XL2000: LINEST Or REGRESS Error Value Occurs When X-Values Are Dependent (209326)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Excel 2000
This article was previously published under Q209326

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel 2000, the LINEST, TREND, and REGRESS functions (the REGRESS function is available in the Analysis ToolPak add-in macro) may return a #NUM! error value.

CAUSE

This behavior will occur if any set of known x-values is dependent on any other set of known x-values.

MORE INFORMATION

A set of known x-values is considered to be dependent on another set of known x-values when the first set is a multiple of the second set. For example, consider the following four sample number sets: 
   Set A       Set B          Set C          Set D
   ------------------------------------------------
    1           1               4              7
    2           2               8              9
    3           3              12             11
    4           4              16             13
    5           5              20             15
  • Set B is dependent on Set A (and A is dependent on B) because each element in Set B is equal to its corresponding element in Set A (Set A x 1=Set B).
  • Set C is dependent on Set A (and A is dependent on C) because each element in Set C is equal to four times its corresponding element in Set A (Set A x 4=Set C).
  • Set D is not dependent on any of the other sets (and the other sets are not dependent on Set D) because Set D is not an even multiple of any of the other sets.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:11/5/2003
Keywords:kbprb KB209326
©2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.