Office XP SP3 Installer Fallback Problems

[Mark Kortink]

Hi

My laptop runs WinXP and Office XP. Office XP was
installed off a LAN I no longer have access to. I wanted
to upgrade to SP3 but didn't want to be prompted for .msi
files on the old LAN so as per MS recomendations
downloaded the fullfile version of SP3. Low and behold I
got prompted for .msi files from the LAN anyhow so
cancelled the upgrade and it seemed to roll back OK.
However now whenever I try to open any Excel file the
installer kicks off immediately. The result is
I cannot open any excel files!!!!!

So much for trying to keep software up to date by applying
Microsofts updates, I have had this laptop 8 months and
its been a never ending ordeal of software problems.

Does anyone know how to either:-
1. Run an SP3 upgrade without getting prompted for long
disappeared .msi files.
2. Completely fallback a failed SP3 upgrade, even if I
have to edit the registry.

Thanks
Mark

 

[Susan Ramlet]

Hi, Mark,

You're not the first person to post this issue...I looked into this and
learned some stuff.

Item 1: No, the full file update is the best shot you have for Office XP,
and it doesn't always work. There are are files that can trigger a need for
the installation source even if the 'full file' version of the service pack
is
used. This is detailed in the KB article at
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;840169.

Item 2: Here's what I understand happened: The SP3 full-file update
includes multiple MSP (patch) files. The failure will perform a rollback of
the MSP that fails, but will not roll back other MSP files included in the
package. This is undesirable behavior, but that's how the Windows Installer
currently works. This is undesirable behavior, because if I cancel an
operation, I expect the operation to be cancelled. And service packs are
presented to end users as a single executable...

Regardless of all this, the recommendation for you is that you need to
provide the source in some way to restore your installation. The best
recommendation is that you uninstall Office XP and then install it again, to
make sure your system is somehwat "clean".

A related question: Do you have Norton Antivirus, or another antivirus
program installed, and was it running when you tried to apply the full file
patch? That was a suggestion someone else made, but I don't think it's the
issue...

Anyhow, I hope that is helpful. Not good news, but at least there may be a
resolution.