Installation errors in Office

I have had errors occur repeatedly when I try to
a) reinstall Office,
b) Detect and Fix errors in Office,
c) update Office automatically or manually,
d) add or remove features from my Office installation.

I have had a few problems in Office itself (e.g. problems with custom
dictionaries), and because of this, I have been unable to repair them.

I am using a current version of Office 2003 Professional running a
completely updated Windows XP, on a Dell Inspiron 8600 machine, and I am very
frustrated that I cannot repair Office or keep it up-to-date.

Does anyone has any recommendations on how to get around these installation
problems?

Patrick Julius,
Please post the specific errors. Without this information there is no way to
troubleshoot the original problems...

Chris Schatte

use the Office Online web based newsreader he
http://www.microsoft.com/office/comm...s/default.mspx
In Office System 2003 applications:
Help/Assistance Pane/open Communities

"Patrick Julius" wrote:

I have had errors occur repeatedly when I try to
a) reinstall Office,
b) Detect and Fix errors in Office,
c) update Office automatically or manually,
d) add or remove features from my Office installation.

I have had a few problems in Office itself (e.g. problems with custom
dictionaries), and because of this, I have been unable to repair them.

I am using a current version of Office 2003 Professional running a
completely updated Windows XP, on a Dell Inspiron 8600 machine, and I am very
frustrated that I cannot repair Office or keep it up-to-date.

Does anyone has any recommendations on how to get around these installation
problems?

Unfortunately, the error messages are extremely unhelpful.

For example, here is what occurred when I replicated the problem by
attempting a Detect and Fix operation:

The process begins normally; the first major step is "Gathering required
information..."
The progress bar fills up slowly, gets about halfway, and then I receive a
modal dialog box saying:
"Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003 Setup failed."

I click OK, and both dialogs close, and the Detect and Fix is canceled.

Every once in awhile, I get the opportunity to send an error report to
Microsoft, but even this does not always happen.

I wish I could give more information, but I don't have information to give.
There is no "Details...." button or anything of that nature to help explain
the source of the error.

All I know is that it happens every single time I try to do anything with
Office setup, running locally or from the original installation CD.