[jerrywhelan]

We are using XP, and Office XP and unable to do a mail merge from inside
Word. The data file is an Excel spreadsheet. When going to Tools/Letters &
Mailings/Mail Merge/Use existing list
A box pops up which says "Data Link Properties" with tabs for "Provider,
Connection, Advanced, & All".
If I do test connnection, it fails with the error "Test connection failed
because of an error in initializing provider. Catastrophic Failure"
If we do not run the test and try to continue to the mail merge, Word
crashes and restarts. Either way we do not get a mail merge.

I'm thinking it has to do with the provider settings. I have tried to change
this and I have managed to get a connection but when make any further
attempts to continue - I only get an error message or the merge screen leaves.