UNABLE TO CHECK FOR UPDATES ON THIS COMPUTER

[DAVID]

I am using Windows XP Pro on my computer. I also have
Office 2002 installed. I tried updating Office 2002 today
and got the error Unable to check for updates on this
computer at 40 percent.

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 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 tried a few days ago and got the same error as well.

Can someone tell me how to correct this?

Thank you for your time, consideration, and cooperation.
I hope to hear from you soon,

David

 

[Susan Ramlet]

Hi, David,

There are some known issues with the Office Update site. You could try
going directly to each KB article, download the updates manually and install
them directly, that has been a successful workaround for some folks. Some
people have also found the executables which were downloaded from Office
Update in their temp folders and run them from there. Is as if they
downloaded okay but never actually ran.

Here are some other things that have been suggested:

1. Deleting IE Cache.

In cases where the temporary Internet explorer cache folder is running out
of allotted space, you may be not be able to download the Office Update
control. You can free up space by deleting the Temporary Internet Files
cache using the "Delete Files" button in the "General" tab under "Tools |
Internet options" menu.

2. Check IE's security settings.

Ensure that your IE browser allows / prompts registering of signed Active X
controls. 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.

3. Deleting Office Update detection folder.

Also try deleting the C:\Program Files\OfficeUpdate11 folder which contains
the detection catalog and downloaded patch files used by the site.

4. Deleting ActiveX control.

The Office Update ActiveX control can get into a bad state in certain
conditions and should be reinstalled. First close IE. Then delete the file
c:\Windows\opuc.dll for Windows 9X and Windows XP and c:\Winnt\opuc.dll for
Windows 2000.

Try going back to http://office.microsoft.com/OfficeUpdate/ to perform
detection again. If it still fails, follow the steps below.


5. Temporarily turn off Personal Firewall, Download Manager, Pop-up
blockers and Web Acceleration products

If there are Personal Firewall, Download Manager, Pop-up blockers, or Web
Accelerator products installed, temporarily turn off these products and try
detection again. Popular products include:

· Get Right (Download Manager)
· Download Accelerator
· Zone Labs (Personal Firewall)
· Norton Personal Firewall
· McAfee Personal firewall

And finally, if that doesn't work, here's something else to try:

1) Use a utility to clean out the Windows Installer data,
290301 - Description of the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;290301&Product=offx

2) Reinstall Office

3) Apply your updates


If one of these solutions works for you, please post back.
Thanks--

 

[ritabean]

susan, i implemented all your recommended fixes, and still
cannot:

* reinstall office XP
error message - patch packet missing

* get office XP updates w/o error message posted in this
and other e-mails.

my problem occured on 2/5, when i checked for office XP
updates on the MS site. i did a system restore to 2/4,
aware of KM 814833, but tried it anyway.

please advise.

tx much, rb

-----Original Message-----
Hi, David,

There are some known issues with the Office Update site. You could try
going directly to each KB article, download the updates manually and install
them directly, that has been a successful workaround for some folks. Some
people have also found the executables which were downloaded from Office
Update in their temp folders and run them from there. Is as if they
downloaded okay but never actually ran.

Here are some other things that have been suggested:

1. Deleting IE Cache.

In cases where the temporary Internet explorer cache folder is running out
of allotted space, you may be not be able to download the Office Update
control. You can free up space by deleting the Temporary Internet Files
cache using the "Delete Files" button in the "General" tab under "Tools |
Internet options" menu.

2. Check IE's security settings.

Ensure that your IE browser allows / prompts registering of signed Active X
controls. 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.

3. Deleting Office Update detection folder.

Also try deleting the C:\Program Files\OfficeUpdate11 folder which contains
the detection catalog and downloaded patch files used by the site.

4. Deleting ActiveX control.

The Office Update ActiveX control can get into a bad state in certain
conditions and should be reinstalled. First close IE. Then delete the file
c:\Windows\opuc.dll for Windows 9X and Windows XP and c:\Winnt\opuc.dll for
Windows 2000.

Try going back to

http://office.microsoft.com/OfficeUpdate/ to perform

 

[ritabean]

hi susan, my 2nd reply..

i did attempt to download upgrades directly, bypassing
auto update. the system kicks me off with an error
message: "Office Hotfix Installer encounter a problem..."
i did download the windows installer cleanup utility w/o
any improvement in the situation. is there something i
need to DO with the utility once it is downloaded?

tx again, looking forward to you replies, rb

-----Original Message-----
Hi, David,

There are some known issues with the Office Update site. You could try
going directly to each KB article, download the updates manually and install
them directly, that has been a successful workaround for some folks. Some
people have also found the executables which were downloaded from Office
Update in their temp folders and run them from there. Is as if they
downloaded okay but never actually ran.

Here are some other things that have been suggested:

1. Deleting IE Cache.

In cases where the temporary Internet explorer cache folder is running out
of allotted space, you may be not be able to download the Office Update
control. You can free up space by deleting the Temporary Internet Files
cache using the "Delete Files" button in the "General" tab under "Tools |
Internet options" menu.

2. Check IE's security settings.

Ensure that your IE browser allows / prompts registering of signed Active X
controls. 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.

3. Deleting Office Update detection folder.

Also try deleting the C:\Program Files\OfficeUpdate11 folder which contains
the detection catalog and downloaded patch files used by the site.

4. Deleting ActiveX control.

The Office Update ActiveX control can get into a bad state in certain
conditions and should be reinstalled. First close IE. Then delete the file
c:\Windows\opuc.dll for Windows 9X and Windows XP and c:\Winnt\opuc.dll for
Windows 2000.

Try going back to

http://office.microsoft.com/OfficeUpdate/ to perform

 

[Russel Cormier]

You may also try IDM. It is without a doubt the best download manager.
Tried other ones and this is 1st to open every time I download.

http://www.freefunfiles.com/software/audiovideo/mp3/internetdownloadmanager.html

 

[Susan Ramlet]

Hi, Rita,

Running the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility should take care of the patch
package error, and then let you re-install Office and try to patch it.

- So, run it after downloading it; it's an executable file.
- Then re-install Office.
- Then try Office Update again.
- If it doesn't work, try the manual downloads.

--
Susan Ramlet
MVP - Microsoft Office
----------------------------------------------
Please post replies to the newsgroup where all may benefit.


hi susan, my 2nd reply..

i did attempt to download upgrades directly, bypassing
auto update. the system kicks me off with an error
message: "Office Hotfix Installer encounter a problem..."
i did download the windows installer cleanup utility w/o
any improvement in the situation. is there something i
need to DO with the utility once it is downloaded?

tx again, looking forward to you replies, rb

-----Original Message-----
Hi, David,

There are some known issues with the Office Update site. You could try
going directly to each KB article, download the updates manually and install
them directly, that has been a successful workaround for some folks. Some
people have also found the executables which were downloaded from Office
Update in their temp folders and run them from there. Is as if they
downloaded okay but never actually ran.

Here are some other things that have been suggested:

1. Deleting IE Cache.

In cases where the temporary Internet explorer cache folder is running out
of allotted space, you may be not be able to download the Office Update
control. You can free up space by deleting the Temporary Internet Files
cache using the "Delete Files" button in the "General" tab under "Tools |
Internet options" menu.

2. Check IE's security settings.

Ensure that your IE browser allows / prompts registering of signed Active X
controls. 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.

3. Deleting Office Update detection folder.

Also try deleting the C:\Program Files\OfficeUpdate11 folder which contains
the detection catalog and downloaded patch files used by the site.

4. Deleting ActiveX control.

The Office Update ActiveX control can get into a bad state in certain
conditions and should be reinstalled. First close IE. Then delete the file
c:\Windows\opuc.dll for Windows 9X and Windows XP and c:\Winnt\opuc.dll for
Windows 2000.

Try going back to

http://office.microsoft.com/OfficeUpdate/ to perform

 

[Tim]

I tried to reply but created a new post. See link at same
time from Tim Office Xp SBE. None of Susan's methods
worked for me. I have no solution. I thank Susan for the
attempt and am offering feedback that none of it worked
for me.

-----Original Message-----
Hi, David,

There are some known issues with the Office Update site. You could try
going directly to each KB article, download the updates manually and install
them directly, that has been a successful workaround for some folks. Some
people have also found the executables which were downloaded from Office
Update in their temp folders and run them from there. Is as if they
downloaded okay but never actually ran.

Here are some other things that have been suggested:

1. Deleting IE Cache.

In cases where the temporary Internet explorer cache folder is running out
of allotted space, you may be not be able to download the Office Update
control. You can free up space by deleting the Temporary Internet Files
cache using the "Delete Files" button in the "General" tab under "Tools |
Internet options" menu.

2. Check IE's security settings.

Ensure that your IE browser allows / prompts registering of signed Active X
controls. 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.

3. Deleting Office Update detection folder.

Also try deleting the C:\Program Files\OfficeUpdate11 folder which contains
the detection catalog and downloaded patch files used by the site.

4. Deleting ActiveX control.

The Office Update ActiveX control can get into a bad state in certain
conditions and should be reinstalled. First close IE. Then delete the file
c:\Windows\opuc.dll for Windows 9X and Windows XP and c:\Winnt\opuc.dll for
Windows 2000.

Try going back to

http://office.microsoft.com/OfficeUpdate/ to perform

 

[Susan Ramlet]

Hi, Tim,

Rats. So, you tried the Windows Installer Cleanup utility and the
re-installation?

Were you able to download the updates manually? That should work if the
Office Update detection process is failing.

--
Susan Ramlet
MVP - Microsoft Office
----------------------------------------------
Please post replies to the newsgroup where all may benefit.


I tried to reply but created a new post. See link at same
time from Tim Office Xp SBE. None of Susan's methods
worked for me. I have no solution. I thank Susan for the
attempt and am offering feedback that none of it worked
for me.

-----Original Message-----
Hi, David,

There are some known issues with the Office Update site. You could try
going directly to each KB article, download the updates manually and install
them directly, that has been a successful workaround for some folks. Some
people have also found the executables which were downloaded from Office
Update in their temp folders and run them from there. Is as if they
downloaded okay but never actually ran.

Here are some other things that have been suggested:

1. Deleting IE Cache.

In cases where the temporary Internet explorer cache folder is running out
of allotted space, you may be not be able to download the Office Update
control. You can free up space by deleting the Temporary Internet Files
cache using the "Delete Files" button in the "General" tab under "Tools |
Internet options" menu.

2. Check IE's security settings.

Ensure that your IE browser allows / prompts registering of signed Active X
controls. 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.

3. Deleting Office Update detection folder.

Also try deleting the C:\Program Files\OfficeUpdate11 folder which contains
the detection catalog and downloaded patch files used by the site.

4. Deleting ActiveX control.

The Office Update ActiveX control can get into a bad state in certain
conditions and should be reinstalled. First close IE. Then delete the file
c:\Windows\opuc.dll for Windows 9X and Windows XP and c:\Winnt\opuc.dll for
Windows 2000.

Try going back to

http://office.microsoft.com/OfficeUpdate/ to perform