KnowledgeBase Archive

An Archive of Early Microsoft KnowledgeBase Articles

View on GitHub

Q137756: PPT: Errors in PowerPoint Due to Multiple User Profiles

Article: Q137756
Product(s): Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows
Version(s): 4.0,4.0a,4.0c,7.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbenv kberrmsg kbinterop kbsetup kbdta
Last Modified: 11-JUN-2002

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows 95, version 7.0 
- Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows, versions 4.0, 4.0a, 4.0c 
- Microsoft PowerPoint for Macintosh, version 4.0 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry.
Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if
a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring
the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key"
Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS
========

Case 1. When you run the AutoContent Wizard, you receive the following error
message:

  Sorry, PowerPoint could not start or locate 'PPT Tools.'
  You should run Setup and reinstall.

Case 2. When you attempt to open a PowerPoint 4.0 file into PowerPoint 7.0, you
receive the following error message:

  Sorry, this type of file cannot be opened by PowerPoint.

Case 3. When you attempt to run Quick Preview, nothing happens.

Case 4. The Interactive Settings command is not on the Tools menu.

Case 5. When you attempt to run Help, nothing happens.

CAUSE
=====

Cases 1-4. This problem occurs in the following situations:

- You are using a computer with multiple Windows 95 user profiles and the user
  profile that you are logged on to is different from the user profile that you
  used when you installed PowerPoint. The user profile that was active when you
  installed PowerPoint contains the correct Registry information for the
  converters for the previous versions of PowerPoint.

- The Registry information for PowerPoint is incorrect or is corrupted. If you
  are on a computer that has multiple Windows 95 user profiles, all users who
  log on will experience one or more of these symptoms.

Case 5.

- You are logged on as another user on a computer using the Windows NT 3.51
  operating system. For example, this problem occurs if you were logged on as
  Administrator when you installed PowerPoint, but you are logged on as a user
  when you run PowerPoint. When you are logged on as Administrator, the
  Pptools.ppa file is correctly registered in the Windows NT Registry; while
  you are logged on as a user, the Pptools.ppa file is not registered.

WORKAROUND
==========


For all cases, choose the appropriate method to work around this problem:

Method 1
--------

Close all programs and log on to Windows using the profile that you used when you
installed PowerPoint 7.0.

Method 2
--------

Reinstall PowerPoint 7.0 using the /y switch for every user profile that
experiences the problem. To do this,

a. Log on using a profile that is unable to open earlier versions of PowerPoint.

b. In Windows Explorer, open the MSOffice or Powerpnt folder.

c. Copy the Office Setup or PowerPoint Setup shortcut to the desktop.

d. Right-click the Setup shortcut, and click Properties.

e. Click the Shortcut tab.

f. Modify the contents of the Target box.

  The Target box contains the following (or similar) instruction:

     C:\Msoffice\Office\Setup\Acme.exe /W Off95std.stf

  Add a "/y" (without the quotation marks) to the end of this line so that it
  looks like this:

     C:\Msoffice\Office\Setup\Acme.exe /W Off95std.stf /y

g. Click OK.

h. Double-click the shortcut.

i. In the Maintenance Mode Setup dialog box, click Reinstall.

  While the Setup program runs, it does not copy any files. Instead, it updates
  the Windows 95 registry so that the current user profile can use all the
  Office features.

j. Repeat steps a-i for each user profile.

Method 3
--------

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may
require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that
problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use
Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And
Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete
Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in
Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If
you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk
(ERD).

If Method 1 and 2 are unsuccessful, export the Registry keys related to
PowerPoint and re-register the program, using these steps:

a. Click the Windows Start button, and then click Run.

b. In the Open box, type "Regedit" (without the quotation marks), and then click
  OK.

c. Open the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT key.

d. Locate and select the .ppt key.

e. On the Registry menu, click Export Registry File.

f. In the Save In box, select the Desktop. Type a file name for the exported
  file, and click Save.

g. Select the .ppt key if it is not already selected, and click Delete on the
  Edit menu. Click Yes in the message box asking you to delete the registry
  key.

h. Repeat steps d through g for the .pot, .pwz, and .pps keys.

i. Start PowerPoint to re-register it.

STATUS
======

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at
the beginning of this article. This problem was corrected in Microsoft
PowerPoint 97 for Windows.

REFERENCES
==========

For additional information, please see the following article here in the
Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q126556 MS Query Button Doesn't Appear in Open Data Source Dialog Box


Additional query words: 4.00a 4.00c 95 w_office w_powerpt office legacy autocontent wizard translate ppttools Sorry PowerPoint could not start or locate PPT Tools

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbenv kberrmsg kbinterop kbsetup kbdta 
Technology        : kbHWMAC kbOSMAC kbPowerPtSearch kbPowerPt95 kbZNotKeyword2 kbPowerptMacSearch kbPowerPt95Search kbPowerPt400 kbPowerPt400Mac kbPowerPt400c kbPowerPt400a
Version           : :4.0,4.0a,4.0c,7.0
Hardware          : MAC
Issue type        : kbprb

=============================================================================

THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. MICROSOFT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY.