Knowledge Base

Error Message: Encarta Encyclopedia Cannot Start...

Article ID: 176770

Article Last Modified on 6/27/2007

APPLIES TO

This article was previously published under Q176770

SYMPTOMS

When you click the Connect button or a Web Link while you are running Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia for Windows, you may receive one of the following error messages:

  • Encarta Encyclopedia cannot start.
    Unable to complete this action while Encarta Encyclopedia windows are open. Close any open dialog boxes or screens in Encarta Encyclopedia, then try again.
  • Encarta Encyclopedia cannot start.
    The command line is improperly formatted. Please correct the command line parameters, or load Encarta Encyclopedia without any command line parameters.

CAUSE

This behavior may occur if the path to your Web browser is incorrectly specified in the Encarta Settings.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, specify the correct path to your Web browser in the Encarta Settings. To do so, use the following steps:

  1. Start Encarta.
  2. Click Encyclopedia Articles.
  3. On the Options menu, click Settings.

    If You Are Using Windows 95/98

    If you are using Windows 95/98, click Reset, and then click OK. This configures Encarta to use the Windows default Web browser.

    These Web browsers include Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 and 4.0, Netscape Navigator 3.0 and 4.0, and AOL 3.0 for Windows 95.

    To determine which Web browser is set as the default Web browser in Windows, follow these steps:

    1. Click Start, and then click Run.
    2. In the Open box, type the following line, and then click OK:

      http://encarta.msn.com

    The Web browser that starts is your default Web browser.

    If you receive an error message similar to the following
    Cannot find the file 'http://encarta.msn.com/
    a default Web browser is not set in Windows 95. If you install (or reinstall) a 32-bit Web browser, it is automatically set as the default Web browser in Windows 95.

    If You Are Using a 16-bit Web Browser

    If you are using a 16-bit Web browser (a browser designed to be used with Windows 3.1), click Choose Web Browser. In the Choose Web Browser window, navigate to and then open the folder that contains your Web browser.

    If you use Netscape Navigator, the path to the Web browser is usually: 
          c:\Netscape\Netscape.exe
    If you use Internet Explorer, the path to the Web browser is usually one of the following: 
          c:\Iexplore\Iexplore.exe
    -or- 
          c:\Program Files\Microsoft Internet\Iexplore.exe
    -or- 
          c:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\Iexplore.exe
    If you do not know the path to your Web browser, contact the company that provided you with the browser.

    Click the Web browser you want to use with Encarta, click Open, and then click OK.

    NOTE: You cannot select America Online (AOL) Web browsers for Windows 3.1 using the Choose Web Browser option. This also applies to the AOL 3.0 for Windows 95 "browser only" upgrade, which also uses a 16-bit Web browser.

MORE INFORMATION

If you are using Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 99, you cannot specify the path to your Web browser in the Encarta Settings.

Additional query words: multi multi-media media mm

Keywords: kb3rdparty kberrmsg kbprb kbui KB176770


Send feedback to Microsoft

© Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.