OFF2000: Settings from Previous Office Version Are Not Migrated (256262)

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

CAUSE

Your settings from a previous Office version may not be migrated to Office 2000 if all of the following are true:

You created an .ops file using the Office Profile Wizard.
You used a version of the Proflwiz.ini file with the Office Profile Wizard that was made available before February 2000.
You applied the .ops file when you installed Office 2000. For example, you used a transform that contained the .ops file.

By default, the versions of the Proflwiz.ini file that were shipped before February 2000 contained the following entry in the [IncludeRegistryTrees] section:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Common

Because of this, the following registry key and all of its subkeys were imported into the .ops file that you created:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Common\Migration

This list of subkeys included one for each of your installed Office 2000 programs. When the .ops file was applied to your Office 2000 installation, the Migration key and the relevant Office program subkeys were written to the Windows Registry. Because migration code is not called when an Office program finds its own subkey under the Migration key, your previous Office version settings were not migrated.

RESOLUTION

To prevent this from happening during an Office installation, you need to use a version of the Proflwiz.ini file that is dated February 2000 or later. You can verify the date of the Proflwiz.ini file by opening the file in any text editor. The [Header] section has an entry for the date on which the file was updated, such as:

update = February 2000

To download the latest versions of the Proflwiz.ini file and the other Office Resource Kit Tools, follow these steps:

Click the following link:

ORK Tools
Click the download link for ORKTools.exe.
When the download is complete, double-click ORKTools.exe.

After you install the latest version of the Office Resource Kit Tools, you must create a new .ops file and a new transform that includes the .ops file. Then you must install Office by using this new transform.

If you already installed Office and your previous Office version settings were not migrated, you can do the following to force the migration to occur:

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

On the Start menu, click Run.
In the Open box, type Regedit and then click OK.
Locate the following key in the registry:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Common\Migration
Rename the subkey below the Migration key that matches the Office program for which you want to force the migration of previous Office settings for that application.
Repeat step 4 for each Office program for which you want to force migration.
On the Registry menu, click Exit.
Start each Office program for which you renamed the corresponding subkey under the Migration key.

MORE INFORMATION

This problem was fixed in the February 2000 version of the Proflwiz.ini file by adding the following entry in the [ExcludeRegistryTrees] section of the Windows Registry: