"Newer version is already installed" error

[rrafal]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel

I tried to install a trial version of Microsoft Office for Mac. On the "Select a Destination" step of the installation process, I get the following message: "You cannot install Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac on this volume. A newer version of Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac is already installed."

I do not have Microsoft Office installed on my Mac. I do have OpenOffice, but that shouldn't cause this error.

Any ideas? Please help.
Rafal

 

[Diane Ross]

I tried to install a trial version of Microsoft Office for Mac. On the "Select
a Destination" step of the installation process, I get the following message:
"You cannot install Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac on this volume. A newer
version of Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac is already installed."

I do not have Microsoft Office installed on my Mac. I do have OpenOffice, but
that shouldn't cause this error.

Any ideas? Please help.

Open Receipts and check for Office2008....pkg files.

/Library/Receipts

Do you see any files with that name there?

Have you tried to download into a new User? Go to System Preferences -->
Create a New User in Accounts. Switch to the New User by logging out/in or
use Fast User Switching.

BTW, If you download the trial, be sure to read all the directions about
removing if you decide to buy a retail version and install from a DVD.

 

[rrafal]

Thanks Diane, but unfortunately this didn't help.
In /Library/Receipts, I don't have anything named Office2008 (only NeoOffice). I tried to install from another account and got the same error.

Rafal

 

[Diane Ross]

Thanks Diane, but unfortunately this didn't help.
In /Library/Receipts, I don't have anything named Office2008 (only NeoOffice).
I tried to install from another account and got the same error.

I asked and there is no check that would exclude install because of
NewOffice. Sorry, but I have no clue what else to suggest.

 

[CyberTaz]

Who did you get the Mac from?

I have a feeling that Office 2008 may have been installed previously
[perhaps the free trial] and has not been properly removed. Unless you know
what you're looking for there may very well not be any visible signs of the
residue, but the installer will find those remnants.

Try having a look at the complete removal process described on Diane's
Entourage site & see if that will enable you to install. In particular see
topics 2d & 5d-#4 as well as a Spotlight search for "normal" plus any files
whose name contains com.microsoft so you can delete them. There may also be
a Microsoft folder in HD/Library/Application Support ‹ Trash it too:

http://www.entourage.mvps.org/install/index.html

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

 

[Matthew Gertner]

For what it's worth, I am having exactly the same problem. I have owned the
computer since I bought it, and it's definitely never had Office 2008 on it.
It's possible it was shipped with an earlier trial of Office though I'm not
sure of this. I've scoured the disk for all signs of Office and removed
everything even vaguely relevant (all Microsoft-related files from Library,
Documents, etc.). But still the problem persists.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[joesko]

OK, SO.....

i had the exact same problem as this (using leopard) - same error. i tried
everything i could think of, googled endlessly, read this thread a million
times, deleted every random microsoft folder i could find, nothing was
working.... i went ahead and bought word 2008 just so i could have access to
microsoft phone support. i talked to a microsoft tech support guy for almost
two hours trying to get to the bottom of this - and it just would not work.
same error. he thought it might be either be a glitch with installer or an
office file that for whatever reason got renamed somehow. btw - you
apparently can not get a hold of an "office remover" tool without installing
office, which i obviously could not do.

....long story short...

i went to my local mac store, bought the snow leopard upgrade for 30 bucks
and IT WORKED! i did not have to do a clean install - just upgraded my
system to snow leopard, which i guess reset some kind of disk permissions
(even though i had already tried doing this through the disk utility app) and
my office 2008 for mac was finally allowed to install. hallelujah.

i spent so much time trying to fix this; i just thought someone out there
would surely appreciate this post. hope it helps!

 

[Diane Ross]

i went to my local mac store, bought the snow leopard upgrade for 30 bucks
and IT WORKED!

Thanks for sharing your solution. Now that you have Office 2008 installed on
Snow Leopard, you need to take care of some older fonts in the
Library/Fonts/Microsoft folder.

Fonts to delete after installing Snow Leopard (includes help deleting font
caches)

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/troubleshoot/remove_fonts_snowleopard.html>


--
Diane Ross, Microsoft Mac MVP
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