The Solver add-in may not work when you start Solver by using a macro in Excel 2000

When you use Excel 2000 and you use the Solver add-in, you may experience one of the following symptoms.

Symptom 1

When you run a Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macro that starts the Solver add-in and that sets the problem parameters, you may experience one of the following:

• No calculations occur.
• Problem parameters are not set. For example, parameters such as Changing Cells or Target Cell are not set.
• Problem solving occurs.

Symptom 2

When you try to solve a problem by setting the problem parameters in the Solver add-in, you receive the following error message:Note To set the problem parameters in the Solver add-in, on the Tools menu, click Solver.

This problem may occur after you install Microsoft Office 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP-3).

Note Microsoft has confirmed that this problem only occurs when you use the English version of Excel 2000.

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, submit a request to Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language. The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel. After the hotfix is installed, the following files will have the listed attributes or later: This hotfix is a post-Office 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP-3) hotfix. To install the hotfix, you must have Office 2000 SP-3 installed. For more information about Office 2000 SP-3, click the following article number to see the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Additionally, you may have to install Windows Installer 2.0 to install this hotfix. For more information about the Windows Installer requirement for post-Office 2000 SP-3 hotfixes, click the following article number to see the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.