Office 97 running on Windows 10 Professional


  1. Posts : 4
    Windows 10
       #1

    Office 97 running on Windows 10 Professional


    Before anyone asks why.... it is for legacy reasons due to a database that can't be updated as it has been custom built by someone that I no longer can ask to update.
    Here are the steps that have been done so far to being you up to speed:
    Installed Windows 10 Professional as normal, going through all the prompts when installing it for setup i.e keyboard layout etc time zone etc and asked to create an account for a new user I entered User.
    Once setup is complete and I arrive at the desktop I then ran cmd and made the administrator account active. I then logged off user account and logged in with now active administrator account so I am using the highest privileged user with full rights.
    I then install Office97 to the following folder C:\Program Files (x86)\Office97\ and select all options when prompted so everything is installed.
    Once installation is complete I reboot. (I always reboot after installing software.) After the reboot is complete I log on the administrator account. Once at the desktop, I load Microsoft Word and it loads up and I can use it and save documents. I record a macro and this works. I can press Alt+F11 and it loads the Microsoft Visual Basic Editor.
    Now I reboot again and this time log on with the account when I installed Windows 10 called User.
    I get to the desktop and load Microsoft Word. It opens up and I can save the document as expected. Now this is when something happens. If I press Alt+F11 I am shown an error message "Could not open macro storage" twice. I then close Word down and this is where I am confused.
    Researching this there are some registry tweaks to do or it is something to do with permissions.
    I would like to know why this problem occurs and if anyone can shed any ideas on what I can do?
    I am not sure on what files or folders I have to change the settings to under the security tab when viewing the properties and I cant find a definitive list of what is related to VBA. Dll's, files, folders etc. I would have thought a FULL control for User on a file or folder would have helped but nothing.

    Things that I have tried:
    Located the VBE.dll and checked the permissions
    Read about the registry change but need some step by step guide as not registry changes before so want to be careful
    Installed Office97 to C:\Office97 so it is separate to the Program Files directory
    Uninstalled and Reinstalled Office97 (Both under Administrator and User accounts
    Closed Microsoft Word and deleted the Normal.dot file and opened word again and watched the folder with a newly created Normal.dot file (so I know that User has write access to the Normal.dot folder
    Made the User account an administrator also shows the error message (Which doesn't make sense as why would it on one administrator account and not the other)
    Created a new user as a user

    There is a service pack SR2 release for Office97 which I haven't installed as this works without it when running under Windows 7.
    The PC itself isn't connected to the Internet so no worry of viruses or updates etc.

    The main reason for Office97 is that I have a bespoke database made in Access that has been created by someone else many moons ago and at a click of a button within the database, it opens Microsoft Word and then loads a macro to add something to the page and then prints it out. A rewrite of this database is possible but currently not going to happen.

    I have proved that Microsoft Word installs on Windows 10 Pro and Microsoft Access and Microsoft Word both work. The only question is why does it work on the administrator account but doesn't work on the user account.

    Making the User an administrator rather than a Standard user isn't ideal as other users use the computer for other databases so it does have to have some lockdown.

    Would it be a simple thing or an order of something at first install that triggers or writes something to the hard drive that a permission is then preventing it from working.

    The checkbox in Word (Tools>Options>General) labelled Macro Virus protection is unticked.

    Right clicked on the WinWord.exe and set the properties to run as administrator does work but asking for the administrator password each time isn't ideal. Unless this can be forced without a prompt to always run as administrator which would work.

    UAC has been turned off.

    Any help or advice (other than upgrading Office) would be a great help.

    Shame that I know it works under administrator account but not as a standard or another account. This makes me think it's a permission problem and something to do with the VBA properties.

    This all works under Windows 7 Professioanal without any problems. I understand that there have been changes within Windows 10 but that is as expected.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 11,246
    Windows / Linux : Arch Linux
       #2

    Hi there
    @Hooby1

    These days Virtual Machines can be very efficient and can run concurrently with your main OS
    Plenty of info on setting up and using VM's in the Virtualisation section of the Forum and of course on Google.


    Why not install Windows 7 (or even XP) as a VM and run Office 97 on that - you can run Office 97 then until the end of the Universe if you want. Assign the W7 system 2GB RAM (will be more than enough for what you want).

    If you only want Office 97 you don't need to install anything else on the VM and you don't need to bother with the fact that the OS is not supported any more and obviously won't get security updates.

    Share the data with the W10 system and you are good to go.

    For VM software use Virtual Box or VMWare's VMplayer - both free for home users.

    These things are really easy to set up. Example here of VM's running on VMWare - Office 2007 on XP for instance - also 2 other VM's (different builds of W10) Running on a Linux NAS server -- identical interface and screens with VMWare if you run on Windows Host . You only need the one VM which will run easily on any modern(ish) laptop or similar.

    Office 97 running on Windows 10 Professional-w3.jpg

    If you have W10 PRO as your main OS you could even use HYPER-V (it's free of course) but if you aren't experienced in using Virtual machines I'd leave that one at least initially - you don't want to add extra complexity to the mix.

    Cheers
    jimbo
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 4
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Many thanks for the quick reply.

    I have no knowledge of using VM software or Hyper-V so unfortunately I am still after a solution.

    I forgot to mention this is for business and not home, so I am using Windows 10 Pro.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 1
    Windows 10 x64
       #4

    I'm using Office 97 on 10 and it works all good. Sorry I can't help about your situation. But I can confirm it works. it's good
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 17,013
    Windows 10 Home x64 Version 22H2 Build 19045.4170
       #5

    When you refer to "the administrator" account, do you mean an Admin account that you have created or the Built-in Admin?
    - If it is the Built-in Admin then create an Admin account of your own & disable the built-in one. It has had undocumented limitations that have varied over time so there's no telling if it is causing your problems or not.

    As for running Word as Admin without having to turn off UAC, if that was the only problem it could be addressed using Create Elevated App Shortcut without UAC Prompt - TenForumsTutorials
    But I am not sure if you have more problems than that as I find your description difficult to follow. What are the other problem symptoms?

    I think that it might be worth installing the SR2 because it might help. But if Word as Admin is the only problem then it wouldn't be worth too much effort.


    All the best,
    Denis
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 15,502
    Windows10
       #6

    I am in agreement with @jimbo here. Trying to install an old version of Windows on pc will lead to issues with modern versions of Office (or business that is essential pretty much).

    Far better to install office 97 in a vm or a dual boot vhd.
    That way you have a normal version of Windows and a special version for the installation of W97.

    It is quite easy to set up Hyper-V - see the excellent tutorials in the tutorial section that lead you through every step.

    Only minor point is VM requires a second Pro licence if you wish to personalise it, but it will run fine unactivated. Frankly for a bespoke installation, no big deal.
      My Computer


 

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