Can't install Office 2003 SP1 or uninstall Office 2003 at all

It's not a major task. I've tested the Windows Installer Cleanup
Utility several times and to zap the Installer entries for Office and
reinstall Office takes a matter of minutes. :-)

--
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/


"Test Man" wrote in message
...
OK, thank you. I did read that article prior to posting my message,
so with
what you said, it seems that I'm going to have to take the plunge
and delete
all the Windows Installer info to reinstall Office, which is gonna
be a big
task I guess.

"Goose[MS]" .(donotspam) wrote in message
...
Try using the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility detailed here to
uninstall
Office:
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;290301

Hi Beth
You're right about it not being a major task, just used the Cleanup
Utility then reinstalled Office 2003 and then the SP1 update, worked pretty
fast and easy. Thanks to all.

"Beth Melton" wrote in message
...
It's not a major task. I've tested the Windows Installer Cleanup
Utility several times and to zap the Installer entries for Office and
reinstall Office takes a matter of minutes. :-)

--
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/


"Test Man" wrote in message
...
OK, thank you. I did read that article prior to posting my message,
so with
what you said, it seems that I'm going to have to take the plunge
and delete
all the Windows Installer info to reinstall Office, which is gonna
be a big
task I guess.

"Goose[MS]" .(donotspam) wrote in message
...
Try using the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility detailed here to
uninstall
Office:
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;290301

Hi Beth
You're right about it not being a major task, just used the Cleanup
Utility then reinstalled Office 2003 and then the SP1 update, worked pretty
fast and easy. Thanks to all.

"Beth Melton" wrote in message
...
It's not a major task. I've tested the Windows Installer Cleanup
Utility several times and to zap the Installer entries for Office and
reinstall Office takes a matter of minutes. :-)

--
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/


"Test Man" wrote in message
...
OK, thank you. I did read that article prior to posting my message,
so with
what you said, it seems that I'm going to have to take the plunge
and delete
all the Windows Installer info to reinstall Office, which is gonna
be a big
task I guess.

"Goose[MS]" .(donotspam) wrote in message
...
Try using the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility detailed here to
uninstall
Office:
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;290301

Beth--

Appreciate the clarification. I was getting confused with the sentence in
this:

Description of the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;290301

The Windows Installer CleanUp Utility does not:
a.. Remove Windows Installer.
b.. Remove files of any programs that are installed by Windows Installer,
such as Microsoft Office 2003.
Now I know, that if you use the WICU that you are going to uninstall the
app. But I think it means that setup files will remain, and then may be
replaced if damaged or missing by the reinstall of MOS 2003. Correct me if
I mistated this please or could state it better.

Also I wondered a couple thingsgoing over the list and would value your
comment.

1) All items that make use of the MSI or Windows Installer are not listed in
the utility. And I believe some use the MSI in partnership with Install
Shield unless Install Shield makes part of the Windows Installer for MSFT
and sometimes a third party installer and I always though that one of the
problems was, and I'd appreciate any comment that someone will write a great
3rd party app who is working on his own and doesn't have the
resources/budget of MSFT or a large software company, so they may not be
able to make as good an installer for their product. I don't mean all 3rd
parties at all, but sometimes that this might be a factor in a less than
pristine install or uninstall.

2) Having had my share of problems from time to time installing or
uninstalling apps like Norton AV or System Works or Internet Security, I
know they have their own uninstall utilities and Norotn has KBs for hand
uninstalling various GUIDs, other registry keys, and Norton Shared files,
and what I was getting at was I wonder if using this Clean Up Installer
could help there, and I alos wondered if you could consider it VIP
Add/Remove, i.e. why not go to the Clean Up Utility to remove anything
that's listed when you had occasion to remove it as a more thorough removal?

Thanks,

Chad Harris

__________________________________________________ ___________________________

"Beth Melton" wrote in message
...
It's not a major task. I've tested the Windows Installer Cleanup
Utility several times and to zap the Installer entries for Office and
reinstall Office takes a matter of minutes. :-)

--
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/


"Test Man" wrote in message
...
OK, thank you. I did read that article prior to posting my message,
so with
what you said, it seems that I'm going to have to take the plunge
and delete
all the Windows Installer info to reinstall Office, which is gonna
be a big
task I guess.

"Goose[MS]" .(donotspam) wrote in message
...
Try using the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility detailed here to
uninstall
Office:
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;290301

Beth--

Appreciate the clarification. I was getting confused with the sentence in
this:

Description of the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;290301

The Windows Installer CleanUp Utility does not:
a.. Remove Windows Installer.
b.. Remove files of any programs that are installed by Windows Installer,
such as Microsoft Office 2003.
Now I know, that if you use the WICU that you are going to uninstall the
app. But I think it means that setup files will remain, and then may be
replaced if damaged or missing by the reinstall of MOS 2003. Correct me if
I mistated this please or could state it better.

Also I wondered a couple thingsgoing over the list and would value your
comment.

1) All items that make use of the MSI or Windows Installer are not listed in
the utility. And I believe some use the MSI in partnership with Install
Shield unless Install Shield makes part of the Windows Installer for MSFT
and sometimes a third party installer and I always though that one of the
problems was, and I'd appreciate any comment that someone will write a great
3rd party app who is working on his own and doesn't have the
resources/budget of MSFT or a large software company, so they may not be
able to make as good an installer for their product. I don't mean all 3rd
parties at all, but sometimes that this might be a factor in a less than
pristine install or uninstall.

2) Having had my share of problems from time to time installing or
uninstalling apps like Norton AV or System Works or Internet Security, I
know they have their own uninstall utilities and Norotn has KBs for hand
uninstalling various GUIDs, other registry keys, and Norton Shared files,
and what I was getting at was I wonder if using this Clean Up Installer
could help there, and I alos wondered if you could consider it VIP
Add/Remove, i.e. why not go to the Clean Up Utility to remove anything
that's listed when you had occasion to remove it as a more thorough removal?

Thanks,

Chad Harris

__________________________________________________ ___________________________

"Beth Melton" wrote in message
...
It's not a major task. I've tested the Windows Installer Cleanup
Utility several times and to zap the Installer entries for Office and
reinstall Office takes a matter of minutes. :-)

--
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/


"Test Man" wrote in message
...
OK, thank you. I did read that article prior to posting my message,
so with
what you said, it seems that I'm going to have to take the plunge
and delete
all the Windows Installer info to reinstall Office, which is gonna
be a big
task I guess.

"Goose[MS]" .(donotspam) wrote in message
...
Try using the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility detailed here to
uninstall
Office:
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;290301

I think I can clarify the use of the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility a
bit. When the Windows Installer was first being created, a tool called
MSIZap was created that would be able to 'zap' an application's Installer
registry information. Later it was included in the Windows Installer SDK
products. That tool is a command line utility that must be used via command
prompt; so it's not the most user friendly utility.

To answer a need for a utility that could more easily be used by the
majority of users that need a way to recover a corrup installation, the
Windows Installer Cleanup Utility was created that leverages the
functionality of MSIZap but provides nice wizard-like UI.

The function of the utility is to remove the remove the corrupted Windows
Installer registry information for an application that was installed via the
Windows Installer. There are several things that it does not do ...
- It does not uninstall any applications
- It does not delete the Windows Installer

After using this utility, the application should then be installed again so
that Setup will function (otherwise, the Windows Installer has no
information that it was ever installed). If the real objective is to remove
a product, it can be uninstalled after this reinstall has occurred.

Sloan Crayton
Microsoft

"Chad Harris" wrote in message
...
Beth--

Appreciate the clarification. I was getting confused with the sentence in
this:

Description of the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;290301

The Windows Installer CleanUp Utility does not:
a.. Remove Windows Installer.
b.. Remove files of any programs that are installed by Windows Installer,
such as Microsoft Office 2003.
Now I know, that if you use the WICU that you are going to uninstall the
app. But I think it means that setup files will remain, and then may be
replaced if damaged or missing by the reinstall of MOS 2003. Correct me
if I mistated this please or could state it better.

Also I wondered a couple thingsgoing over the list and would value your
comment.

1) All items that make use of the MSI or Windows Installer are not listed
in the utility. And I believe some use the MSI in partnership with
Install Shield unless Install Shield makes part of the Windows Installer
for MSFT and sometimes a third party installer and I always though that
one of the problems was, and I'd appreciate any comment that someone will
write a great 3rd party app who is working on his own and doesn't have the
resources/budget of MSFT or a large software company, so they may not be
able to make as good an installer for their product. I don't mean all 3rd
parties at all, but sometimes that this might be a factor in a less than
pristine install or uninstall.

2) Having had my share of problems from time to time installing or
uninstalling apps like Norton AV or System Works or Internet Security, I
know they have their own uninstall utilities and Norotn has KBs for hand
uninstalling various GUIDs, other registry keys, and Norton Shared files,
and what I was getting at was I wonder if using this Clean Up Installer
could help there, and I alos wondered if you could consider it VIP
Add/Remove, i.e. why not go to the Clean Up Utility to remove anything
that's listed when you had occasion to remove it as a more thorough
removal?

Thanks,

Chad Harris

__________________________________________________ ___________________________

"Beth Melton" wrote in message
...
It's not a major task. I've tested the Windows Installer Cleanup
Utility several times and to zap the Installer entries for Office and
reinstall Office takes a matter of minutes. :-)

--
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/


"Test Man" wrote in message
...
OK, thank you. I did read that article prior to posting my message,
so with
what you said, it seems that I'm going to have to take the plunge
and delete
all the Windows Installer info to reinstall Office, which is gonna
be a big
task I guess.

"Goose[MS]" .(donotspam) wrote in message
...
Try using the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility detailed here to
uninstall
Office:
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;290301

Sloan--

Thanks to you and Beth for perspective and clarity on this tool. I
appreciate the perspective a lot because it helps fill in blanks that much
more. I remember going after MSIZap when I had a bear of a setup problem a
couple months ago--I got rid of "wisptis.exe" which MSFT default installs to
support the tablet pen, and then Office wouldn't install for that and other
reasons. Adobe programs as well as Office install wisptis so after my
last dust up I'm leaving alone and just kill it from TM Processes when it
shows up which is often.

There might be more ways to fix that problem having read this group the last
few days that I would be able to try now.

This was really helpful for me in finally getting what the utility does:

The function of the utility is to remove the remove the corrupted Windows
Installer registry information for an application that was installed via the
Windows Installer. There are several things that it does not do ...
- It does not uninstall any applications
- It does not delete the Windows Installer


After using this utility, the application should then be installed again so
that Setup will function (otherwise, the Windows Installer has no
information that it was ever installed). If the real objective is to
remove
a product, it can be uninstalled after this reinstall has occurred.

I find this explanation much more clear than the KB on the utility

http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;290301

because now I understand that *it* doesn't actually uninstall the program,
but that *you* need to uninstall and reinstall the program. It would be
good, I think if the utility had that clarity on it and KB 290301 had your
language in it. I know the KB said it didn't install the program, but a
couple people I talked to intimated it did rather than what you need to do
when you use it.

I appreciate that you and others from [MS] are putting in so much time to
help fill in some blanks with KBs, explanations about tools from the
Resource Kit and tips, because I have been trying to differentiate some of
the tools including LIS. For some of us, setup, and dealing with these logs
is daunting at first because it is more demanding than seeing an error, and
getting a simple KB with a set of steps and a few clicks that solve a
problem.

I wish it weren't necessary to have to resort to the Hotfix verbose logs to
feret out what might be blocking an install, because everyone likes to have
a solution at hand and you don't have much ability to fix if one of the
tools is a log that most users have no way to translate.

Thanks very much for clearing this utility up. If I can just get a handle
on the LIS feature now.

Chad Harris
__________________________________________________ ________________

"Sloan Crayton [MS]" wrote in message
...
I think I can clarify the use of the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility a
bit. When the Windows Installer was first being created, a tool called
MSIZap was created that would be able to 'zap' an application's Installer
registry information. Later it was included in the Windows Installer SDK
products. That tool is a command line utility that must be used via
command prompt; so it's not the most user friendly utility.

To answer a need for a utility that could more easily be used by the
majority of users that need a way to recover a corrup installation, the
Windows Installer Cleanup Utility was created that leverages the
functionality of MSIZap but provides nice wizard-like UI.

The function of the utility is to remove the remove the corrupted Windows
Installer registry information for an application that was installed via
the Windows Installer. There are several things that it does not do ...
- It does not uninstall any applications
- It does not delete the Windows Installer

After using this utility, the application should then be installed again
so that Setup will function (otherwise, the Windows Installer has no
information that it was ever installed). If the real objective is to
remove a product, it can be uninstalled after this reinstall has occurred.

Sloan Crayton
Microsoft

"Chad Harris" wrote in message
...
Beth--

Appreciate the clarification. I was getting confused with the sentence
in this:

Description of the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;290301

The Windows Installer CleanUp Utility does not:
a.. Remove Windows Installer.
b.. Remove files of any programs that are installed by Windows
Installer, such as Microsoft Office 2003.
Now I know, that if you use the WICU that you are going to uninstall the
app. But I think it means that setup files will remain, and then may be
replaced if damaged or missing by the reinstall of MOS 2003. Correct me
if I mistated this please or could state it better.

Also I wondered a couple thingsgoing over the list and would value your
comment.

1) All items that make use of the MSI or Windows Installer are not listed
in the utility. And I believe some use the MSI in partnership with
Install Shield unless Install Shield makes part of the Windows Installer
for MSFT and sometimes a third party installer and I always though that
one of the problems was, and I'd appreciate any comment that someone will
write a great 3rd party app who is working on his own and doesn't have
the resources/budget of MSFT or a large software company, so they may not
be able to make as good an installer for their product. I don't mean all
3rd parties at all, but sometimes that this might be a factor in a less
than pristine install or uninstall.

2) Having had my share of problems from time to time installing or
uninstalling apps like Norton AV or System Works or Internet Security, I
know they have their own uninstall utilities and Norotn has KBs for hand
uninstalling various GUIDs, other registry keys, and Norton Shared files,
and what I was getting at was I wonder if using this Clean Up Installer
could help there, and I alos wondered if you could consider it VIP
Add/Remove, i.e. why not go to the Clean Up Utility to remove anything
that's listed when you had occasion to remove it as a more thorough
removal?

Thanks,

Chad Harris

__________________________________________________ ___________________________

"Beth Melton" wrote in message
...
It's not a major task. I've tested the Windows Installer Cleanup
Utility several times and to zap the Installer entries for Office and
reinstall Office takes a matter of minutes. :-)

--
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/


"Test Man" wrote in message
...
OK, thank you. I did read that article prior to posting my message,
so with
what you said, it seems that I'm going to have to take the plunge
and delete
all the Windows Installer info to reinstall Office, which is gonna
be a big
task I guess.

"Goose[MS]" .(donotspam) wrote in message
...
Try using the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility detailed here to
uninstall
Office:
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;290301

I guess I need to take another look at KB290301 since I helped to create it.
g

As for reading the log files, I'll agree that it's an art that is not easily
mastered. I get help from others in interpreting them. Each Office release
adds a few wrinkles to the interpretation, and I'll take a look at the
creation of a log interpretation KB (as we have for the initial Setup MSI
logs).

Sloan Crayton
Microsoft

"Chad Harris" wrote in message
...
Sloan--

Thanks to you and Beth for perspective and clarity on this tool. I
appreciate the perspective a lot because it helps fill in blanks that much
more. I remember going after MSIZap when I had a bear of a setup problem
a couple months ago--I got rid of "wisptis.exe" which MSFT default
installs to support the tablet pen, and then Office wouldn't install for
that and other reasons. Adobe programs as well as Office install
wisptis so after my last dust up I'm leaving alone and just kill it from
TM Processes when it shows up which is often.

There might be more ways to fix that problem having read this group the
last few days that I would be able to try now.

This was really helpful for me in finally getting what the utility does:

The function of the utility is to remove the remove the corrupted Windows
Installer registry information for an application that was installed via
the
Windows Installer. There are several things that it does not do ...
- It does not uninstall any applications
- It does not delete the Windows Installer


After using this utility, the application should then be installed again
so
that Setup will function (otherwise, the Windows Installer has no
information that it was ever installed). If the real objective is to
remove
a product, it can be uninstalled after this reinstall has occurred.

I find this explanation much more clear than the KB on the utility

http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;290301

because now I understand that *it* doesn't actually uninstall the program,
but that *you* need to uninstall and reinstall the program. It would be
good, I think if the utility had that clarity on it and KB 290301 had your
language in it. I know the KB said it didn't install the program, but a
couple people I talked to intimated it did rather than what you need to do
when you use it.

I appreciate that you and others from [MS] are putting in so much time to
help fill in some blanks with KBs, explanations about tools from the
Resource Kit and tips, because I have been trying to differentiate some of
the tools including LIS. For some of us, setup, and dealing with these
logs is daunting at first because it is more demanding than seeing an
error, and getting a simple KB with a set of steps and a few clicks that
solve a problem.

I wish it weren't necessary to have to resort to the Hotfix verbose logs
to feret out what might be blocking an install, because everyone likes to
have a solution at hand and you don't have much ability to fix if one of
the tools is a log that most users have no way to translate.

Thanks very much for clearing this utility up. If I can just get a handle
on the LIS feature now.

Chad Harris
__________________________________________________ ________________

"Sloan Crayton [MS]" wrote in message
...
I think I can clarify the use of the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility a
bit. When the Windows Installer was first being created, a tool called
MSIZap was created that would be able to 'zap' an application's Installer
registry information. Later it was included in the Windows Installer SDK
products. That tool is a command line utility that must be used via
command prompt; so it's not the most user friendly utility.

To answer a need for a utility that could more easily be used by the
majority of users that need a way to recover a corrup installation, the
Windows Installer Cleanup Utility was created that leverages the
functionality of MSIZap but provides nice wizard-like UI.

The function of the utility is to remove the remove the corrupted Windows
Installer registry information for an application that was installed via
the Windows Installer. There are several things that it does not do ...
- It does not uninstall any applications
- It does not delete the Windows Installer

After using this utility, the application should then be installed again
so that Setup will function (otherwise, the Windows Installer has no
information that it was ever installed). If the real objective is to
remove a product, it can be uninstalled after this reinstall has
occurred.

Sloan Crayton
Microsoft

"Chad Harris" wrote in message
...
Beth--

Appreciate the clarification. I was getting confused with the sentence
in this:

Description of the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;290301

The Windows Installer CleanUp Utility does not:
a.. Remove Windows Installer.
b.. Remove files of any programs that are installed by Windows
Installer, such as Microsoft Office 2003.
Now I know, that if you use the WICU that you are going to uninstall the
app. But I think it means that setup files will remain, and then may be
replaced if damaged or missing by the reinstall of MOS 2003. Correct me
if I mistated this please or could state it better.

Also I wondered a couple thingsgoing over the list and would value your
comment.

1) All items that make use of the MSI or Windows Installer are not
listed in the utility. And I believe some use the MSI in partnership
with Install Shield unless Install Shield makes part of the Windows
Installer for MSFT and sometimes a third party installer and I always
though that one of the problems was, and I'd appreciate any comment that
someone will write a great 3rd party app who is working on his own and
doesn't have the resources/budget of MSFT or a large software company,
so they may not be able to make as good an installer for their product.
I don't mean all 3rd parties at all, but sometimes that this might be a
factor in a less than pristine install or uninstall.

2) Having had my share of problems from time to time installing or
uninstalling apps like Norton AV or System Works or Internet Security, I
know they have their own uninstall utilities and Norotn has KBs for hand
uninstalling various GUIDs, other registry keys, and Norton Shared
files, and what I was getting at was I wonder if using this Clean Up
Installer could help there, and I alos wondered if you could consider it
VIP Add/Remove, i.e. why not go to the Clean Up Utility to remove
anything that's listed when you had occasion to remove it as a more
thorough removal?

Thanks,

Chad Harris

__________________________________________________ ___________________________

"Beth Melton" wrote in message
...
It's not a major task. I've tested the Windows Installer Cleanup
Utility several times and to zap the Installer entries for Office and
reinstall Office takes a matter of minutes. :-)

--
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/


"Test Man" wrote in message
...
OK, thank you. I did read that article prior to posting my message,
so with
what you said, it seems that I'm going to have to take the plunge
and delete
all the Windows Installer info to reinstall Office, which is gonna
be a big
task I guess.

"Goose[MS]" .(donotspam) wrote in message
...
Try using the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility detailed here to
uninstall
Office:
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;290301