ACC2000: You Repeatedly Receive "Preparing Index for First Use" Message When You Use Help (259929)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Access 2000
This article was previously published under Q259929
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

Moderate: Requires basic macro, coding, and interoperability skills.

This article applies to a Microsoft Access database (.mdb) and to a Microsoft Access project (.adp).

SYMPTOMS

Every time that you use Help in Microsoft Access 2000 or in the Visual Basic Editor, you receive the following message:

Preparing index for first use...

This happens even if you have used Help before.

CAUSE

This problem occurs when you install Microsoft Office 2000 on a computer that already has MDAC 2.1 SP2 or later installed. This applies to computers running Microsoft Windows 2000, which includes MDAC 2.5, and to other operating systems on which MDAC 2.1 SP2 or later has been installed.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, use one of the following two methods. The first method is to manually copy some files to specified folders and then to add a registry key. The second method is to install the Microsoft Office 2000 Service Release 1 (SR-1) update.

After you have used either method, you will again see the "Preparing index for first use..." message the first time that you use Help. This happens because there are five different Help files. But after you have used the five Help files once, either of these methods prevents the message from appearing thereafter.

Method 1: Copy Files and Add Registry Key

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.

  1. Copy the following files to the C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\Ado folder:
    • Ado210.chm
    • Msjro.chm

  2. Copy the following files into the C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\1033 folder.

    NOTE: This steps assumes that you have Microsoft Office installed in the default folder of C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office. Also, the 1033 folder indicates that you have the English version of Office. If you are using a non-English version of Office, copy these files to the appropriate locale ID folder.
    • Jetdef40.chm
    • Jetsql40.chm

  3. Copy the following file to the C:\Windows\System\ folder. On computers running Microsoft Windows NT or Microsoft Windows 2000, this may be the C:\Windows\System32\ folder:
    • Jeterr40.chm

    NOTE: The Windows system path on your computer may be different, depending on the folder in which you have Windows installed.

  4. Start Registry Editor, and then locate the following key:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\HTML Help

  5. Add the string value Jeterr40.chm.
  6. Set the value equal to the driveletter:\folder\ that you copied Jeterr40.chm into in Step 3. For example, set the value equal to C:\Windows\System\.

Method 2: Upgrade to Microsoft Office SR-1

IMPORTANT: You may experience problems after you apply the Office SR-1 patch to a computer that was upgraded from Windows NT 4.0 to Windows 2000. For additional information about these problems, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

258549 OFF2000: Odd Behavior on Windows 2000 After You Install Office 2000 SR-1 Update

Microsoft suggests that you use Method 1 instead of applying the Office SR-1 patch if your computer was upgraded from Windows NT 4.0 to Windows 2000.

To prevent the message from constantly appearing, install the Office 2000 SR-1 update. For additional information about obtaining and installing Office 2000 SR-1, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

245025 How to Obtain and Install Microsoft Office 2000 Service Release 1 (SR-1)

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Office 2000 SR-1/SR-1a.

MORE INFORMATION

There is also another error message that you may receive when you try to use Help. For additional information about this error message, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

249065 OFF2000: Error Message When You Try to Display Help on a Microsoft Windows 2000-based Computer

Steps to Reproduce the Behavior

  1. Perform a clean installation of Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition.
  2. Install MDAC 2.1 SP2.
  3. Perform a complete installation of Office 2000 Premium Edition.
  4. Start Microsoft Access 2000.
  5. Press ALT+F11 to start the Visual Basic Editor.
  6. Press F1, type OpenForm, and then click search.
  7. Click OpenForm Method. Note that you receive the message "Preparing index for first use..."
  8. Quit Help, and repeat Steps 6 and 7. Note that you receive the message again.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:11/4/2002
Keywords:kbbug KB259929
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