Office 2003 sp2 update Admin Install Point network install

[Frustrated Admin]

We have office 2003 installed on about 300 PCs using administrative
installation points on windows 2000 and windows XP machines. They are
installed with the network install option for word, excel, access, infopath,
and powerpoint.

We just got our letter about updating to SP2 for "legal reasons" and
therfore we have no choice.

This is all in a test lab:
I have downloaded the full-file SP2 install, and extracted the separate
patch files. I then applied the patch files to the MSI.

Then on a machine with office 2k3 installed I tried running a program a got
the expected, program versions don't match.

I then ran the setup.exe REINSTALL=all command.

Everything works fine during the reinstall, for awhile. Then the installer
asks me for the location of my PRO11.MSI file. Well ours is on the network,
however there are no network drives available to pick from. It won't let me
"share out" to the location of the MSI. The only thing I can do is copy the
MSI locally and run it that way, which is NOT what we are wanting, nor should
we have to do. Course once you do this it associates this location with the
MSI file and if you delete the MSI file hoping you could later specify a
network location, it still won't display a network drive/let you share out to
a netowrk share.....

Help.....

 

[Frustrated Admin]

I found out that if I cancel the dialog that asks me to find the MSI file,
and let the install continue it will finish. HOWEVER, access will ask you for
an MSI file. All the other programs in the office suite run fine, but Acess
will ask you to hunt down an MSI file......So the only option I found was to
go to Add/Remove -> Office 2003 Professional -> Change -> Yadda Yadda
Features -> Remove Access....

then add acesss back in and everything is fine......this is not a solution
either, it is a hack....

I also found out that I can skip all of this madness by running the 100 mb
full file update, but then I am not guaranteed that everyone will update
their office version. At least using the method above everyone is guaranteed
to update because office won't work until they upgrade....

Microsoft I need some help here.

 

[Sharpie]

Anyone have any solutions?

 

[Lillian]

Was the ws you are trying to patch originally installed from your network
location?

For example, we have some users in the IT department that did not install
from the Admin install, but rather from cd or some other source. When they
tried running the patch for the client they received a similar error to
yours. To solve we uninstalled their Office and reinstalled from the Admin
share. You can also go to Microsoft and download sp2 and follow the
instructions for a stand alone pc.

 

[Sharpie]

All computers are installed from the admin point, mostly because I remember
doing them all. This was in a test environment so I installed it from the
admin point ran the applications, word, excel, access, powerpoint, infopath,
and then after a reboot tried to do the update.

 

[Lillian]

So if I understand, you cannot browse to the network share that holds your
admin install, correct? It needs to see that location.

 

[Sharpie]

I cannot browse to that network location under the dialog box that I am given
to find the PRO11.MSI file, however on every other explorer-capable
window/fileopen dialog box I can see/browse/open/map/unmap/erase/delete you
name it to any network share and or drive, yet that particular dialog box
doesn't show any mapped drives.....

I have shared over to the file, and chosen it that way and it tells me that
THAT particular PRO11.MSI file is not the one it is looking for, so I grab an
unmolested version of the PRO11.MSI file and it still says that THAT is not
the version of the PRO11.MSI file it is looking for......sooooo what version
IS it looking for.....

If I copy the patched PRO11.MSI file locally however I have absolutely no
problems but that doesn't solve the problem because from here on out
windows/office will associate that local PRO11.MSI file with the windows
install, kinda defeating the whole central admin point thing.

 

[Lillian]

Ok, what are you doing when you get the box to browse to the pro11.msi?

Maybe this will help, here are my steps.

1. Update the administrative install on the network using:

msiexec.exe /p C:\Patches\MAINSP2ff.msp /a
"\\server\share\MSOFFICE_2003\PRO11.MSI"

2. Update client using:

\\server\share\MSOFFICE_2003\SETUPPRO.EXE\REINSTALL=ALL /qb

 

[Sharpie]

I will give that second part a try without the \ after setuppro.exe and a
space instead.

I was updating the admin install with the msiexec /p blah.msp
c:\blah\blah.msi /a

Next I was doing the following on the local computer:
(Y:\ is a network drive)
Y:\MSOFFICE2003PRO\setup.exe REINSTALL=ALL /qb (there is no setuppro.exe in
the directory)

 

[Lillian]

Just noticed the \ after the setuppro.exe should be a / instead, sorry.

 

[Sharpie]

Finally found a group post where someone else was having same problem:

see:

"MSACCESS 2003 Fails After SP2 Update" in Microsoft.Public.Office.Setup