Installing office 4.0 - It doesn't know it has sare.exe

[Leon Howell]

I'd rather have MS Office 95 or 97, but I don't, I have 4.0, so I'm trying
to install it.

I get a little way through the setup program and it says I don't have
share.exe.

Share.exe is in c:\dos\. How do I prove that to the office setup program?

[RobertVA]

Leon Howell wrote:
> I'd rather have MS Office 95 or 97, but I don't, I have 4.0, so I'm trying
> to install it.
>
> I get a little way through the setup program and it says I don't have
> share.exe.
>
> Share.exe is in c:\dos\. How do I prove that to the office setup program?

You probably need to add the C:\DOS\ folder to your path variable. When
you application's setup looks for SHARE.EXE through DOS it looks for
executables like Share.exe in the folders listed in the Path variable
(the folder paths in the variable are separated by ; ) when it doesn't
find them in the folder with the application's setup (or install)
executable.

IF you restrict yourself to DOS applications that need less than about
590 KB you can run many DOS applications in a Window without CONFIG.SYS
or AUTOEXEC.BAT files. The addition of properly configured CONFIG.SYS
and AUTOEXEC.BAT files not only makes more conventional RAM available to
DOS windows, it increases the availability of memory beyond the first MB
for DOS applications written to utilize it. The AUTOEXEC.BAT file can
also contain command lines to add folders(directories) like C:\DOS\ to
your Windows OS Path variable.

The properties of DOS mode shortcuts include provisions to create
custom and SEPARATE sets of CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT "files" for each
DOS mode application.

Before resorting to a DOS application investigate the GUI based
OpenOffice applications compatible with Windows 98 (and several more
recent Windows OSs) with 128 MB RAM, 800 MB free on HD and 800X600 (or
higher) display with 256 (or better) color depth.
http://www.openoffice.org/dev_docs/source/sys_reqs_20.html . The
OpenOffice applications have most of the capabilities of the Windows
versions of Microsoft Office and probably some features the DOS versions
of Word and Excel lacked).

[Leon Howell]

> You probably need to add the C:\DOS\ folder to your path variable. When
> you application's setup looks for SHARE.EXE through DOS it looks for
> executables like Share.exe in the folders listed in the Path variable
> (the folder paths in the variable are separated by ; ) when it doesn't
> find them in the folder with the application's setup (or install)
> executable.

I tried that and it didn't work. Does Win98SE even use Config.sys and
Autoexec.bat? Does it keep them in the root directory?

By the way, who said I was using a DOS application? Share.exe was in the
C:\DOS directory under windows 3.11, so that's where I put it on the '98 pee
sea. MS Office is a Windows package. 4.0 is a 3.11 compatible version, but
shouldn't everything be compatible?

[RobertVA]

Leon Howell wrote:
>> You probably need to add the C:\DOS\ folder to your path variable. When
>> you application's setup looks for SHARE.EXE through DOS it looks for
>> executables like Share.exe in the folders listed in the Path variable
>> (the folder paths in the variable are separated by ; ) when it doesn't
>> find them in the folder with the application's setup (or install)
>> executable.
>
> I tried that and it didn't work. Does Win98SE even use Config.sys and
> Autoexec.bat? Does it keep them in the root directory?
>
> By the way, who said I was using a DOS application? Share.exe was in the
> C:\DOS directory under windows 3.11, so that's where I put it on the '98 pee
> sea. MS Office is a Windows package. 4.0 is a 3.11 compatible version, but
> shouldn't everything be compatible?

As I was still using Microsoft Works during that period I wasn't aware
that Office versions before 5 were actual Windows applications
(incompatible with running directly under DOS) instead of Windows
compatible DOS applications.

Windows 98 doesn't normally install CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files
but as a consequence leaves programs running in a DOS window with anemic
conventional memory resources. The generic OEM Windows 95 installation
CDs and Windows 98 Upgrade CDs didn't do much better with the initial
DOS mode shortcut settings, as well as less convenient than necessary
provisions for CD support in DOS mode.

Since you are getting a complaint from the Office installer about
inability to load share.exe, the installer is looking for the share.exe,
but unable to find it. The OS looks for files in the current directory
first then in the folders described in the path variable. Sometimes the
location of the wanted file in the path variable will make the
difference between the OS being able to find the file or not.

The SHARE.EXE file is a DOS add on file that prevents conflicts between
multiple applications or multiple instances of a single application
(like two Word windows) that are using the same document. As Windows 3.x
was NOT an OS, but actually a user interface running within DOS I can
see how requiring share.exe to be running would be prudent. Unaware of
more recent Windows versions having the equivalent to share.exe built
in, applications designed for Windows 3.x might demand the use of
share.exe. Also, the use of share.exe would further reduce the
availability of conventional RAM unless other RAM resources were made
available in the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files.

[RobertVA]

Leon Howell wrote:
>> You probably need to add the C:\DOS\ folder to your path variable. When
>> you application's setup looks for SHARE.EXE through DOS it looks for
>> executables like Share.exe in the folders listed in the Path variable
>> (the folder paths in the variable are separated by ; ) when it doesn't
>> find them in the folder with the application's setup (or install)
>> executable.
>
> I tried that and it didn't work. Does Win98SE even use Config.sys and
> Autoexec.bat? Does it keep them in the root directory?
>
> By the way, who said I was using a DOS application? Share.exe was in the
> C:\DOS directory under windows 3.11, so that's where I put it on the '98 pee
> sea. MS Office is a Windows package. 4.0 is a 3.11 compatible version, but
> shouldn't everything be compatible?

Added info:

To benefit from the optional CONFIG.SYS and/or AUTOEXEC.BAT files when
running applications in Windows 9x or Windows 9x virtual machines
(windowed or full screen) the CONFIG.SYS and/or AUTOEXEC.BAT file(s)
should be located in the root of the boot partition (normally C:\).

Some application installers would attempt to append lines running things
like share.exe and files and buffers commands to end of the autoexec.bat
file IF the lines weren't already present. I'm not sure if they were
adaptable enough to recognize the different locations of external files
like share.exe that were implemented by the Windows 9x and NT versions
(including XP, 2000 and 2003). It might work if a manually created
AUTOEXEC.BAT set the path variable in a line above the line running the
share.exe command though. Might also work if a manually created
autoexec.bat file already contained a command including the full path to
share.exe when the new application is installed.

The DOS 6 documentation I use indicates that the share.exe command would
normally be implemented in the autoexec.bat file, but could be run in
config.sys if the full path is used. The /F parameter controls storage
for quantity of files SHARE can manage (20 bytes per file, default 2048
bytes). The /L parameter controls the number of files SHARE can lock.
Try the /? parameter at the DOS prompt to verify the share.exe
parameters for YOUR OS version.

[glee]

Click Start> Programs> Accessories> Notepad.
In Notepad, click the File menu, then click Save As.
In the Save In box, click the drive C. This saves the file to the root folder on
your computer.
In the File Name box, type "share.exe" (with the quotation marks), and then click
Save.

Then try your installation again.

Share.exe Is Not Supported in Windows 95 OSR2, Windows 98 or Windows Me:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=161619
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP Shell/User, A+
http://dts-l.org/
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


"Leon Howell" > wrote in message
...
> I'd rather have MS Office 95 or 97, but I don't, I have 4.0, so I'm trying
> to install it.
>
> I get a little way through the setup program and it says I don't have
> share.exe.
>
> Share.exe is in c:\dos\. How do I prove that to the office setup program?
>
>

[Leon Howell]

>The OS looks for files in the current directory
> first then in the folders described in the path variable.

Theoreticaly.

I have tried to install Office with share.exe in c:\dos, the temp directory
office is currently in, and the root directory.

[Leon Howell]

> Click Start> Programs> Accessories> Notepad.
> In Notepad, click the File menu, then click Save As.
> In the Save In box, click the drive C. This saves the file to the root
folder on
> your computer.
> In the File Name box, type "share.exe" (with the quotation marks), and
then click
> Save.
>
> Then try your installation again.

That didn't work either.

[glee]

What is the *exact* error message you are getting, and when?
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP Shell/User, A+
http://dts-l.org/


"Leon Howell" > wrote in message
...
>> Click Start> Programs> Accessories> Notepad.
>> In Notepad, click the File menu, then click Save As.
>> In the Save In box, click the drive C. This saves the file to the root
> folder on
>> your computer.
>> In the File Name box, type "share.exe" (with the quotation marks), and
> then click
>> Save.
>>
>> Then try your installation again.
>
> That didn't work either.
>
>

[Leon Howell]

> What is the *exact* error message you are getting, and when?

After I select full instalation and answer the questions about Lotus-123
support, it says "Setup was unable to find SHARE.EXE on your system. It is
required to run this application. Please fix your system and rerun Setup" I
click OK and it says Microsoft Office Setup was not completed successfuly."

....

Computers don't lie ... unless they feel like it.

[glee]

That's the error that is usually worked around by creating a dummy share.exe as i
described earlier. It's not working for you, obviously, but I don't know why.

This page, http://kb.iu.edu/data/aglc.html suggests also adding this line to the end
of the autoexec.bat, though I can't see what that would do:

rem start.exe
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP Shell/User, A+
http://dts-l.org/
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


"Leon Howell" > wrote in message
...
>> What is the *exact* error message you are getting, and when?
>
> After I select full instalation and answer the questions about Lotus-123
> support, it says "Setup was unable to find SHARE.EXE on your system. It is
> required to run this application. Please fix your system and rerun Setup" I
> click OK and it says Microsoft Office Setup was not completed successfuly."
>
> ...
>
> Computers don't lie ... unless they feel like it.
>
>

[Jeff Richards]

There were some applications that didn't look for SHARE.EXE in memory, but
simply checked that it was being loaded in AUTOEXEC.BAT and therefore
assumed it was running, Adding the entry is always recommended. You can
take a do-nothing EXE from the DOS folder, copy it, and rename it to
share.exe. It might have been MODE.EXE that was a popular choice, but a bit
of experimenting should reveal a suitable candidate..
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
"glee" > wrote in message
...
> That's the error that is usually worked around by creating a dummy
> share.exe as i described earlier. It's not working for you, obviously,
> but I don't know why.
>
> This page, http://kb.iu.edu/data/aglc.html suggests also adding this line
> to the end of the autoexec.bat, though I can't see what that would do:
>
> rem start.exe
> --
> Glen Ventura, MS MVP Shell/User, A+
> http://dts-l.org/
> http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
>
>
> "Leon Howell" > wrote in message
> ...
>>> What is the *exact* error message you are getting, and when?
>>
>> After I select full instalation and answer the questions about Lotus-123
>> support, it says "Setup was unable to find SHARE.EXE on your system. It
>> is
>> required to run this application. Please fix your system and rerun Setup"
>> I
>> click OK and it says Microsoft Office Setup was not completed
>> successfuly."
>>
>> ...
>>
>> Computers don't lie ... unless they feel like it.
>>
>>
>

[Mikhail Zhilin]

On Mon, 22 Oct 2007 19:51:22 -0700, "Leon Howell" >
wrote:

>> What is the *exact* error message you are getting, and when?
>
>After I select full instalation and answer the questions about Lotus-123
>support, it says "Setup was unable to find SHARE.EXE on your system. It is
>required to run this application. Please fix your system and rerun Setup" I
>click OK and it says Microsoft Office Setup was not completed successfuly."
>

Leon,

You can try (assuming your Windows folder is C:\WINDOWS; otherwise use
its actual name):

1. Open Notepad, and simply save this empty file as
"C:\WINDOWS\SHARE.EXE" (with the double quotes you see here -- it is
obligatory in this case),

2. If that won't help -- don't touch the saved file, open (Start --
Run... Sysedit) Autoexec.bat, and add the last line to it:

C:\WINDOWS\SHARE.EXE

Close Autoexec.bat with saving (a few other files opened by Sysedit --
without saving).

--
Mikhail Zhilin
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User, 2000..2008)
http://www.aha.ru/~mwz
Sorry, no technical support by e-mail.
Please reply to the newsgroups only.
======