Office Update is unable to check for updates

[The Kat]

I installed Office 2003. When I try to check for updates, I receive the
message "The Office Update site is unable to check for updates on this
computer" and lists 4 possible reasons for the failure. I am the
administrator, I tried several times to run the detection program -- to no
avail, I have NO idea what or where the.msp files are, and I did not install
2003 from an upgrade.

How can I get the update detection to work properly?

 

[Susan Ramlet]

See if one of these works:

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

OFF2000: Error Message: "The Catalog Cannot Be Displayed" When You Try to
Update Office:
http://support.microsoft.com/d­efault.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;2779­23

If that fails, as a last resort, run the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility
to remove the Installer registry entries for Office, and then re-install
Office, and run the Office Update again.

Description of the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility:
http://support.microsoft.com/d­efault.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;2903­01

 

[The Kat]

I did reinstall Office 2003 but did not use the cleanup program first. Would
the re-installtion not overwrite the original?

 

[The Kat]

BTW: the link to the installer CleanUp utility did not work... I get the
infernal "Page Cannot be found." screen.

 

[Susan Ramlet]

The re-installation would perhaps repair certain problems in the original,
but it won't fix Windows Installer Data that might be corrupt. Office
Update looks to Windows Installer data (the same thing you see in Windows
Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs application) to see what's installed.
The cleanup utility will destroy all those entries, and then when you
re-install Office, they're fresh.

The following link works for me; the KB was down for awhile when I was
trying:

Description of the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;290301

But I'd try all the things in the first article first.

 

[Ducrider]

Yeah, I get the same thing when I click the links. This is the exact problem
I'm having too...

 

[Susan Ramlet]

I think the link was down yesterday.

You can always go to the Microsoft Knowledge Base and search for "windows
installer cleanup utility" and find the links.

http://search.support.microsoft.com/search/?adv=1