, remove or disable the "win" line, and repeat step 1.
2. Start Windows 95 with a minimal set of Windows drivers by typing the following line: win /d:m
   
   NOTE: If networking components are required to start Windows 95, type the following line instead of the previous line: win /d:n

If you are able to open your presentation after Windows has started in Safe Mode, then a system conflict exists that is preventing you from opening your presentation.

If You Are Unable to Open a Presentation

If you are still unable to open your presentation, try one of the following methods.

Method 1: Drag the Presentation to the PowerPoint Program File

1. Determine the location of the PowerPoint program on your computer. The default location for PowerPoint 97 is:
   C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office
2. Use the drag-and-drop technique to move the damaged PowerPoint presentation to the PowerPoint program icon.

Method 2: Double-Click the PowerPoint Presentation in Windows Explorer

Method 3: Attempt to Insert Slides into a Blank Presentation

To insert slides into a blank presentation, follow these steps:

1. On the File menu, click New.
2. Click Blank Presentation, and then click OK.
3. If the New Slide dialog box appears, click OK.
   
   The selection you make in this dialog box does not matter. You can delete this slide after you re-create your presentation.
4. On the Insert menu, click Slides From File, and then click the Find Presentation tab.
5. Click Browse. Select the damaged presentation, and click Open.
   
   The Slide Finder dialog box appears.
6. Click Insert All.
   
   If this operation is successful, all of the slides from the damaged presentation, excluding the slide master, are inserted in the new presentation.
7. Save the presentation.
   
   If your presentation does not look the way you expect after trying these steps, try applying the damaged presentation as a template:
   1. Make a back-up copy of your presentation.
   2. On the Format menu, click Apply Design.
   3. Select the damaged presentation, and then click Apply.
      
      The slide master of the damaged presentation replaces the new slide master.
      
      NOTE: If you begin to experience unexpected behavior, the template may have damaged the presentation. In this case, use the backup copy and re-create the master slide.

Method 4: Try Opening the Presentation in PowerPoint Viewer

If you are unable to open the presentation in PowerPoint viewer, your PowerPoint installation may be damaged, or the presentation may contain damaged objects.

Method 5: Move the File to Another Computer

In some cases, copying the PowerPoint file to a different computer allows you to open the presentation. If you are able to open the file, look at each slide to determine if there are any blank object placeholders. If there are, delete them. Resave the presentation and then copy the presentation back to the original computer.

Method 6: Move the File to Another Disk

Windows may not be able to read the file from where it is currently saved. Try copying the file to another disk. For example, copy the file from a floppy disk to the hard disk.

NOTE: If you are unable to copy the file from the disk on which it is saved, it may be cross-linked with other files or folders, or it may be located in a damaged sector of the disk. Try method 7.

Method 7: Run ScanDisk

Run ScanDisk to repair all errors on the drive. Have it repair all cross-linked files and convert lost fragments to files.

NOTE: Even though Scandisk may determine that your file is cross-linked and repair it, this is not a guarantee that PowerPoint will be able to read the file.

Method 8: Copy the File to a Macintosh Computer

Copy the file to a Macintosh computer, and open it in PowerPoint for the Macintosh.

NOTE: This procedure requires that you install the PowerPoint 97 converter for PowerPoint 4.0 for the Macintosh. The following files are available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:
For more information about how to download Microsoft Support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help prevent any unauthorized changes to the file. After you download the file, decode the .hqx file.

Method 9: Open File in Microsoft Internet Explorer

NOTE: You do not have to be connected to the Internet to perform these steps.

1. Open Microsoft Internet Explorer or another browser.
2. On the File menu, click Open.
3. Click Choose File or Browse. Navigate to the Microsoft PowerPoint presentation and open it.

If the file is opened, then click Save As on the File menu, and save it under a different file name.

If You Are Able to Open a Damaged Presentation

Method 1: Attempt to Apply the Damaged Presentation as a Template

Insert the slides into a blank presentation, and then apply the damaged presentation as a template to preserve the master.

1. On the File menu, click New.
2. Click Blank Presentation and then click OK.
3. If the New Slide dialog box appears, click OK.
   
   The selection you make in this dialog box does not matter. You can delete this slide after you re-create your presentation.
4. On the Insert menu, click Slides From File, and click the Find Presentation tab.
5. Click Browse, select the damaged presentation and then click Open.
   
   The Slide Finder dialog box appears.
6. Click Insert All.
   
   If successful, this operation inserts all of the slides from the damaged presentation, excluding the slide master, in the new presentation.
7. Save the presentation.
   
   If your presentation does not look the way you expect, try applying the damaged presentation as a template:
   1. Make a back-up copy of your presentation.
   2. On the Format menu, click Apply Design.
   3. Select the damaged presentation and then click Apply.
      
      The slide master of the damaged presentation replaces the new slide master.
      
      NOTE: If you begin to experience unexpected behavior, the template may have damaged the presentation. In this case, use the backup copy and re-create the master slide.

Method 2: Paste the Slides from the Damaged File into a New File

Use a copy and paste operation to move the slides from the damaged presentation to a blank presentation:

1. Open the damaged presentation.
2. On the File menu, click New.
3. Click Current Presentation Format.
   
   This step applies the same slide master used by the damaged presentation.
4. On the View menu, click Slide Sorter.
   
   If you receive errors when you switch views, try changing to Outline view instead.
5. Select a slide to copy.
6. On the Edit menu, click Copy.
   
   If you want to copy more than one slide at a time, hold down SHIFT and click each slide that you want to copy.
7. Switch to the new presentation. On the Window menu, click the new presentation option.
8. On the View menu, click Slide Sorter.
9. On the Edit menu, click Paste.
10. Repeat steps 5-9 until the entire presentation is transferred.

NOTE: In some situations one damaged slide may cause a problem for the entire presentation. If you notice odd behavior within the new presentation after copying a slide to it, that slide is most likely damaged. Either re-create the slide or copy portions of the slide to a new slide.

Method 3: Save the Presentation as RTF (Rich Text Format)

If the damage is throughout the presentation, saving as RTF may be the only way to recover the file. This method, if successful, recovers only the text that appears in Outline view:

1. Open the presentation.
2. On the File menu, click Save As.
3. In the Save File As Type list, select Outline (RTF Text).
4. In the File Name box, type the name you want, pick a location to store the file, and then click Save.
5. Close the file.

NOTE: To continue working after you open the RTF file, click Open on the File menu, and in the List Files Of Type list, select All Readable Outlines or All Files. RTF files do not appear if you select the All PowerPoint Presentations option.

For additional information, please click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: