Error 1706 during Office XP SP3 installation

[dunkafife]

Hello!

Here's the situation. I bought a Dell with Office XP and Windows XP Pro
already loaded. I'm sure I got media but cannot lay hands on it right now.
So, I install the normal XP SP3 and all is well. The website tells me I need
to load the Office XP SP3. Fine. Since I can't find my original CD's, I
download the full file version (because it doesn't need CD's, right?). I
start the install and wouldn't you know... it prompts me for media! Well,
obviously I had to cancel the update since I don't have the media. I got
error 1706 Setup cannot find the required files. So, I get all the way out
of the error and start poking around to see if any damage was done.

It appears Outlook and Word are okay, however, starting Excel restarts the
SP3 update and gives me the same error (1706) again. This happens everytime
I try to start Excel. So, Excel is unusable. This is a problem.

Can anyone help me recover from this update fiasco? What am I missing here?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Jonty R P]

Your only choice is to have a good search and find the media!

If you really can't find it, I think Dell will replace lost media, but I've
never had to do that, so don't know the process. You should have a look on
the Dell website, http://www.dell.com or contact Dell Technical Support by
phone.

Unfortunately I've found that for most updates for Office XP you do have to
have your original media available. The latest version of Office (Version
2003) has reduced the need for this in that it caches the installation files
in a hidden folder on the HDD and uses those when it needs to during an
update.

HTH
Jonathan.

 

[dunkafife]

No such luck on the CD's yet. That's what I get for cleaning up my
office!!!!! Anyway, I posted this same issue on Dell's website and there
they said I should try to use System Restore to see if I can get Excel back.
Would you recommend this? I'm a little leery of doing anything else that
could possibly make my situation worse. Thoughts?