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"Are Other Copies Of WordPerfect Currently Ru
DocumentID: 600607
Revision Date: 29-Feb-96 1:28:27 PM

The information in this document applies to:
WordPerfect® 5.1 for DOS

Problem

Solutions: Listed below are some solutions and troubleshooting options for the error message "Are Other Copies Of WordPerfect Currently Running" in WordPerfect 5.x (DOS/Windows) and the Tutor:

1.      A customer using the network version of WordPerfect was receiving the error message "Are Other Copies Of WordPerfect Currently Running?" The reason this user received this error was because she did not have DELETE rights in the directory where the overflow files were located (the user's default directory). WordPerfect needs the delete rights in order to close the temporary files upon exiting.

2.      Customers cannot save documents to network drives without getting the message, "Are Other Copies Of WordPerfect Currently Running?" The users were attempting to save the virtual files to an RO (Read-Only) directory, which happens to be their main program directory for WP 5.1. After creating a batch file that included the /D=PATH startup option, the problem was solved.

3.      If customers with Toshiba laptop computers with plasma monitors exit WP improperly and restart the program, the computers appear to lock on the introduction screen. What is really happening is they are being asked the question "Are Other Copies of WordPerfect Currently Running?". Because of the plasma screen this message is not visible, yet when they press the letter "N" for no the program continues on to the document screen. To work around the problem, the customer entered WP using the /MONO startup option, which allowed the customer to see the message. Then, the user exited the program properly and re-entered WP without the startup option.

4.      Another customer on a Toshiba 3200 computer with a Liquid Crystal Display monitor needed to enter WP using the MODE CO80 command. Another customer using a Toshiba 3200 laptop found he had to use the MODE CO80 command at DOS and then use WP/MONO to start WP. This user put the MODE CO80 command and the line SET WP=/MONO in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file so the fix would be permanent.

5.      A fourth Toshiba laptop user experienced a similar problem when trying to enter WP after rebooting the computer from within WP (without properly exiting WP). Instead of the "Are Other Copies..." prompt displaying, the computer beeped once then the cursor was simply returned to a DOS prompt. The user corrected the problem by manually deleting the temporary files before entering WP. This option may help customers on other types of computers also.

6.      A customer entering WP received the message "Are Other Copies Currently Running" even though he exited properly. Also, no virtual files were appearing in the directory. Removing the commands APPEND /E and APPEND C:\DOS from the AUTOEXEC.BAT file corrected the problem. APPEND enables programs to open files in specified directories as if these files are in the current directory. Apparently this sometimes prevents the temporary files from closing properly.

7.      When starting WordPerfect 5.1 after doing a soft reboot, the user is prompted with "Are Other Copies Of WordPerfect Currently Running? Y/N)." If the user presses the Space Bar the program exits WordPerfect and returns to DOS or Shell. The prompt should only respond to (Y)es or (N)o. This is a protection device. If the customer does not know how to answer this question then he can press Cancel (F1), Exit (F7), or any other key to exit back to DOS. This way the overflow files will not be lost in case of a wrong answer or in a case where a user is on a network where the user cannot change the drive for overflow files because of supervisor restrictions.

8.      When using the Greek keyboard, if the user exits by turning the computer off, or if the power goes off, WordPerfect will not let the user back in. The message, "Are other copies of WordPerfect currently running?" displays, the user presses N for No, and WP returns him to DOS. Manually deleting the virtual files will let the user back into WP. The solution to this problem is to press Ctrl-6 when WP prompts, "Are other copies of WordPerfect currently running?" This will put the original keyboard back into effect. The user can then press "N" and successfully get back into the program.

9.      The customer is having problems reading the introductory screen in WordPerfect 5.1. At the bottom of the screen, it is too dark to see anything. Consequently, if the prompt "Are Other Copies Of WP Currently Running Y/N?" appears, the customer cannot see it. He is using the Tandy 1000 computer. Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be changed in the Setup, Color screen that will fix this problem. The user can try the WP/MONO startup option. Any changes that are made in Setup, Color only effect the screen once the user is in the WP program. The video card is sending incorrect color information.

10.      A customer cannot see the prompt "Are Other Copies Of WordPerfect Currently Running? Y/N" unless she starts WordPerfect with WP/MONO. The green electron gun in the monitor is not working. She is going to contact her Dealer to get it fixed. In Setup, Colors/Fonts/Attributes (Shift-F1, 2, 1, 1) after comparing the colors on her screen to the colors on the Problem Resolution specialist's screen, it was discovered that none of her options displayed as green. Options C and K which should be green displayed as black. This indicated that her green gun in her monitor must be out. Also, the P was not showing up as white either, but as lavender (which would be a mix of red and blue with no green). With no green, the screen surrounding the WP logo (which is normally blue-green) displays all dark blue and the text for the message "Are Other Copies Currently Running?" normally displays in dark blue; therefore, it was not visible on the dark blue background. Note: As a troubleshooting step, compare the Setup colors. Any colors there that display as black when they shouldn't (especially red, green, or blue) may indicate a problem with the monitor.

11.      The customer cannot see the message "Are Any Other Copies Of WordPerfect Currently Running?" after exiting WordPerfect by just turning off the computer. Also, the user cannot see the status line in WP. The customer adjusted the vertical hold knob on the back of the monitor to correct the problem. The status line (status bar in WPWin) was there all of the time, the screen was too large vertically to see the entire page.

12.      The WordPerfect temporary/virtual files were not deleted when the program was properly exited. Because of this, the error "Are Other Copies Of WordPerfect Currently Running? (Y/N)" appeared as the user re-entered WP. The user had just installed MS-DOS 5.0 and was using MS Windows. The user had not loaded SMARTDrive (a Windows disk caching program). The problem was corrected by loading SMARTDrive in the CONFIG.SYS file (DEVICE=C:\SMARTDRV.SYS) and rebooting the computer.

13.      Another customer with this problem solved it by redirecting the temporary files to the root directory of the C: drive by using the command SET WPC=/D-C:\/PF-C:\ in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

      Note: The /PF startup option is not recognized by WPWin. The redirection of temporary print files was incorporated in the /D startup option. If the user has an environment variable that specifies both /D and /PF, WPWin will ignore the /PF switch. This is a common situation because many users have both the DOS and WPWin products.

14.      The customer gets the messages "Are Other Copies Of WordPerfect Currently Running?" and "Directory Is In Use. New WP Directory:" every time he enters WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS a second time, whether he enters as the same user or another. The customer had typed an incorrect directory in the System Login Script after the /D startup option. WP could not find this directory, and so it copied the temporary files to the program directory. This was causing the problem. Correcting the spelling of the directory corrected the problem. This problem is unique to IBM's Classroom LAN Administration System (ICLAS).

15.      On an AST 386SX computer, the customer receives the message "Are other copies of WP running?" when he starts WordPerfect for the first time after turning the computer on. The customer had exited properly before turning off the computer, but WP still thinks other copies are running. The problem was narrowed down to an older version of the Norton Utilities Image program. This program takes a "snapshot" of vital system files to aid in recovering the hard drive in case of hard disk problems. If this program is not included the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, the problem does not occur. A simple workaround to the problem is to use the /D-C:\ startup command. The customer added the SET WPC=/D-C:\TEMP command line in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, and this fixed the problem. NOTE: This was probably caused by the hardware and/or the operating system, not the Image program. Symantec/Peter Norton Computing is aware of the problem and the workaround. Please do not imply that this is in any way caused by the Image program.

16.      The customer is experiencing a problem when he enters WordPerfect, edits a document, saves and replaces it, exits WP, reboots the computer and re-enters WP. The user receives the message "Are Other Copies Currently Running?" and the file saved is set to zero (0) bytes. The original file is renamed with a .BK! extension, but does not contain the changes made. To fix this you need to go into Direct Access menu and select Maintenance|Program Configuration, then change the Exit To DOS option from \CD to SMARTDRV.EXE /C. Directly affecting the SMARTDRIVE.EXE file by adding a /C switch in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file may be a better choice than adding the switch passively to another program that calls the SMARTDRV.EXE and adds the parameter second hand (e.g., Direct Access).

17.      When a customer tried to run the Tutor, he was automatically exited back to DOS. When the customer went into WordPerfect, the prompt "Are Other Copies Of WordPerfect Currently Running?" displayed. The customer answered no and was then able to enter the Tutor without any problem.

18.      The updated Tutor will not run when .BV1 files exist. If the customer runs Tutor from a directory where .BV1 files exists with the user initials, then the error message flashes across the screen "Are Other Copies Of WP Currently Running?" Then the user is taken to the Tutor menu. Whatever option is selected at this point, sends the user back to DOS.
      Answer:

Status:      Sent to Development
***|sent to dev|***
Press Enter on link token.

19.      Another customer encountered this problem when trying to execute Tutor. The customer was able to correct it by only removing the APPEND C:\DOS command.

20.      When another customer enters WP, the error "Are Other Copies Of Wordperfect Running?" displays. Adding /C to the customers SMARTDRV.EXE line eliminated the problem. This line is in either the CONFIG.SYS (DEVICE=C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.SYS /C) file or in the AUTOEXEC.BAT (C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE /C) file. SMARTDrive cashes the HD functions into memory so when the customer exits WP and shuts off the computer, some times SMARTDrive has not yet deleted the temporary files. The /C option tells SMARTDrive to write or execute the commands to the HD as soon as possible.

21.      The customer's computer seemed to lock on the title screen of WordPerfect; however, when the customer pressed ESC, the DOS prompt appeared. The customer's screen was out of adjustment, so the message "Are Other Copies Of WordPerfect Running" did not display on the screen, even though WP was generating the message. After the customer adjusted the screen, the message displayed and the computer no longer gave the appearance of locking.

Answer:

Details:


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