MS Office 2004 applications do not start

[dmitri.zakharov]

Hi everybody,

I purchased iMac with MS Office 2004 Test Drive pre-installed on it.
Here are my iMac specs:

Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac5,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.16 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache (per processor): 4 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz
Boot ROM Version: IM51.0090.B08
SMC Version: 1.9f4

MS Office 2004 Test Drive was working just fine. Then after 30 days
expired I didn't touch it for a while. A couple of days ago I
purchased MS Office 2004 Standard Edition with Service Pack 2 at
Concordia University computer store (Montreal, Canada). I dragged MS
Office 2004 Test Drive folder from /Applications to the Trash Bin
before I found readme file that explained that I have to use Remove
Office application to uninstall it.

Now when I insert MS Office Standard Edition installation disk, the
Setup Assistant, which is recommended way to install, doesn't run when
I double click it. I drag-n-drop Office folder to the application (the
second way to install). The files are copied fine but when I double
click application icons, they don't start.

I browsed on support sites, tried to remove MS Office directories
manually and reinstall Office but the same story.

I copied Remove Office program from the new disk to the hard drive.
Double click it and it doesn't start.

I currently downloading Mac OSX Update Combo 10.4.10 (suggestion found
in one of the threads on similar issue).

If anybody had a similar problem please share your experience. Any
suggestions and leads are greatly appreciated.

Thank you.
- Dmitri

 

[JE McGimpsey]

I currently downloading Mac OSX Update Combo 10.4.10 (suggestion found
in one of the threads on similar issue).

If anybody had a similar problem please share your experience. Any
suggestions and leads are greatly appreciated.

Dozens of people have had a similar problem, but it's premature to ask
for suggestions until you finish following the ones you've already
gotten!

Though I'll suggest one more - you can run the Remove Office app from
the CD - no need to copy it to your hard drive...

 

[Diane Ross]

Removing the Test Drive is Microsoft's shame.

* You may need to run the Remove Office application more than once.
* "Successfully Removed" is not always true.

You could try running "Remove Office" a couple of more times to see if that
would help. I've even heard of users having to re-install the demo just so
they could remove it properly.

It seems you have researched the problem and have tried most of the
available solutions. The next step would be to do an "Archive & Install" and
if that doesn't work, wipe your drive and install the OS and Office along
with your other applications without the x#%@!!^ test drive ever showing
it's face on your drive.

"Archive and Install" moves existing system files to a folder named Previous
System and then installs Mac OS X again.

Just be sure to check Preserve Users and Network Settings when you select
Archive & Install.

General advice on performing an Archive and Install

<http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/archiveinstall.html>

--
Diane Ross, Microsoft Mac MVP
Entourage Help Page <http://www.entourage.mvps.org/>
Entourage Help Blog <http://blog.entourage.mvps.org/>

 

[dmitri.zakharov]

Though I'll suggest one more - you can run the Remove Office app from
the CD - no need to copy it to your hard drive...

Just finished to install Mac OSX Update Combo 10.4.10. Restarted
computer. Ran Repair Disk Permission
from Disk Utility. When I insert MS Office 2004 installation disk
Office Setup Assistant still doesn't start.
Remove Office utility doesn't start from CD either.

The problem is that I moved the Test Drive installation to the Trash
manually. I don't have the same
version to reinstall and to try to run Remove from there.

 

[dmitri.zakharov]

Removing the Test Drive is Microsoft's shame.

* You may need to run the Remove Office application more than once.
* "Successfully Removed" is not always true.

You could try running "Remove Office" a couple of more times to see if that
would help. I've even heard of users having to re-install the demo just so
they could remove it properly.

It seems you have researched the problem and have tried most of the
available solutions. The next step would be to do an "Archive & Install" and
if that doesn't work, wipe your drive and install the OS and Office along
with your other applications without the x#%@!!^ test drive ever showing
it's face on your drive.

"Archive and Install" moves existing system files to a folder named Previous
System and then installs Mac OS X again.

Just be sure to check Preserve Users and Network Settings when you select
Archive & Install.

General advice on performing an Archive and Install

<http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/archiveinstall.html>

Hello Diane,

Thanks for reply. If I do Archive & Restore, am I gonna loose all my
stuff - iTunes library, photos, movies etc.?Will I be able to see them
from new installation?

If files might be lost I would need to buy an external drive and to
backup all my stuff. I really need to fix this problem as soon as
possible. My wife starts teaching her course at the university this
week. She's gonna rip out hair on my ass for switching from PC to
Mac. ;-(

 

[dmitri.zakharov]

Just finished to install Mac OSX Update Combo 10.4.10. Restarted
computer. Ran Repair Disk Permission
from Disk Utility. When I insert MS Office 2004 installation disk
Office Setup Assistant still doesn't start.
Remove Office utility doesn't start from CD either.

The problem is that I moved the Test Drive installation to the Trash
manually. I don't have the same
version to reinstall and to try to run Remove from there.

This is just for info to other people fighting with this problem.
Just downloaded Office 2004 Test Drive from mactopia site:

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/default.aspx?pid=office2004td

Double click Remove Office and it doesn't start. Damn!
My next step would probably be Archive and Restore.

 

[Diane Ross]

Thanks for reply. If I do Archive & Restore, am I gonna loose all my
stuff - iTunes library, photos, movies etc.?Will I be able to see them
from new installation?

Your data is not supposed to be touched, but Apple advises you to backup
important data.

See these Apple Kbs:

<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301270>

If files might be lost I would need to buy an external drive and to
backup all my stuff. I really need to fix this problem as soon as
possible. My wife starts teaching her course at the university this
week. She's gonna rip out hair on my ass for switching from PC to
Mac. ;-(

Regardless, I would buy an external drive for backup. I can also suggest
SuperDuper!, a favorite for many users, backup software.

<http://www.shirt-pocket.com/>

Just a fan of SuperDuper!

 

[dmitri.zakharov]

For those who are interested, here's the "happy end" of my story.

After trying all sorts of suggestion to remove/reinstall MS Office
Test Drive,
nothing worked for. Guys at Apple Store referred me to microsoft
support
site (vicious circle I didn't have any backups of my boot drive,
so I was left
with two options:

1. To use "Archive & Install" function on Mac OSX install disk.
2. To use "Erase & Install" function on Mac OSX install disk.

I decided to skip "Archive & Install" since I didn't have any more
time
to waste and this solution doesn't guarantee 101% percent to fix the
problem.

- I bought an external FireWire 250GB G-Drive and connected to my iMac
(nice piece of hardware, worked right out of the box with iMac).

- Downloaded a free trial version of SuperDuper! and backed up
Users folder. I didn't need a complete backup at that point.

- Reinstalled Mac OSX using "Erase & Install" option and installing
Mac OSX
with Bundled Applications.
CAUTION: Mac OSX installation disks contain MS Office Test Drive. Be
sure
to uncheck Test Drive from the application list.

- Ran Software Update utility on Mac to bring the system uptodate
(currently latest version is Tiger 10.4.10)

- Installed MS Office 2004 Standard Edition with Service Pack 2 using
(recommended) Setup Assistant.

So I go my MS Office application running somewhere by 2AM at night,
whew!

On the positive side, I have found out about different backup
solutions and
about the usefulness of external hard drives for that purpose.
SuperDuper!
looks good and did the basic backup trick for me. I continue to play
with
it to see if I need to upgrade to full version for a very reasonable
price
of around $30 CAD.

Thanks everybody for help.

 

[Diane Ross]

SuperDuper!
looks good and did the basic backup trick for me. I continue to play
with
it to see if I need to upgrade to full version for a very reasonable
price
of around $30 CAD.

First, thanks for letting us know how you solved your problem. Feedback is
crucial to us to help others.

One of the options in SuperDuper! that you should check out is what the
author calls a "Sandbox" partition

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.

I can hear you saying now...why didn't she tell me this BEFORE I wiped my
drive?

 

[John McGhie]

If there was an award for persistence in the face of adversity, we would
give it to you!!

Since there isn't, all we can do is applaud your determination

Cheers

For those who are interested, here's the "happy end" of my story.

After trying all sorts of suggestion to remove/reinstall MS Office
Test Drive,
nothing worked for. Guys at Apple Store referred me to microsoft
support
site (vicious circle I didn't have any backups of my boot drive,
so I was left
with two options:

1. To use "Archive & Install" function on Mac OSX install disk.
2. To use "Erase & Install" function on Mac OSX install disk.

I decided to skip "Archive & Install" since I didn't have any more
time
to waste and this solution doesn't guarantee 101% percent to fix the
problem.

- I bought an external FireWire 250GB G-Drive and connected to my iMac
(nice piece of hardware, worked right out of the box with iMac).

- Downloaded a free trial version of SuperDuper! and backed up
Users folder. I didn't need a complete backup at that point.

- Reinstalled Mac OSX using "Erase & Install" option and installing
Mac OSX
with Bundled Applications.
CAUTION: Mac OSX installation disks contain MS Office Test Drive. Be
sure
to uncheck Test Drive from the application list.

- Ran Software Update utility on Mac to bring the system uptodate
(currently latest version is Tiger 10.4.10)

- Installed MS Office 2004 Standard Edition with Service Pack 2 using
(recommended) Setup Assistant.

So I go my MS Office application running somewhere by 2AM at night,
whew!

On the positive side, I have found out about different backup
solutions and
about the usefulness of external hard drives for that purpose.
SuperDuper!
looks good and did the basic backup trick for me. I continue to play
with
it to see if I need to upgrade to full version for a very reasonable
price
of around $30 CAD.

Thanks everybody for help.

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[CyberTaz]

Sorry it was such an ordeal, but I join with John in lauding your positive
attitude in the face of adversity and your appreciation of the "learning
experience"! Further, your complete & detailed description of the solution
is greatly appreciated & will be of use to others - both *before* as well as
after the fact

BTW - SuperDuper! Is _well worth_ the price.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[dmitri.zakharov]

Thank you guys, thank you.!

I wish, I could find a post with explanation like this before.
I am surprised Microsoft doesn't provide any Troubleshooting
documentation for this issue. If they can't fix the removal
problem, for god's sake pop up a "Tip of the Day" dialog every
time you start MS Office Test Drive and write in bold upper case:
use remove office tool to uninstall MS Office Test Drive or you
will need to reinstall Mac OSX!&^%??!

I am also considering to use some kind of virtualization software for
Mac,
something like Parallels Desktop or VMWare Fusion. In this case:

"What is Microsoft's run on Windows, what is Apple's run on Mac OSX!"

;-)

 

[Kevin]

Just replying for the fun of it.