Error message after you set a network path as the default file location in Excel 2007 and then click the Data tab: "\\<Path>\solver.xlam cannot be found. Check your spelling, or try a different path"

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SYMPTOMS

When you click the Data tab in Microsoft Office Excel 2007, you may receive the following error message:

\\Path\solver.xlam cannot be found. Check your spelling, or try a different path.

This problem occurs when the following conditions are true:

You set a network path as the default file location in Excel 2007.
You add the Solver add-in to Excel 2007.

This problem does not occur when you set a local path as the default file location.

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RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, apply hotfix 956510. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

956510 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/956510/ ) Description of the Excel 2007 hotfix package: August 27, 2008

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Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322756 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/ ) How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

To work around this problem, use one of the following methods:

Use a local path as the default file location.
Use the hyphen character or the space character in the network path.
After you install the solver add-in, delete “/F” from the data of the OPEN registry entry in the following subkey:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Excel\Options
To have us do this for you, go to the "Fix it for me" section. To do this yourself, go to the "Let me fix it myself" section.

Fix it for me

To do this automatically, click the Fix it button or link. Click Run in the File Download dialog box, and follow the steps in the Fix it wizard.

Fix this problem
Microsoft Fix it 50231

Note this wizard may be in English only; however, the automatic fix also works for other language versions of Windows.

Note if you are not on the computer that has the problem, save the Fix it solution to a flash drive or a CD and then run it on the computer that has the problem.

Next, go to the "Did this fix the problem?" section.

Let me fix it myself
Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
322756 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/ ) How to back up and restore the registry in Windows
To fix this problem yourself, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then press ENTER.
2. Locate the following registry subkey:
  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Excel\Options
3. Double-click the OPEN registry entry.
4. In the Value data box, delete “/F” from the value, and then click OK.
  
  For example, the OPEN registry key contains the following data:
  /F C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\Library\SOLVER\solver.xlam
  Change this to the following:
  C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\Library\SOLVER\solver.xlam
5. On the File menu, click Exit.
Did this fix the problem?
Check whether the problem is fixed. If the problem is fixed, you are finished with this section. If the problem is not fixed, you can contact support (http://support.microsoft.com/contactus) .