Office update is unable to check for upates

[Decker1981]

I cannot use the autoupdate for Office 2000. I performed an update that had
to be installed separately. That update completed and I restarted my
computer when prompted. When I went back to the site to obtain more updates,
this is the messsage I receive:

The Office Update site is unable to check for updates on this computer. This
may be happening because of one of the following reasons:

You do not have administrative privileges for this computer.
There is a network problem and the detection catalog used by the Office
Update site failed to download. Go back to the Downloads home page and try
running detection again.
Windows Installer patch files (.MSP files) from previously applied Office
updates are missing from the \Windows\Installer hidden directory on your
computer. MSP files are stored on your computer after update installation
completes because they need to be referenced for future update operations. If
the files are missing you will not be able to apply Office updates. You may
also be unable to uninstall Office products as a result of the same problem.
Please contact Microsoft Product Support Services for assistance.
You installed Office updates in the past and then upgraded from Windows
Installer version 1.0 to Windows Installer version 1.1. For more information
see the KB article Windows Installer May Prompt for Install Source if
Unavailable.

I went into Add/Remove programs and tried to perform a repair and I got a
message that says that this patch package could not be opened. Is there
anyway to fix this problem?

 

[Susan Ramlet]

Hi, Decker1981,

A search of this newsgroup turns up many people with this same problem and
some suggested solutions.

See if the suggested resolution steps in one of these articles helps:

The update process starts and then unexpectedly quits after you click "Check
for Updates" on the Office Update Web site:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;304498

PRB: Windows System Restore Does Not Monitor Windows Installer Patch (.msp)
Files:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;814833