Cannot install patches in Office 2003

G

Graham McCann

If this request for help is on a topice already well covered in the
past I apologise but I have just started subscribing to this
newsgroup.

I have an odd problem for which I cannot seem to find a resolution
from the Microsoft Knowledge Base, newsgroups or Googling. Perhaps
you can help.

I recently downloaded a patch for Word in Office 2003. For the record
the patch file was: office2003-KB917334-FullFile-ENU.EXE

I have had no problems with earlier Office patches or with current
automatic updates to Windows XP.

When I ran the file all seemed to go as normal until I received the
message that "Update cannot be applied" with no recommended action.
Checking through the KB topics I came across mention of the mention of
the Ohotfix log in Documents and Setting/graham/temp/hotfix. The
closing few lines of the log file were:

Seeing if patch
C:\DOCUME~1\Graham\LOCALS~1\Temp\IXP000.TMP\WINWORDff.msp is needed...
The update failed.
Finished processing the update on 07/24/2006 at 09:14:06.
Encountered error 1612 while updating.
Launching Setup Watson...
Could not find dw.exe.

dw.exe is a Dr Watson utility which apparently collects failure data.

Microsoft KB article 290158 states that the error code means:
ERROR_INSTALL_SOURCE_ ABSENT 1612 The installation source for this
product is not available. Verify that the source exists and that you
can access it.

I thought I would try the Detect and Repair utility in one of the
Office products but this failed with the same message as above.

Tried Control Panel/Add Remove software and went to the Office 2003
item and tried Change option to try and get the problem repaired. Same
error message. I have a feeling that if I tried Remove then there
might be uninstall problems, but I hope I do not have to go down that
path

At no stage was the installation CD sought

I thought I would try from the start and inserted the original
installation CD but it would not run automatically. Clicked on
Setup.exe but received a Windows Installer error which was very
similar to the one shown above. Thus an over the top reinstall or
repair was not an option. Office 2003 has had two Service Packs but I
doubt that a streamed installation CD would have made any difference.
Interestingly, I ran SP2 to see if it would accept it and all went
perfectly, ending with the obviously accurate message that I already
had SP2 installed. This seems to me to suggest that Windows Installer
may not necessarily be a cause of the problem

I have the Windows Install Clean Up program installed and Office 2003
is listed there. Some of the articles I have read advise that the
Office 2003 entry should be deleted to clear out Registry/installer
errors but are not at all clear what are the consequences and what
should be the further actions. My Office programs are full of little
configuration settings I have made and there are a few add-ons (none
recent) thus I am not keen to do an uninstall and reinstall as all the
Office programs are running just fine. All I cannot do is apply
patches.

I am reluctant to fiddle further without some authoritative guidance
as my PC needs to be functioning all the time as it is a working tool,
not a hobby device.

Can you offer any advice please?

Thanks.

Graham
 

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