Problems Checking For Office Updates

[Yung]

Hi!

I read some of the previous posts on problems with the
Office Updates but, unfortunately, for me, they don't
apply. So, here's what's going on with me. I hope
someone can help. It's annoying the heck out of me.

I am running Office 2003 on WinXP. All my windows
updates are current. For the last 1.5 months though, I
haven't been able to do check for Office Updates via
their automated link. First the problem was the page
could not load. Then I checked a few days later and the
page loaded fine. Then, the next problem was the site
isn't able to check for updates. (Here's the error
message that's displayed: The Office Update Catalog
cannot be displayed. The Office Update site is currently
experiencing some technical difficulties and is unable to
check for updates. Click the Try Again link below to try
loading the site again (do not use the Refresh button on
your browser to reload the site). If problems persist,
please contact Microsoft Support for assistance. You can
also search for Office updates in the Download Catalog.)

I did a repair twice and even installed SP1 but it's
still not working. Only now, I get an addition error
message before I get the above error message:
Runtime Error
Line: 696
Error: Automation server can't create object

I've tried contacting Microsoft but (i) figuring out how
to contact someone was a chore in itself and when I
finally located the page I needed, it says my product has
used up its allocated support calls!!

Has anyone experienced this before or know of a fix? Why
is it doing this? Based on the error messages, I'm
inclined to think the problem might not be on my end.
Can anyone please help?

Thanks a bunch!

 

[Susan Ramlet]

Hi, Yung,

Does this help?

277923 - 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&Product=ofw

If not, try using the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility to remove registry
information related to the Office installation, and then re-install Office
and try Office Update again.

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

This may also help:

304498 - After You Click "Check for Updates" on the Office Web site, Update
Process Quits Unexpectedly:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;304498

 

[Guest]

Thank you, Susan. Unfortunately, none of that helped at
all. I guess I'll just have to uninstall/reinstall
Office 2003.

 

[Phil]

Hi Yung,

I had the same problem with Office XP and Microsoft
support sorted me out as follows. Steps 3 & 4 were the
key ones I think. Phil.

Step 1: Disable/Uninstall any anti-virus/firewall software

----------------------------------------------------------
-----

This issue may be related to some types of firewalls.
Therefore, if you have installed any Anti-Virus programs
or firewalls, please uninstall or disable all the
firewalls and Anti-Virus programs temporarily to see if
it is helpful in resolving this problem.



Note: In order to prevent virus attack during this
process, please first run a complete virus check before
you uninstall the anti-virus. You can reinstall the anti-
virus software after our troubleshooting steps.



Step 2: Deleting IE Cache

-----------------------------

a. Click Start menu-> Control Panel.



b. If Control Panel is not in Classic View, click Switch
to Classic View, and then double-click the Internet
Options icon.



c. On the General tab, click Delete Files. Make sure that
the "Delete all offline content" check box is checked,
and click OK.



d. Click OK and quit Internet Explorer.



Step 3: Check IE's security settings

------------------------------------

Please follow the steps below to add
http://office.microsoft.com/ to the list of Trusted Sites
so that the Office Update ActiveX control can load
successfully.



a. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options and then
click the Security tab.



b. In the list of Web content zones, click the Trusted
sites icon.



c. Click Sites.



d. Clear the Require Server verification (https) for all
sites in this zone check box.



e. In the Add this Website to the zone box, enter the
Internet address http://office.microsoft.com/



f. Click Add.



g. Click OK, and then click OK again.



Step 4: Update the Windows Scripting files

---------------------------------------------

Please download and install the Windows Scripting 5.6



It is the latest link to download and install the Windows
Scripting 5.6:

For Windows 2000/XP:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?
FamilyID=c717d943-7e4b-4622-86eb-
95a22b832caa&DisplayLang=en



After install the Windows Scripting, please test this
issue again. Can you apply update now?

 

[Yung]

I've done all that but I still get the Java Runtime
error. The good news is I get to 93% now before I get
the "unable to display catalog" error message. Something
is working right, I guess. Thanks for the suggestions.
I'll keep trying.

 

[Chad Harris]

Yung--

It's not necessary to run the Office Update scanner--from what I can tell
problems are still being ironed out using it for some people. Just go
here, and you will be able to try to install--if you can't install the
client file, try the full file download and then if you have problems post
your event viewer errors here:

Downloads for Office 2003:
http://office.microsoft.com/officeu...ID=CD010224941033&CTT=4&Origin=ES790020041033

Best,

Chad Harris
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