PRJ2000: "Error 1306. Another Application Has Exclusive Access to the File..." When You Run Setup from Administrative Installation Point (256673)

SYMPTOMS

When you run Microsoft Project Setup from an administrative installation point, you may receive the following message:

Error 1306. Another application has exclusive access to the file 'path\GLOBAL.MPT'. Please shut down all other applications, then click Retry.

If you close other programs and then click Retry, the message closes briefly and then reappears.

CAUSE

This problem occurs when the following conditions are true:

You run Microsoft Project 2000 Setup from an administrative installation folder on a network server.
The Global.mpt file in the administrative installation folder has read/write permissions.
During Setup, you choose to run Microsoft Project from your local computer, either by clicking Install Now, or by clicking Customize and then clicking Run from My Computer.
Another user previously ran Microsoft Project 2000 Setup from the same administrative folder, and chose to run Microsoft Project from the network server.
While you are running Setup, the other user is running Microsoft Project for the first time.

When a user runs Microsoft Project for the first time from the server, Microsoft Project opens the Global.mpt file on the server to create a copy on the user's local computer. During this process, Microsoft Project locks the copy of the Global.mpt file on the server, to prevent other users from gaining access to the file. The file is not made available again until the user quits Microsoft Project.

If the Global.mpt file on the server is locked when you run Setup and install Microsoft Project on your local computer, Setup is unable to copy the Global.mpt file to your computer, and you receive the error message described in the "Symptoms" section.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem without having to quit Setup, ask the user who is running Microsoft Project to quit the program. You should then be able to click Retry and continue with Setup.

To prevent this problem, use either of the following methods.

NOTE: The following changes must be made by someone who has administrative rights to the Microsoft Project administrative installation folder.

Method 1: Change the Security Permissions

Change the security permissions on the installation folder to allow read-only access for all files and subfolders.

Method 2: Change the File Attributes

Change the file attributes for the Global.mpt file to read-only. If the Global.mpt file is read-only, Microsoft Project cannot lock the file.