Word (Office 2001) gives Type 2 error at start-up - help needed

Greetings to all - Thank you for your replies and help. I did this in reverse order to the posts. Trashing the ASLM, Finder, Mac OS and System Prefs provided the same result - Type 2 error at Word start-up. I had tested extensions using the extensions manager in sets of 5 with no change previously; I restarted with all extensions off (shift key at start-up) and got the same Type 2 error when launching MS Word.

Further info: I've tried this with VM at 1M + installed memory and with VW at double installed memory and it made no difference (I've always used VM in substantial blocks, even with VPC, which I use daily). I've removed ATM 4.6 as a precaution. I've also tried to remove everything that interfaces with MS Word - PrinToPDF comes to mind, as well as all non-original fonts.

I'm puzzled by one thing, which may be nothing but a curiosity, and it may have to do with the way I'm installing MS Word in an attempt to overcome this issue. As you know, Office 2001 provides you with a number which you need to retain upon installation. My original number, then, becomes superceded with each install; in other words, the last 4 numbers changes, out of the original 54092-XXX-XXXXXXX-XXXXX number provided. A number shows up on the initial lauch window; the problem I detect is that this number isn't the number given at the last install, but the ORIGINAL number I was given when the program was originally installed. This 'suggests' that perhaps the problem is with MS Word itself, as you'd think the program at lauch would recognize the new ID number given when the program files are re-installed using custom install. As an aside, I originally tried to do a 'drag and drop install of the Office 2001 folder, as suggested on the install disk; the system read the item numbers and gave me a 'preparing to copy' message and a spinning beach ball for 20 minutes before I was more or less forced to restart the computer with the reset button. I'm unsure this makes any difference, given that the program will launch with a boot disk, and all of the other modules will launch as they always have.

I'm appreciative of your help and comments. I didn't realize that this forum existed before, having been using a local MUG forum exclusively, and I suspect I'll use it a lot in the coming months as I coax an aging machine to continue working. This may be the first time in 20 years of Mac ownership that a technician might be called for, but I'm hoping for an easier solution.

The only disk repair I've done is that available from Disk Doctor/Norton SystemWorks V1.02: defragment hard drive, check for viruses, and run tests for damaged files. I've also run hardware tests with the Apple hardware disk, and used Disk First Aid to evaulate the disk. There hasn't been any indication of any problems at all. The only file which had damaged resources was removed completely (unfortunately it was my disk image of Windows 98 for VPC).

Type 2 Error is what the message specifically says, and on OS 9 I think it might be an address issue, but that's all the information I've been able to find.

Tom, thanks. I'd already seen that article. Since the issue happens with both extensions on and extensions off, and doesn't happen when I boot from a restore CD or other bootable CD, I'm at a loss to explain how to further test this, since I can't find any change in the launch of the app. I may actually be forced to re-initialize the disk and just start over. If I turn control panels off, it also happens, so no amount of tinkering with the extensions, prefs, or control panels on the hard drive seems to do anything.

I'll go back through and try this one more time to see if I get any change. Otherwise, I'm stumped.

OK - I should mention that I had already done a Clean Install over the weekend with no results. I did as you suggested, removing the Prefs folder - it would not let me rename it, so I dragged it to the trash and created a new folder named Preferences in the System Folder while booting from the Software Restore Disk. After restarting, I attempted to launch MS Word - still have the same result - Type 2 error. I've also re-run Tech Tool Deluxe and the Apple Hardware Test disk, both with no reports of any problems, and have rebuilt the desktop again. I also restored the old Prefs, since there wasn't any difference in the outcome.

Present thinking: I'm considering the purchase of another hard drive, such as a WD 7200 ATA/66, that I can install and run in the second (upper) part of the drive carrier, in essence reloading all of my data and programs on a new fresh hard drive in the remote possibility that this is a hardware issue and not a software problem - while not a perfect solution, I'd still have access to all of my old data and so on with a brand new drive with new software - ASSUMING that I can boot the 2nd (slave) drive as a stand-alone drive and that the original "master drive" would show up on the desktop when booted from the slave (2nd) drive. I could then, theoretically, re-install Office:mac 2001 and run it without issue. Before I do this, I'm open to any further advice, and, FWIW, I've been in touch with a local Apple Macintoch technical person who is I believe as baffled by this as I am, as he's thinking it could be RAM related - which isn't showing up on any tests.

(The issue with MS Word, for those interested, is that I need to be able to communicate with business customers who are using the defacto standard, so Word is, for me, essential, and there really is no alternative.)

Lastly, for anyone with experience on MS Word, through Office:mac 98, 2001, or similar - when I reload the program and get a new number, it would stand to reason that this new number would show up in the About... dialog box, correct? This isn't happening, as it still gives me my original number, which tells me (unless I'm completely off-base) that the problem, whatever it may be, might not be allowing me to re-install the program. This of course doesn't make any sense to me, since I can still run the program from a bootable CD.

Any ideas, anyone? Thanks for your help and ideas.

Simon, thank you - I had not seen this article. Yes, there are updates to SR1 - MS rolled this into Mac Security Update 9.0.5, and there was another update after that, 9.0.6. Starting over completely, per the instructions in the article, may be my only option.

Your last edit, to another link, is the tech article I've been using since I started this on Saturday, with no results, unfortunately. The ONLY thing I haven't done is update my driver, due to a later version being available in my system. Should this be a concern?

I have used anti-virus software (Norton), so the linkage between that and the issue I have, while circumstantial, is enough for me to try and follow the procedures on the article. And yes, it's still true that on many of the kb article links they are trying to sell you 2008. If it was up to me, I'd frankly never buy another MS product, but I digress.

Follow-up Question: The article talks about removing MS Office:mac 2001 completely. This may seem simple, but I have never removed an MS product like this and then tried to reuse or access data. Here is my question: If remove the Office folder as mentioned in the article, will I, upon reinstallation, still be able to access my Entourage database? This is more than critical for me to be able to do.

Thanks for your reply, Simon. To your question, "Are there any of the 5 extensions
in the "Office 2001:Office" folder ?" the answer is yes, as described under
the procedure for booting Word from an alternate System, as on the boot disk.
They are still there - I'm going to leave them there until this is resolved,
as I don't think they are hurting anything, so far as I can tell.

The 5 extensions - Microsoft Component Library, MS Internet Library,
MS OLE Automation, MS OLE Library, and MS Structured Storage, are in the
extensions folder. 3 of these appear to be files that were replaced from
the previous system folder, as they are labeled green (I always label previous
system folder contents in a specific color so I know what I may have moved
if there are any issues). My notes don't indicate it, but I'm sure I moved
these back after the failure of my previous clean install, although I'm not
sure why.

The only way I know of to replace those files is to do a re-install of
Word, or better yet, Office, by dragging the program icons to the trash and
then re-installing the program according to the instructions in article 302761.
Would you recommend I use the Remove Office Utility to remove it, and then re-install it with extensions off?