OFF98: Visual Basic Error Messages When You Start Office Program or Visual Basic Editor, or Run a Macro

When you try to do one of the following

• Start an Office 98 program
• Start the Visual Basic Editor
• Run a macro

you may receive one or more of the following error messages: -or- -or- -or- -or- -or- where Program is the name of the Office 98 program that your computer is running.

-or- -or- -or- -or- NOTE: If you receive the system error message, you must restart the computer.

These error messages may appear if any of the following are true:

• The PPC Registration Database folder or the Type Libraries folder is missing from its originally installed location or is damaged when the program is started.
• The Visual Basic for Applications Library file is damaged or missing, or an incorrect version is installed.
• The following files were moved from the Office folder, in the Microsoft Office folder:
  Address Book Library
  Excel Macro Scanner
  Microsoft C Runtime Library
  Microsoft Conversion Library
  Microsoft Office 98
  OE Address Book Lib
  VBA Converter (1.0)
  VBA Localization Library (1)
  Visual Basic for Applications
  NOTE: These files are installed with a full Office installation. All of the files listed will not be installed with a Word or Excel Standalone installation.
• The default Normal template file is damaged.
• The Word Settings (8) preference file is damaged.
• Your computer has insufficient disk space or low memory.

To resolve these error messages, use the method appropriate for your situation.

Method 1: The PPC Registration Database Is Missing or Damaged

The PPC Registration Database (located in the Preferences folder) is required in order for Word to start. To reinstall the PPC Registration Database file, First Run Install (FRI) must be invoked. To do that, you must delete a few extension files. All files that are deleted in the following steps are then reinstalled during FRI.

Follow these steps to invoke FRI:

1. Quit all open programs.
2. Open the Extensions folder, which is in the System folder, located on the hard disk drive.
3. Select each of the following four extensions. For each extension, click Move to the Trash on the File menu:
   • Microsoft Component Library
   • Microsoft OLE Automation
   • Microsoft OLE Library
   • Microsoft Structured Storage
4. Open the Preferences folder, which is in the System folder. Select each of the following two files. For each file, click Move to the Trash on the File menu:
   
   • Embedding Preferences
   • PPC Registration Database
5. Close all folders, and start one of the Office 98 programs. This automatically invokes the First Run Install (FRI) feature, because of the missing extensions. The FRI installation inserts a fresh copy of the removed, or damaged, files. It also replaces any earlier versions of the files that were installed or created during the initial FRI installation. This only takes a moment to complete.

Method 2: Type Libraries Folder or Visual Basic Library File Is Missing

The Type Libraries folder (located in the Extensions folder) and the Visual Basic Library file (located in the Office folder) are required in order for Word to start. If the Visual Basic Library file or the Type Libraries folder is missing, the only way to reinstall either of these is to perform a complete reinstallation from the Office Custom Install folder.

To resolve the error message, you must remove and reinstall Office 98. To do this, use one of the methods listed in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

Method 3: Files Were Moved from the Office Folder

If you have moved any of the following files, move them back into the Microsoft Office 98:Office folder:

Address Book Library
Excel Macro Scanner
Microsoft C Runtime Library
Microsoft Conversion Library
Microsoft Office 98
OE Address Book Lib
VBA Converter (1.0)
VBA Localization Library (1)
Visual Basic for Applications

NOTE: Do not move library files that are included with Microsoft Office 98 Macintosh Edition into the System Folder, the System Folder:Extensions folder, or any other folder. For the Microsoft Office 98 Macintosh Edition programs to work correctly, the library files must remain in the Microsoft Office 98:Office folder.

Method 4: Default Normal Template Is Damaged

1. Quit all open programs.
2. Open the Templates folder, which is available in the Microsoft Office 98 folder.
3. Locate the Normal template file, and rename it to NormalOld.

NOTE: If this method does not resolve the issue, rename the NormalOld template back to Normal after you quit Word.

Method 5: Word Settings (8) Preference File Is Damaged

To resolve this issue, move the Word Settings (8) Preference file to the Trash. When you restart Word, the Preference file will be rebuilt.

1. Close all open programs.
2. Open the Preferences folder, which is located in the System folder.
3. Select the Word Settings (8) file.
4. On the File menu, click Move to the Trash.
5. Start the program that is giving the error message.

The Word Settings (8) file holds many settings for the Word program. To view the specific settings that will be reset to default, please see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

Method 6: Insufficient Disk Space or Low Memory

If your computer has insufficient disk space or memory, do one of the following:

• Close all programs that are not needed.
• Remove unnecessary files from the disk.
• Add more RAM to your computer.

For additional information about troubleshooting if the suggestions in this article do not resolve this issue, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: