You receive an "I/O Error" or the subfolders are displayed as question marks or squares in Office programs (236872)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Access 2002
  • Microsoft Excel 2002
  • Microsoft PowerPoint 2002
  • Microsoft Word 2002
  • Microsoft Access 2000
  • Microsoft Excel 2000
  • Microsoft PowerPoint 2000
  • Microsoft Word 2000
  • Microsoft Access 97
  • Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
  • Microsoft PowerPoint 97 for Windows
  • Microsoft Word 97 for Windows
This article was previously published under Q236872
This article is a consolidation of the following previously available articles: 176529, 262861, and 302469

Important This article contains information about how to modify the registry. Make sure to back up the registry before you modify it. Make sure that you know how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up, restore, and modify the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows registry

SYMPTOMS

When you click Open, Save, or Save As on the File menu in any of the Microsoft Office programs listed at the beginning of this article, you may experience one of the following symptoms:
  • When the current folder has subfolders, all subfolders except the last may be displayed as question marks or squares.
  • If you double-click any of the subfolders that appear as question marks or squares, or if you try to open a presentation, you may receive one of the following error messages:
    • An unexpected error occurred - I/O Error 0
      - or -
    • An unexpected error occurred - I/O Error 6
      - or -
    • <Program> found an error it cannot correct.
      where <Program> is the name of one of the programs listed at the beginning of this article.
    NOTE: You can open files correctly if you select them from the Most Recently Used (MRU) list on the File menu, or if you double-click the file in Windows Explorer.
Also, when you attempt to start Microsoft PowerPoint, you receive the following error message:
PowerPoint found an error it cannot correct.

CAUSE

The Microsoft Office settings stored in the registry are damaged (corrupted).

RESOLUTION

Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.

To correct this problem, use one of the following methods as appropriate for your situation.

Method 1: Delete the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\X.0 Key

To remove the damaged Office registry settings and to register Office again, follow these steps:

NOTE: The following steps remove all user-specific settings for all of the Office programs. You must reconfigure all user-specific settings manually.
  1. Quit all Office programs.
  2. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
  3. Locate and then click to select one of the following registry keys, depending on the version of Office that you are using:
    • For Microsoft Office XP, locate and then click to select the following key:

      HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0

    • For Microsoft Office 2000, locate and then click to select the following key:

      HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0

    • For Microsoft Office 97, locate and then click to select the following key:

      HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.0

  4. After you select the key that is specified in step 3, point to Delete on the Edit menu. Click Yes when you receive the following message: Are you sure you want to delete this key and all of its subkeys?
  5. On the File menu, click Exit to quit Registry Editor.
  6. Shut down and then restart Windows.
  7. Start an Office program to update the registry settings.

Method 2: Reset the Open Dialog Box Settings

To reset the Open dialog box, follow these steps:
  1. Quit all Office programs.
  2. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
  3. Locate and then click to select one of the following registry keys, depending on the version of Office that you are using:
    • For Office XP, locate and then click to select the following key:

      HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Common\Open Find

    • For Office 2000, locate and then click to select the following key:

      HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Common\Open Find

    • For Office 97, locate and then click to select the following key:

      HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.0\Common\Open Find

  4. After you select the key that is specified in step 3, point to Delete on the Edit menu. Click Yes when you receive the following message: Are you sure you want to delete this key and all of its subkeys?
  5. On the File menu, click Exit to quit Registry Editor.
  6. Shut down and then restart Windows.
  7. Start an Office program to update the registry settings.

Method 3: Delete the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\X.0 Key

To remove the damaged Office registry settings and to register Office again, follow these steps.

NOTE: The following steps remove all user-specific settings for all of the Office programs. You must reconfigure all user-specific settings manually.
  1. Quit all Office programs.
  2. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
  3. Locate and then click to select one of the following registry keys, depending on the version of Office that you are using:
    • For Office XP, locate and then click to select the following key:

      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0

    • For Office 2000, locate and then click to select the following key:

      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0

    • For Office 97, locate and then click to select the following key:

      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.0

  4. After you select the key that is specified in step 3, point to Delete on the Edit menu. Click Yes on the message Are you sure you want to delete this key and all of its subkeys?
  5. On the File menu, click Exit to quit Registry Editor.
  6. Shut down and then restart Windows.
  7. Start an Office program to update the registry settings.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:7/27/2006
Keywords:kbopenfile kbsavefile kbtshoot kbprb kberrmsg kbpending kbusage KB236872
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