11 Oct 99

What is Service Release 2b (SR-2b)?

Office 97 Service Release 2b (SR-2b) is a free update to Office 97 that delivers product updates developed since the release of Office 97 Service Release 1 (SR-1). For a complete list of product updates, read the Knowledge Base article OFF97: List of Fixed Problems in Office 97 for Windows, SR-2 . It also includes Year 2000 product fixes developed since the release of Office 97 SR-2. Office 97 users can download SR-2b from the Office 97 Service Release 2b (SR-2b) Download Information page.

How do I know if SR-2b will work for me?

Microsoft created the Office 97 Version Checker utility to determine if your system is configured to install Office 97 SR-2b successfully. Before proceeding any farther with your Office 97 SR-2b installation, we recommend that you run this utility:

Run the Office 97 Version Checker first...
Filename: sr2chk.exe Filesize: 121kb Download time: 1 min @ 28.8 kbps

The Office 97 Version Checker utility assesses the current status of your Office 97 programs and then recommends the necessary steps you need to take to install Office 97 SR-2b successfully.

To use the checker utility, please click above and then choose the one of the following options:

• Choose the Run this file from its current location option when prompted by the File Download dialog box, and then click OK. Follow the directions on the screen to complete the process.
• Choose the Save this program to disk option and save the file to your hard drive. Go to the folder where you saved the sr2chk.exe file, and double-click it to run the utility. Follow the directions on the screen to complete the process.

Note  We recommend saving the file to your hard disk, to make it more convenient to re-run it to confirm your installation.

When the checking process is complete, the closing dialog box will present you with instructions for installing Service Release 2 on your machine.

• Your system has Office 97 SR-1 installed. You can download and run the SR-2 patch from the Office 97 Service Release 2b (SR-2b) Download Information page.
• Your system is already at Office 97 SR-2 level. You do not need to run the SR-2 patch. You should run the SR-2 patch if you have modified your installation of Office 97.
• Your system is at Office 97 base level. To upgrade to Office 97 SR-2, first run the SR-1 patch from the Office 97 Service Release 1 (SR-1) , and then run the SR-2 patch from the Office 97 Service Release 2b (SR-2b) Download Information page.
• The Microsoft Office 97 SR-2 patch cannot be applied to your computer. Either Office 97 is not installed on this computer, or there are files from multiple versions of Office 97 on this computer. Try installing Office 97 or running the latest SR-1 patch from the Office 97 Service Release 1 (SR-1) page to correct the problem. Or, contact Product Support Services for further assistance.

Once you have completed the actions advised above, re-run the checker utility again to verify the success of the operations, and to see if any further steps are required. Repeat this cycle until Checker reports that SR-2 has been successfully installed.
For more technical information about the installation issues, please see the Knowledge Base article OFF97: List of Fixed Problems in Office 97 for Windows, SR-2 .

What happened to the previous releases of SR-2?

In September 1998, we removed SR-2 because the patch installation process was not meeting our minimum requirements for successful installs. In October 1998 after investigating the issue, we changed the installation process so it installs properly in most cases. We also modified it to give the user better feedback on any problems it encounters via the Office 97 Version Checker and in the installation program itself.
In October 1999, we updated the SR-2 patch to include the Year 2000 changes for Microsoft Outlook® 97 and for Microsoft Jet 3.5 Service Pack 2. Information about the Microsoft Outlook 97 changes is mentioned in the Knowledge Base article OL97: Year 2000 Dates Are Imported and Exported Incorrectly . Details about the Microsoft Jet 3.5 Service Pack 2 are listed in the Knowledge Base article Updated Version of Microsoft Jet 3.5 Available on MSL .

If I installed the previous version of SR-2, do I need to install it again?

No. You should only install the updates for Outlook, as described in the Knowledge Base article OL97: Year 2000 Dates Are Imported and Exported Incorrectly and Microsoft Jet 3.5, as described in the Knowledge Base article Updated Version of Microsoft Jet 3.5 Available on MSL .

How can I tell the difference between this version of SR-2b and the previous version?

Once it is installed, the only difference will be new versions of the following files:

File	Old version	New version
Msexcl35.dll	3.51.0623.2	3.51.2723.2
Msjet35.dll	3.51.2026.0	3.51.2723.0
Msrepl35.dll	3.51.2010.0	3.51.2404.0
Rm.dll	1.0.0.97	1.0.0.104
Transmgr.dll	1.0.0.97	1.0.0.100

Use the Find feature in Windows to search for one of these files. When the file is found, right-click on the file and select Properties to determine which version of SR-2 is installed.

Why are you releasing a new SR-2b?

We want to make it easy for our customers to update Office 97 with SR-2 and the Year 2000 updates all at once.

Who should install SR-2b?

While we expect that large, global organizations will receive the most benefit from SR-2b, we recommend it to all Office 97 users.

What does SR-2b address?

For a complete list of product updates in SR-2b, read the Knowledge Base article OFF97: List of Fixed Problems in Office 97 for Windows, SR-2 . SR-2b also includes Year 2000 product fixes developed since the release of Office 97 SR-2. Office 97 users can download SR-2b from the Office 97 Service Release 2b (SR-2b) Download Information page.

Will SR-2b install over previously installed patches?

The SR-2b installation process will overwrite some patches. If you have installed the Word 97 Template Security Patch or the Forms 2.0 Control Security Patch you must reinstall the patch after you install SR-2b.

Will SR-2b be localized?

Many localized versions of SR-2b are currently available. Check the International Versions page for more details.

What are the system requirements for SR-2b?

In order to install SR-2b, you need to be running Office 97 Service Release 1, along with Microsoft Windows 95 or Windows 98, Windows NT 3.51 with Service Pack 5, or Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 3.

How easy will it be for customers who received Office 97 pre-installed on their computers to get SR-2b?

All of our Office 97 customers can acquire a copy of SR-2b by downloading it from the Office 97 Service Release 2b (SR-2b) Download Information page.

Will SR-2b work with Office 97 Small Business Edition and all standalone Office 97 applications?

Yes. SR-2b will work with Office 97 Professional, Standard, and Small Business Edition, as well as all standalone Office 97 applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint®, Outlook, and Access).

How can I get Office 97 SR-1?

SR-1 is currently available for free download.

How do I know if I have installed SR-1?

Click About on the Help menu in any Office 97 application, and look for "SR-1" after the name of the application near the top of the dialog box. When using Microsoft Word, for instance, you should see "Microsoft Word 97 SR-1". If you do not, you have not installed SR-1.

Where can I get the latest Microsoft Windows NT Service Pack?

Download it from Windows Family Resources.

Information for Systems Administrators:

How do I update my Office 97 SR-1 administrative installation to SR-2b?

You can apply SR-2b directly on top of your administrative install of SR-1 or higher. First, apply SR-2b over the administrative installation point and then apply the patch to client computers. For new installs, you can deploy SR-2b directly by pushing SR-2 down from the patched administration point.

What if I have customized my administrative installation? Can I still apply SR-2b directly over it?

Yes, you can apply SR-2b directly over custom installations that were set up using the Network Installation Wizard.

I rely on Maintenance mode of Office 97. Will SR-2b allow Maintenance mode to work?

Yes, SR-2b will allow Maintenance mode to work because it is applied directly over the existing administrative install.

Will SR-2b work as designed over previously installed patches and fixes such as the Excel recalculation patch?

Yes, even though SR-2b includes some of the same fixes, it can run on top of them.

How do I know if I need SR-2b for my organization?

We recommend SR-2b to all of our customers. For more information on its contents, you can refer to the Knowledge Base article OFF97: List of Fixed Problems in Office 97 for Windows, SR-2 , which lists the North American fixes.

What if I used Systems Management Server to deploy Office 97? Do I need to redo my existing SMS scripts?

As long as you packaged the setup command line for the full installation version of SR-1, there is no need to redo your existing SMS scripts. However, if you made an image of Office 97 and have chosen to push the Office 97 image to the workstations, then your image will have to be updated.

What if I run Office 97 directly from the server?

You can apply SR-2b directly on top of your administrative install of SR-1. First, apply SR-2b over the administrative installation point. Then you can upgrade the client computers with SR-2b using the means described above. Further, new workstation installations can be done from the patched administrative installation point with no need to apply the patch to the new workstations as well.

What if I do not want to update my Outlook 97 8.03 installation as part of my SR-2b rollout? Can I remove the Outlook patch from SR-2b?

Yes, you can install SR-2b without updating Outlook 8.03. You can patch an install point where the STF has been customized to not install Outlook. However, if you patch the client machine directly, or patch an uncustomized install point, Outlook files will be upgraded.

What if I am running Outlook 98? Will installing SR-2b take those files back to a pre-Outlook 98 state?

The SR-2b patch will recognize Outlook 98 files and leave them intact, but will update the remaining Office 97 installation. If Outlook 98 is the only Office application that you have installed, there is no need to go to SR-2b as you already have the most current version.