Installation Fails

[steveg]

As a recent convert to Mac computers I have a lot of learning to do when it comes to fault finding. I recently purchased a new 24" IMac and set it up with no dramas. I was using Office 2004 STE (it is also installed & working properly on my MacBook Pro) until it decided that it couldn't find either of my printers. I was unable to resolve this problem so in my haste I uninstalled Office. This may have been a big mistake as now when I try to reinstall Office I get no further than selecting a language (english), clicking on "next" I get the following message "The Application Quit Unexpectedly". I have read through numerous forums etc & tried lots of the suggestions such as using the "Remove" tools etc & attempted reinstallion using both options from the Disk all to no avail. The following are the first few lines of the crash report generated:- Process: Microsoft Word [177] Path: /Applications/Microsoft Office 2004/Microsoft Word Identifier: com.microsoft.Word Version: 050714 (11.2.0) Code Type: PPC (Translated) Parent Process: launchd [104] Date/Time: 2008-02-10 17:43:00.344 +1100 OS Version: Mac OS X 10.5.1 (9B18) Report Version: 6 Exception Type: EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGBUS) Exception Codes: KERN_PROTECTION_FAILURE at 0x0000000000000005 Crashed Thread: 0 Can anybody cast any light on what might be causing this problem please? Thanks for any Help, Steve.

 

[Diane Ross]

As a recent convert to Mac computers I have a lot of learning to do when it
comes to fault finding.

A quick way to troubleshoot is to test in a new User. This will eliminate
your User's folder and installed applications from the mix.

Go to System Preferences --> Create a New User in Accounts. Switch to the
New User by logging out/in or use Fast User Switching. Test there.

See Troubleshooting basics for more help:

... in my haste I uninstalled
Office. This may have been a big mistake as now when I try to reinstall Office
I get no further than selecting a language (english), clicking on "next" I get
the following message "The Application Quit Unexpectedly".

Unexpected quits can have many solutions. Check these out.

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/troubleshoot/crashes.html#crash30>

If you don't find a solution, please let us know.

Welcome to the Mac. I have a few tips posted to help new users here:

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/new2mac/index.html>

 

[steveg]

Hi Diane, Thanks for your help so far. The information you've offered is very interesting.

To date I've tried setting up a new user & atempting the Install but it made no difference.

I've tried repairing permissions, renaming the cache, updating to 10.5.2 and even running the Combo update all to no avail.

I'm planning on trying an "Archive and Install" as the next step. If that doesn't work I might just forget about trying to use Microsoft software altogether & update to IWork 08.

Cheers for now,
Steve.

 

[steveg]

Hi Diane, Thanks again for your help. I have now resolved this issue by performing an "Archive & Install" of Leopard. Whatever was causing the problem has now been rectified & the program Installed properly & seems to be now working as expected, including finding my printers etc. Hopefully future OSX updates don't cause it to happen again.

Cheers for now,
Steve.

 

[Diane Ross]

Hi Diane, Thanks again for your help. I have now resolved this issue by
performing an "Archive & Install" of Leopard. Whatever was causing the problem
has now been rectified & the program Installed properly & seems to be now
working as expected, including finding my printers etc. Hopefully future OSX
updates don't cause it to happen again.

Glad to hear things are working for you. Many think advising "Archive &
Install" is over the top, but sometimes it's required.

We've discussed using SuperDuper!(backup software) before, but this is an
excellent time to remind users about a feature it has that protects you from
system updates that so bad.

One of the options in SuperDuper! is to create what the author calls a
"Sandbox". It's used to revert to pre-update state of your OS. Here's a
description of how this option works:

A Sandbox is a bootable copy of your system, stored on another hard drive or
partition, that shares your personal documents and data with the original.
With SuperDuper!, you actually use the Sandbox as your startup volume. You
can safely install any system updates, drivers or programs in the Sandbox,
without worrying about what might happen to your system. If anything goes
wrong, you can simply start up from the original system. SuperDuper! has
preserved it in its original, pre-disaster state but all your new and
changed personal documents are totally up to date. Within minutes, you're up
and running again without having to go through a difficult and
time-consuming restore process.

SuperDuper! Is $27.95. I¹m not affiliated with the product. Just a satisfied
user. <http://www.shirt-pocket.com/>

 

[stevemg]

Great advice by the sounds of it, I'll check it out now. I can do without those sorts of troubles again.
Thanks, Steve.