Cannot install Office 2004 for Mac - .DS_store error

[scratchnwinc]

I did a clean erase/install of Tiger et al on my new-to-me used G4.
Incremental software updates etc., now running 10.4.10. Re-installing
my apps -- Office 2004 for Mac (student/teacher version) hangs and
fails.

If I use the Setup Assistant, I can get through the entire
registration and customization part but when I get to actually
installing files, I just get the striped progress bar. No progress. No
files copied number, no files remaining number. After 25 minutes, I
have to force quit relaunch finder in order to eject the disk
(spinning beachball)

If I drag the Microsoft Office folder to my hard drive or my
applications folder or any other subfolder, files begin to copy, all
looks good for a few minutes while files prepare to copy and then
start to copy, 10-12 minutes remaining... then I get an error message
like "finder could not copy the file or folder because the .DS_Store
date could not be read or written. Error -36." Have to stop the
install and eject the disk.

I've googled and found out how to view the .DS_store files, tried
deleting them (but they come right back). I've repaired permissions
and restarted multiple times. I created a new user account (even
though on a brand-new install that seems weird.)

Still no go. Any suggestions? I am out of ideas.

 

[Elliott Roper]

I did a clean erase/install of Tiger et al on my new-to-me used G4.
Incremental software updates etc., now running 10.4.10. Re-installing
my apps -- Office 2004 for Mac (student/teacher version) hangs and
fails.

If I use the Setup Assistant, I can get through the entire
registration and customization part but when I get to actually
installing files, I just get the striped progress bar. No progress. No
files copied number, no files remaining number. After 25 minutes, I
have to force quit relaunch finder in order to eject the disk
(spinning beachball)

If I drag the Microsoft Office folder to my hard drive or my
applications folder or any other subfolder, files begin to copy, all
looks good for a few minutes while files prepare to copy and then
start to copy, 10-12 minutes remaining... then I get an error message
like "finder could not copy the file or folder because the .DS_Store
date could not be read or written. Error -36." Have to stop the
install and eject the disk.

I've googled and found out how to view the .DS_store files, tried
deleting them (but they come right back). I've repaired permissions
and restarted multiple times. I created a new user account (even
though on a brand-new install that seems weird.)

Still no go. Any suggestions? I am out of ideas.

Are you doing the installing from an Admin account? I think you have
to, because Office sprays files all over your machine as though it
owned it already. A .dstore file is just a remnant of OS9's resource
fork for a folder (usually). I bet you don't have write privs for the
directory (folder) into which the installer is trying to create a
subfolder. The .dstore seems to be the first cab of the rank, so Word's
installer adds to the misery by misreporting its own malconfiguration.

 

[Corentin Cras-Méneur]

I bet you don't have write privs for the
directory (folder) into which the installer is trying to create a
subfolder. The .dstore seems to be the first cab of the rank, so Word's
installer adds to the misery by misreporting its own malconfiguration.

It could also be a permission error. You could launch DiskUtility to
repair Permissions on the Mac to see if it Help,


Corentin

 

[scratchnwinc]

It could also be a permission error. You could launch DiskUtility to
repair Permissions on the Mac to see if it Help,

Corentin

Both accounts I've tried are admin accounts. I've tried repairing
permissions, a few times. I guess I could look at the info and rights
for the folder I've tried installing it in Applications, in a
subfolder of Applications, and also just directly on the hard drive.
I'm able to install other stuff there though -- hmm, I think I am
anyway. Have to check that tonight.

 

[Elliott Roper]

It could also be a permission error. You could launch DiskUtility to
repair Permissions on the Mac to see if it Help,

privs == permissions (I'm a VMS guy. Sometimes I backslide)
If it does, there is something wrong. MS Installs ignore the BOM files,
which is what repair permissions uses as input.
see
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25751
Therefore you have to postulate some other mechanism has messed with
permissions, and the BOMs left behind by other software miraculously
makes it right for Word again, even though Word refuses to play nicely
with the other children
Word plonks its own private mess inside /Applications/Microsoft
AutoUpdate.app bundle and leaves a boogie called MAU (mumble) Update
Log right at the top of /Volumes. If it were a teenager, its mum would
tell it to tidy its room before dinner.
I sincerely hope that Microsoft tidies its room before releasing Office
2008.
If the OP wants to open the above MAU file in a text editor, the last
entry might give him a clue to the identity of folder he lacked write
access for. My guess it's /Applications

Finally, may I recommend
http://daringfireball.net/2006/04/repair_permissions_voodoo

 

[Elliott Roper]

Ah, you got this far while I was writing my other rant.
You are doing a straight install rather than an autoupdate, so the
installer log you want to look at is:
(oh damn! I must have got so annoyed looking at the mess every day..
try spotlighting office and log. You might have better luck than I did.

 

[scratchnwinc]

Word plonks its own private mess inside /Applications/Microsoft
AutoUpdate.app bundle and leaves a boogie called MAU (mumble) Update
Log right at the top of /Volumes. If it were a teenager, its mum would
tell it to tidy its room before dinner.
I sincerely hope that Microsoft tidies its room before releasing Office
2008.
If the OP wants to open the above MAU file in a text editor, the last
entry might give him a clue to the identity of folder he lacked write
access for. My guess it's /Applications

Finally, may I recommendhttp://daringfireball.net/2006/04/repair_permissions_voodoo

I liked the repair permissions voodoo link.. That old "zap the pram
voodoo" was the best.. "Wait for the seventh chime..." I always felt
like I should be chanting and wearing a dark hood when I did it.

The rest of your post I had to run through my babelfish translator,
since I am not fluent in Macspeak above the third grade level... I
think what you suggested I do (when I am back at my mac this evening
to try it) is: look for a MAU Update log to see what it shows about
the folder for which I lack read and/or write access (the error
message refers to both) but I am not sure where exactly where to look
for it. I imagine I have to do another failed install first to leave
any mess in there anyway, as there is nothing right now (I cleaned it
up and threw it out in disgust) so I will dig around when I am back at
the Mac later.

Thanks for the help, I'll post updates.

 

[scratchnwinc]

short story: I gave up and just transfered the Office X program I had
on my G3. Thanks for the help anyway.

 

[Elliott Roper]

short story: I gave up and just transfered the Office X program I had
on my G3. Thanks for the help anyway.

Ha! You think that's the end of the story?

see ya soon.
You will be back with font problems.

 

[Diane Ross]

short story: I gave up and just transfered the Office X program I had
on my G3. Thanks for the help anyway.

Office X is not Daylight Saving Time compliant. You can't use your Entourage
2004 mail with Entourage X.

On the Error Page, -36 isn't listed but it falls in the range of other disk
problems and file corruption.

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/error/page.html#error-34>

I would be sure to test the integrality of your "new" used G4 hard drive.
You might need to run Disk Repair and install Tiger again and your files.
I'm afraid you'll have serious problems down the road.