PRJ2000: You Cannot Start Project When You Click the Project Icon on the Start Menu (823620)

RESOLUTION

To determine whether the Windows Installer is damaged, try to start a Microsoft Office 2000 or later program, such as Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel, on the Start menu. If the program starts, the Windows Installer is functioning as expected. If the other programs do not start, then the Windows Installer is very likely damaged.

Note Because there are several versions of Microsoft Windows, the following steps may be different on your computer. If they are, see your product documentation to complete these steps.

If you determine that the Windows Installer program is functioning as expected, you must repair your installation of Project 2000.

How to Reinstall or Repair Project 2000

This procedure helps you to detect and to repair problems that are associated with your installation of Project 2000, such as registry setting problems or missing installation file problems.

Use the following steps to detect if there are problems with your installation of Project 2000:

1. On the Help menu in Project 2000, click Detect and Repair.
2. Click to select the Restore my shortcuts while repairing check box, and then click Start.

Use the following steps to repair any problems that you found with your installation of Project 2000:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. In Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs.
3. Double-click the Project 2000 entry that is listed in the Add/Remove Programs dialog box.
4. Click Repair Project.
5. Click Repair errors in my Project installation, click to select the Restore my shortcuts check box, and then click Finish.

If you determine that there are problems with the Windows Installer program, you must reinstall the program.

How to Reinstall Windows Installer

To reinstall the Windows Installer, you must rename the damaged Windows Installer files, and then you must reinstall Windows Installer. To do this, follow these steps.

Note Because there are several versions of Microsoft Windows, the following steps may be different on your computer. If they are, see your product documentation to complete these steps.

1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Command Prompt.
   
   Microsoft Windows opens a Command Prompt Window.
2. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

   attrib -r -s -h drive :\ Windows \System32

   where drive:\Windows is the drive and folder where Windows is installed.
3. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

   CD drive :\ Windows \System32

4. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER after you type each line:

   ren msi.dll msi.old
   ren msiexec.exe msiexec.old
   ren msihnd.dll msihnd.old
   

5. At the command prompt, type exit, and then press ENTER.
6. Restart your computer.
7. Update the Windows Installer files to the latest version. To do so, visit one of the following Microsoft Web sites, and then download and install Microsoft Windows Installer 2.0.
   
   Note Windows Installer 2.0 is included in Microsoft Windows XP. You do not have to do this step if you are using Windows XP.
   
   • To download and install the Windows Installer 2.0 update for Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition (SE), and Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me), visit the following Microsoft Web site:

     http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=cebbacd8-c094-4255-b702-de3bb768148f%20&displaylang=en

   • To download and install the Windows Installer 2.0 update for Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 and Microsoft Windows 2000, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

     http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=4b6140f9-2d36-4977-8fa1-6f8a0f5dca8f For additional information about how to reinstall the Windows Installer, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

     315341 How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade (Reinstallation) of Windows XP

8. After you have completed the installation of Windows Installer, shut down and restart your computer, and then follow the steps in "How to Reinstall or Repair Project 2000".