OL2000: Startup Error Indicates Problem with Recently Installed Program

Q199823


The information in this article applies to:


SYMPTOMS

When you start Outlook, you may receive the following error message:

A recently installed program may cause Microsoft Office or other e-mail-enabled programs to function improperly. Outlook can resolve this conflict without affecting the program that originally caused the problem. Do you want Outlook to resolve this problem?


CAUSE

This behavior can occur because there is a file conflict with the Mail Application Program Interface (MAPI) core file on your system, specifically the Mapi32.dll file that is located in the Windows System directory.


RESOLUTION

To resolve this behavior, click either Yes or No in the error message.

Scenario 1

If you click Yes in the error message, the Fixmapi.exe utility starts and attempts to fix the MAPI file conflict by installing the correct version.

If a currently running program is using the Mapi32.dll file, the Fixmapi.exe utility may not fix the file conflict. In this case, the following dialog box is displayed:
Outlook was unable to resolve the conflict between a recently installed program and Microsoft Office or other e-mail-enabled programs. Outlook needs to modify a system component that another program is currently using. To fix this problem, please restart Windows.
If you click OK, Microsoft Windows does not restart. However, an entry for the Fixmapi.exe utility is placed in the RunOnce registry key. When you restart Windows, the Fixmapi.exe utility tries to correct the Mapi32.dll file conflict.

Scenario 2

If you click No in the error message, a change is not made to the core MAPI file. Because Outlook uses the Mapi32.dll file in the C:\Program Files\Common Files\SYSTEM\Mapi\1033 file, clicking No does not affect the operation of the program. NOTE: It may be necessary to close all programs, run the Fixmapi.exe utility by itself, and then shut down your computer completely before you restart it.


MORE INFORMATION

The Microsoft Windows Messaging Subsystem (WMS) installs the core MAPI files in the Windows System subdirectory. Previous versions of Outlook accessed these files from that location; however, in Outlook 2000, versions of the key MAPI files are stored in a common location to avoid conflicts.

The version of the Mapi32.dll file that WMS stores in the System directory is used primarily for the simple MAPI function. If you click Send To from the File menu, files can be sent from within an program that supports simple MAPI. This file is also used by Microsoft Fax.

Outlook is able to detect an incorrect or damaged version of this file, because it will work with simple MAPI as the default mail client.

Additional query words: OL2K sendto

Keywords : kbdta
Issue type : kbprb
Technology :


Last Reviewed: February 27, 2001
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