Deploying different versions of Office XP SP3 via a LAN

[David Richards]

Hi,

I wondering if someone out there could give me some advice. I have
approximately 200 machines all running Windows XP Pro with Office XP Pro.
The software was installed from the CD. There are a number of different
versions of office distributed through the site. I.E. OEM and Corporate
Edition. Also the service pack level differs on each machine.

I was wondering what the best way to deploy and manage SP3 would be. I would
obviously like to do this via the network. I thought about setting up a
Admin installation point (is that right?) but have concerns about the
installation failing due to the different versions of Office.

Ideally there will be no user interaction and the update will be installed
in the background. Is this possible?

Thanks in advance
Dave

 

[Susan Ramlet]

Hi, David,

If Office was installed from CD, you can't patch it from an administrative
installation point.

Hopefully, a local install source (LIS) was retained on each system after
installation so that patching will not require the original CD.

You'll need to find a different way to push the patch to your desktops.
Here are a couple of articles that might help:

Strategies for updating Office 2003
http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/updates/patch_o2k3.htm

Excerpt:
You can use a variety of methods to distribute the patches to users, such as
the following:

a.. Use a tool such as Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) or Tivoli
to deploy the update.
b.. Post the EXE file that contains the patch on a network share and
direct all users to run it.
c.. Use the stand-alone version of the OHotFix utility to extract the
patch (MSP file) from the EXE file and apply it to users' computers.
Toolbox The OHotFix utility is packaged in a self-extracting executable
file and is available on the Office Resource Kit Web site. Download Download
OHotFix (Offinst.exe) from the Office XP Resource Kit Toolbox.

Taking Advantage of a Local Installation Source
http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/2003/two/ch3/DepC06.htm

 

[Susan Ramlet]

Hi, David,

If Office was installed from CD, you can't patch it from an administrative
installation point.

Hopefully, a local install source (LIS) was retained on each system after
installation so that patching will not require the original CD.

You'll need to find a different way to push the patch to your desktops.
Here are a couple of articles that might help:

Strategies for updating Office 2003
http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/updates/patch_o2k3.htm

Excerpt:
You can use a variety of methods to distribute the patches to users, such as
the following:

a.. Use a tool such as Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) or Tivoli
to deploy the update.
b.. Post the EXE file that contains the patch on a network share and
direct all users to run it.
c.. Use the stand-alone version of the OHotFix utility to extract the
patch (MSP file) from the EXE file and apply it to users' computers.
Toolbox The OHotFix utility is packaged in a self-extracting executable
file and is available on the Office Resource Kit Web site. Download Download
OHotFix (Offinst.exe) from the Office XP Resource Kit Toolbox.

Taking Advantage of a Local Installation Source
http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/2003/two/ch3/DepC06.htm

 

[Susan Ramlet]

Hi, David,

If Office was installed from CD, you can't patch it from an administrative
installation point.

Hopefully, a local install source (LIS) was retained on each system after
installation so that patching will not require the original CD.

You'll need to find a different way to push the patch to your desktops.
Here are a couple of articles that might help:

Strategies for updating Office 2003
http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/updates/patch_o2k3.htm

Excerpt:
You can use a variety of methods to distribute the patches to users, such as
the following:

a.. Use a tool such as Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) or Tivoli
to deploy the update.
b.. Post the EXE file that contains the patch on a network share and
direct all users to run it.
c.. Use the stand-alone version of the OHotFix utility to extract the
patch (MSP file) from the EXE file and apply it to users' computers.
Toolbox The OHotFix utility is packaged in a self-extracting executable
file and is available on the Office Resource Kit Web site. Download Download
OHotFix (Offinst.exe) from the Office XP Resource Kit Toolbox.

Taking Advantage of a Local Installation Source
http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/2003/two/ch3/DepC06.htm

 

[Susan Ramlet]

Hi, David,

If Office was installed from CD, you can't patch it from an administrative
installation point.

Hopefully, a local install source (LIS) was retained on each system after
installation so that patching will not require the original CD.

You'll need to find a different way to push the patch to your desktops.
Here are a couple of articles that might help:

Strategies for updating Office 2003
http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/updates/patch_o2k3.htm

Excerpt:
You can use a variety of methods to distribute the patches to users, such as
the following:

a.. Use a tool such as Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) or Tivoli
to deploy the update.
b.. Post the EXE file that contains the patch on a network share and
direct all users to run it.
c.. Use the stand-alone version of the OHotFix utility to extract the
patch (MSP file) from the EXE file and apply it to users' computers.
Toolbox The OHotFix utility is packaged in a self-extracting executable
file and is available on the Office Resource Kit Web site. Download Download
OHotFix (Offinst.exe) from the Office XP Resource Kit Toolbox.

Taking Advantage of a Local Installation Source
http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/2003/two/ch3/DepC06.htm

 

[Susan Ramlet]

Hi, David,

If Office was installed from CD, you can't patch it from an administrative
installation point.

Hopefully, a local install source (LIS) was retained on each system after
installation so that patching will not require the original CD.

You'll need to find a different way to push the patch to your desktops.
Here are a couple of articles that might help:

Strategies for updating Office 2003
http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/updates/patch_o2k3.htm

Excerpt:
You can use a variety of methods to distribute the patches to users, such as
the following:

a.. Use a tool such as Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) or Tivoli
to deploy the update.
b.. Post the EXE file that contains the patch on a network share and
direct all users to run it.
c.. Use the stand-alone version of the OHotFix utility to extract the
patch (MSP file) from the EXE file and apply it to users' computers.
Toolbox The OHotFix utility is packaged in a self-extracting executable
file and is available on the Office Resource Kit Web site. Download Download
OHotFix (Offinst.exe) from the Office XP Resource Kit Toolbox.

Taking Advantage of a Local Installation Source
http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/2003/two/ch3/DepC06.htm

 

[Susan Ramlet]

Hi, David,

If Office was installed from CD, you can't patch it from an administrative
installation point.

Hopefully, a local install source (LIS) was retained on each system after
installation so that patching will not require the original CD.

You'll need to find a different way to push the patch to your desktops.
Here are a couple of articles that might help:

Strategies for updating Office 2003
http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/updates/patch_o2k3.htm

Excerpt:
You can use a variety of methods to distribute the patches to users, such as
the following:

a.. Use a tool such as Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) or Tivoli
to deploy the update.
b.. Post the EXE file that contains the patch on a network share and
direct all users to run it.
c.. Use the stand-alone version of the OHotFix utility to extract the
patch (MSP file) from the EXE file and apply it to users' computers.
Toolbox The OHotFix utility is packaged in a self-extracting executable
file and is available on the Office Resource Kit Web site. Download Download
OHotFix (Offinst.exe) from the Office XP Resource Kit Toolbox.

Taking Advantage of a Local Installation Source
http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/2003/two/ch3/DepC06.htm

 

[Susan Ramlet]

Hi, David,

If Office was installed from CD, you can't patch it from an administrative
installation point.

Hopefully, a local install source (LIS) was retained on each system after
installation so that patching will not require the original CD.

You'll need to find a different way to push the patch to your desktops.
Here are a couple of articles that might help:

Strategies for updating Office 2003
http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/updates/patch_o2k3.htm

Excerpt:
You can use a variety of methods to distribute the patches to users, such as
the following:

a.. Use a tool such as Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) or Tivoli
to deploy the update.
b.. Post the EXE file that contains the patch on a network share and
direct all users to run it.
c.. Use the stand-alone version of the OHotFix utility to extract the
patch (MSP file) from the EXE file and apply it to users' computers.
Toolbox The OHotFix utility is packaged in a self-extracting executable
file and is available on the Office Resource Kit Web site. Download Download
OHotFix (Offinst.exe) from the Office XP Resource Kit Toolbox.

Taking Advantage of a Local Installation Source
http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/2003/two/ch3/DepC06.htm

 

[Susan Ramlet]

Hi, David,

If Office was installed from CD, you can't patch it from an administrative
installation point.

Hopefully, a local install source (LIS) was retained on each system after
installation so that patching will not require the original CD.

You'll need to find a different way to push the patch to your desktops.
Here are a couple of articles that might help:

Strategies for updating Office 2003
http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/updates/patch_o2k3.htm

Excerpt:
You can use a variety of methods to distribute the patches to users, such as
the following:

a.. Use a tool such as Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) or Tivoli
to deploy the update.
b.. Post the EXE file that contains the patch on a network share and
direct all users to run it.
c.. Use the stand-alone version of the OHotFix utility to extract the
patch (MSP file) from the EXE file and apply it to users' computers.
Toolbox The OHotFix utility is packaged in a self-extracting executable
file and is available on the Office Resource Kit Web site. Download Download
OHotFix (Offinst.exe) from the Office XP Resource Kit Toolbox.

Taking Advantage of a Local Installation Source
http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/2003/two/ch3/DepC06.htm

 

[Susan Ramlet]

Hi, David,

If Office was installed from CD, you can't patch it from an administrative
installation point.

Hopefully, a local install source (LIS) was retained on each system after
installation so that patching will not require the original CD.

You'll need to find a different way to push the patch to your desktops.
Here are a couple of articles that might help:

Strategies for updating Office 2003
http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/updates/patch_o2k3.htm

Excerpt:
You can use a variety of methods to distribute the patches to users, such as
the following:

a.. Use a tool such as Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) or Tivoli
to deploy the update.
b.. Post the EXE file that contains the patch on a network share and
direct all users to run it.
c.. Use the stand-alone version of the OHotFix utility to extract the
patch (MSP file) from the EXE file and apply it to users' computers.
Toolbox The OHotFix utility is packaged in a self-extracting executable
file and is available on the Office Resource Kit Web site. Download Download
OHotFix (Offinst.exe) from the Office XP Resource Kit Toolbox.

Taking Advantage of a Local Installation Source
http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/2003/two/ch3/DepC06.htm