Access 97 Install problem

Got the answer on the windowxp.help_and_support news group after languishing
here for over a day with no reply.

Here's the Solution:
WindowsXp with > 1 meg ram is the issue.
received the advice below and it worked!!
-----start------------------------------------------------
If you have a PC with more than 1GB of ram then see the post below, about
half way down the list of replies:
http://bytes.com/forum/thread206045.html

JS
http://www.pagestart.com

>> the relevant part in the link

PROBLEM SOLVED !!! Many thanks Geoff for the wonderfull tip regarding the
RAM bug ! Effectively the issue came from the "more than 1GB of RAM" error
existing in the older versions of Access. In fact this bug seems to have two
consequences :
- When you try to install Access 97 from original CD on a PC with more than
1GB of ram (XP SP2), the install fails ("can't create system.mdb")
- If you try to manually copy the system.mdb file from another PC then the
launch of access fails, still when having more than 1GB of RAM ("out of
memory" error).

As this can be useful to other, here is what I've done :

- Starting with a PC under XP SP2
- REMORE RAM from the computer, to go under 1GB (I've went down to 256MB to
be sure..)
- Install access 97 (no longer problem during the installation, but
execution still fails)
- REINSTALL RAM
- Download the MS Jet Database engine version 3.51 SP3 from microsoft.com
- Then Access is working again !

Many thanks again, without this newsgroup and without Geoff I am 99,99% sure
that I would still be locked with that issue, the Internet support is
greaaaaat !

Friendly yours,
Robert
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"Jim Bunton" <wbbr26814 DeleteThis @BlueYonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:48f21726$0$8325$426a74cc@news.free.fr...
> Windows xp Media centre
> New install following virus problem!
> Drive C: reformatted befwore install
> No errors prompted during install
> Attempted access 97 install immediately after windows install
> There is another partition on the dsic which contains access 97 & access
> 2000 .mdb applications
> There is anothe disc which contains backups of the above
> -------------------------------------------
> At termination of install error:
> Could not create WorkGroup Adminsuter file
> Run MS Access Workgroup Administrator
> Before running Access
>
> Tried this - same problem
> At the end of the dialogue could not create
> C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\SYSTEM.MDW
> --------------------------------------------
>
> PHEW - would you believe it!
>
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