Office 2003 SP1 Hoses Office Document Image Writer

[Bishop]

After I installed SP1, I noticed I had lost the Microsoft Office Document
Image Writer (virtual printer driver). I attempted detect and repair from MS
Word, and from the Control Panel Add/Remove Software for Office without
success.

I went back to a system restore point before the SP1 installation, and the
MODI Writer was still there and functioning. I then reinstalled each
application and patch one at a time confirming that the MODI Writer was
still there and functioning. When I had reinstalled everything but the
Office 2003 SP1 and the MODI Writer was still working, I created a system
restore point because the Office 2003 SP1 cannot be removed through the
Control Panel once installed.

When I reinstalled SP1, I lost the MODI Writer again. I have done another
system restore to get out of SP1.

Has anyone else seen this behavior? Are there any suggestions?

Thanks.

Tom Bishop
Microsoft MVP -- Tablet PC Platform

 

[Steven W. Buehler, B.A.]

When I reinstalled SP1, I lost the MODI Writer again. I have done another
system restore to get out of SP1.

Has anyone else seen this behavior? Are there any suggestions?

Same thing happened to me when I installed SP1. This is what I did to
fix it, assuming you have SP1 installed and are not seeing the printer
(it's basically removing it--the printer, not the entire suite--and
reinstalling it):

1) Open "Start -> Control Panel -> Add or Remove Programs".

2) Select "Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003" and click on
"Change".

3) Select "Add or Remove Features".

4) On the next dialog, click the checkbox next to "Choose advanced
customization of applications."

5) In the tree that follows, drill down to "Office Tools -> Microsoft
Office Document Imaging -> Microsoft Document Image Writer". It will
likely show as installed. Change it to "Not available" and click
"Update" to update your installation, removing it.

6) When you're back to the Add or Remove Programs display, perform the
above steps again, but change the writer status from "Not Available"
back to "Run from my computer". That will reinstall the printer and it
should show up in your Printers and Faxes folder again.

Why SP1 screws it up is beyond me, but this fixed it on my PC.

SWB