XL5 Err Msg: Cannot Access <drive>

Article ID: Q138421
Creation Date: 19-OCT-1995
Revision Date: 14-OCT-1996

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 5.0, 5.0c

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to save or close a Microsoft Excel 5.0 document, you may receive the following error message

   Cannot access <drive>:\[path]\filename.ext

where Filename.ext is the name of the file your are trying to save.

CAUSE

This error message is caused if Share.exe is loaded into upper memory, or if it is loaded with improper switches. It may also happen if both Share.exe and Vshare.386 are loaded (Share.exe is loaded in the Autoexec.bat and Vshare.386 is loaded in the system.ini, in the [386Enh] section.). This error is also caused if the Temp variable is not set correctly in the Autoexec.bat file.

RESOLUTION

If the Microsoft MS-DOS version of share must be loaded, it needs to be loaded with the following line as an example:

   c:\dos\share.exe /l:500 /f:5100

If the Microsoft MS-DOS version of share is not required, be sure to load Vshare.386. The Vshare.386 entry will look like this in the [386Enh] section of the System.ini:

   Device=Vshare.386

Also, to correctly set the Temp variable, use an entry similar to the following:

   Set Temp=C:\Temp

Make sure the directory the Temp variable is set to does exist. It is best to create an empty directory exclusively for this purpose.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. This problem does not occur in Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, version 7.0.

MORE INFORMATION

Typically, you use share in a networking or multitasking environment in which programs share files. Share loads code that supports file-sharing and locking in these environments. Once you install share, Microsoft MS-DOS uses the code loaded by share to validate all read and write requests from programs. For example, if two people are accessing the same data file, share manages the file so both people do not write to the file at the same time.

VSHARE.386 is a file-sharing and file-locking program that is used when running Microsoft Windows for Workgroups with file or print sharing enabled. With VSHARE, when a file-sharing violation occurs, you see an "Access denied" message, instead of the "Sharing violation on drive..." message used when file and print sharing are not enabled.

REFERENCES

Microsoft MS-DOS version 6.22 Help

For more information on using share.exe with Microsoft Excel, please see the following article(s) in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q106499
   TITLE     : XL5 Err Msg: "Must Exit Windows and Load SHARE.EXE?"

   ARTICLE-ID: Q90280
   TITLE     : VSHARE.386 May cause problems with SHARE.EXE in WFWG

KBCategory: kberrmsg
KBSubcategory: xlwin

Additional reference words: 5.00 5.00c

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