unable to run office applications

[kamsumner]

i have been successfully running a macbook with OS X v 10.4 and ms
office 2004 since november 2006. recently, have been unable to run
any of my office applications. i can see the icons but when i click
on them, nothing happens...i've tried to open word, excel, powerpoint,
entourage and it is consistent across the board. any advice would be
greatly appreciated.

 

[JE McGimpsey]

i have been successfully running a macbook with OS X v 10.4 and ms
office 2004 since november 2006. recently, have been unable to run
any of my office applications. i can see the icons but when i click
on them, nothing happens...i've tried to open word, excel, powerpoint,
entourage and it is consistent across the board. any advice would be
greatly appreciated.

The problem is almost certainly due to the broken Apple Quicktime
update:

    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306043

 

[Diane Ross]

i have been successfully running a macbook with OS X v 10.4 and ms
office 2004 since november 2006. recently, have been unable to run
any of my office applications. i can see the icons but when i click
on them, nothing happens...i've tried to open word, excel, powerpoint,
entourage and it is consistent across the board. any advice would be
greatly appreciated.

Did this happen after a recent updater for Apple installers? See these blog
articles on how to fix:

Apple posts KB fix on QuickTime 7.2 Update

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/faq_topic/signatures.html>

iTunes 7.3.1 and Quicktime 7.2 Updaters cause problems for Office

<http://blog.entourage.mvps.org/2007/07/itunes_731_and_quicktime_72_up.html>

Generally, when weird things are happening with Entourage and other Office
applications, running the latest Apple combo will fix the problem.

<http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/apple/macosx_updates/>

If you are still experiencing problems, please report back with more
detailed info on your problem.

 

[msterling]

Did this happen after a recent updater for Apple installers? See these blog
articles on how to fix:

Apple posts KB fix on QuickTime 7.2 Update

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/faq_topic/signatures.html>

iTunes 7.3.1 and Quicktime 7.2 Updaters cause problems for Office

<http://blog.entourage.mvps.org/2007/07/itunes_731_and_quicktime_72_up...>

Generally, when weird things are happening with Entourage and other Office
applications, running the latest Apple combo will fix the problem.

<http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/apple/macosx_updates/>

If you are still experiencing problems, please report back with more
detailed info on your problem.

I've been trolling the forums because I've been having the same
problem on my MacBook, and I need help. I've tried every solution I've
seen, including all of them outlined on the entourage help blog:

* Download the 10.4.10 combo update for your computer
* Reboot/login using Safe Mode
* Run Repair Permissions
* Install the OS Combo Updater
* Reboot

Is there anything else I can try short of archive and install? And if
that's my solution, what Apple updates should I install after
reinstalling the OS to make sure this doesn't happen?

Thanks so much for the help.

Matt

 

[Diane Ross]

Is there anything else I can try short of archive and install? And if
that's my solution, what Apple updates should I install after
reinstalling the OS to make sure this doesn't happen?

An "Archive & Install" isn't so bad, just be sure to check "Preserve Users
and Network Settings" when you select Archive & Install.

After you do an "Archive & Install" you are back to the original OS X
install version. Apply the combo updater and restart. Repair permissions.
Next run Software Updater and it will get any updates since the combo was
posted.

The problem happened because files were corrupted along the way. There is no
way to stop it from happening again, but there are easier ways to deal with
it. You need backup software. I use "SuperDuper!" along with many users on
this newsgroup and other Mac lists

<http://www.shirt-pocket.com/>

One of the features of "SuperDuper!" is what the author calls a Sandbox in
addition to making a bootable clone on your HD.

A Sandbox is a bootable copy of your system, stored on another hard drive or
partition, that shares your personal documents and data with the original.
With SuperDuper!, you actually use the Sandbox as your startup volume. You
can safely install any system updates, drivers or programs in the Sandbox,
without worrying about what might happen to your system. If anything goes
wrong, you can simply start up from the original system. SuperDuper! has
preserved it in its original, pre-disaster state but all your new and
changed personal documents are totally up to date. Within minutes, you're up
and running again without having to go through a difficult and
time-consuming restore process.

This way you can take your time working on your problem. It seems that
update problems have become more frequent for both the OS and applications

Just a fan of SuperDuper!

 

[msterling]

Did the Archive and Install, and then checked Office to see if it
would work before going on. It did and so I'm all good. But now I'm
unsure as to the next step - since Office is working, should I go
forward with the combo updater? I don't want to go through this hassle
again, but I need an updated system. Thoughts?

-matt

 

[Diane Ross]

Did the Archive and Install, and then checked Office to see if it
would work before going on. It did and so I'm all good. But now I'm
unsure as to the next step - since Office is working, should I go
forward with the combo updater? I don't want to go through this hassle
again, but I need an updated system. Thoughts?

Absolutely! IF you use Entourage it won't even open until you do. There was
a change to the database during an early update and it requires the update
to open.

To make you feel better. Stuff or Zip your Office folder then update. If you
have problems, which I doubt you will, you can upzip and you'll have working
copies of Office albeit non updated ones.

To be doubly sure, I would log out/in holding down the shift key to disable
all startup items. Check to be sure All Office applications are quit. That
includes Notifications (Microsoft Database daemon) and Microsoft Messenger
for Mac.

Update, restart, Repair Permissions, and you can then report back you were
successful updating.

 

[msterling]

OK, Thanks so much. I'll do it on Saturday. One more question - does
it matter when I update Office?

-matt

 

[Diane Ross]

As long as you update BEFORE you open Entourage. If you don't you'll get the
warning.

"This Identity Cannot Be Opened With This Version of Entourage"

This tends to cause a bit of panic when received.

--
Diane

OK, Thanks so much. I'll do it on Saturday. One more question - does
it matter when I update Office?

-matt