Microsoft Access 97 Runtime Issues & FAQ

Can Access 97 Exist With Other Versions of Office?

Different versions of Office can peacefully coexist as long as they are in different directories, so it is possible to run a system with Office 97, Office 2000 and Office XP (and so on). The fact that the most recent version of Office becomes the default application for common Access file types such as MDB and MDE is not an issue as Cadzow 2000 explicitly launches the Access 97 executable by filename and does not rely on the system's file associations.

On systems where the user is not an administrator, or systems where the user is an administrator but UAC is enabled (Windows Vista and above), switching between versions of Access based around Windows Installer (Access 2000 and above) and those not (Access 97 and below) will cause Access 97 to refuse to run after Access 2000 or later is run. The solution is to loosen some permissions in the registry to allow Access 97 to make a change. See Cadzow 2000 Startup Errors — Unable to Intialize Registry.

What Files Are Included And Where Are They Installed?

If a later version of a file already exists, it will not be overwritten. In particular, many of the ODBC, MSVCRT files are standard Windows 2000 (& later) files and will always be greater versions than those provided in the Runtime. An exception is MSACCESS.EXE, the main executable, as the same name is used for all versions of Access. However, because the main Access 97 Runtime components are installed into their own directory, any existing files with the same name will be ignored.

Setup cannot copy DAO2535.TLB

During the file copy phase, the setup program stops with the error message:

Setup could not open the file 'C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\DAO\dao2535.tlb'. Abort, Retry, Fail

This occurs if DAO2535.TLB already exists on the system and is set to read-only, hidden or system.

Solution:

1. Leave the setup program in the error state.

2. Open a command prompt using Start, Run and typing CMD (if using Window NT/2000/XP or above) or COMMAND (if using Windows 9x).

3. Type:

   ATTRIB -R -S -H "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\DAO\*.*"

   and press Enter.

4. Type EXIT and press Enter to return to Windows.

5. Switch back to the setup program and click Retry.

   The setup should then complete normally.

Uninstallation

The Access 97 Runtime may be removed using the Add/Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel.

However, sometimes the setup will not function properly using this method.

A workaround is to re-run the setup from the original location and choose Uninstall when prompted.

Corrupt/Missing Files

In \CADZOW\SUCCESS7\BIN is a script called PROGVER.BAT. This generates a log file containing the locations and versions of every critical binary file required by Access 97 and the minimum version number required. If any files are missing, they will not appear in the log file. If a file is corrupt, it will appear in the listing but will not have a version number. Reviewing this log file will alert you to which files are missing, outdated or corrupt.

Uninstalling a program which uses Jet or DAO can remove files used by Access 97. A single missing/corrupt file can usually be reinstated by simply copying the file from the Runtime setup. Other times uninstalling Office/Access 97, deleting the remaining files and reinstalling is cleaner and more reliable.

Reinstallation

The Microsoft Access 97 Runtime is quite stable but can malfunction if certain library files deregister. These can usually be solved by reinstalling:

1. Uninstall the Microsoft Access 97 Runtime.

2. Delete the entire contents of C:\Program Files\Access97.

3. Delete C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\DAO\dao350.dll.

4. Install the Microsoft Access 97 Runtime.

Note that reinstalling the Runtime without first uninstalling is not enough to repair it.



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