PUB2002: "Publisher Has Experienced a Serious Error and Has to Shut Down" Error Message (285600)

SYMPTOMS

When you start Microsoft Publisher 2002 and then attempt to use one of the Publisher wizards on a Microsoft Windows 2000-based computer, you may receive the following error message:

Publisher has experienced a serious error and has to shut down.

If you click Details, you receive information similar to the following:

   Code: 0x00000134  Flags: 0x00000000
   Record: 0x00000000c00000005
   Address: 0x0000000000000000

CAUSE

This behavior can occur if all of the following conditions are true:

The Windows 2000 computer has restricted permissions applied to it, otherwise known as a lockdown policy.
Microsoft Office XP is installed from a network server location.
You are logged on to the Windows 2000 computer through an account that does not have sufficient permissions to access the network server location.
You start Publisher 2002 and attempt to use any Publisher wizard.

Although the error message does not indicate what the actual problem is, the error occurs because you are trying to gain access to files on a server for which you do not have permissions.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, log on to the computer through an account that has sufficient permissions to gain access to the network server location, and then run the Publisher wizard again. Office will retrieve the files that it needs, and then you can log on to the computer by using your own account and continue using Publisher.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

Lockdown Policy

To decrease support costs, many organizations apply a lockdown policy to their desktops by controlling their users' ability to write to the file system and registry. Although this policy prevents a user from accidentally or intentionally modifying a given configuration, it also requires administrator intervention whenever there is the need for a new program to be installed.