Warning for update KB969693

[webmaster GCR]

Yesterday many updates where automatically installed, amongst them KB 969693
for Publisher. Result was that I could not open the .pub-file for my website.
Remembering the same problem after the update to SP2 for MS Office 2007 I
deleted KB969693. That made the pub-file accessible again. So don't install
update to KB969693.

 

[Spike]

GCR

I have KB969693 installed and no problem
Vista Home Premium OS
Office Ultimate 2007

What are you running?

Spike

 

[webmaster GCR]

OS is Vista Home Premium. Office is Office Enterprise 2007. More users told
me they met the same problem, so it isn't an individual problem or specific
for my PC. I repeat that I had the same problem after an update to
ServicePack2 for MS Office. And that problem was solved by uninstalling SP2.
I remember that in this community several users had the same complaint about
the updates.

Webmaster GCR

 

[DavidF]

Thanks for the heads up about this issue. Even though I have some
appreciation for how difficult it must be, I find it really aggravating when
MSFT issues patches to "keep us safe", only to have those patches fix one
thing and break another. It sounds like you may have found the part of the
Office 2007 SP2 that left some people not able to open existing Publisher
files, or in other words the individual patch as per KB969693.

I think it may be that you will either have to live without installing the
KB969693 patch or the Office 2007 SP2 patch, and manually 'ungroup' the
navbars on your pages so they will render correctly in IE8, or install the
Office 2007 SP2 patch and then if you cannot open existing files, run the
hotfix issued June 30 to fix that. The KB969693 patch may be included in
SP2, or it will not be installed if you have SP2 installed. Reference:

MS09-030: Description of the security update for Publisher 2007: July 14,
2009:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=969693
and more specifically:
Microsoft Security Bulletin MS09-030 - Important Vulnerability in Microsoft
Office Publisher Could Allow Remote Code Execution (969516):
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms09-030.mspx

In other words, it sounds like you are going to have to install the Office
2007 SP2 patch, and then if that breaks Publisher apply the hotfix:

Reference: Description of 2007 Microsoft Office Suite Service Pack 2 (SP2)
and of Microsoft Office Language
Pack 2007 SP2: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=953195

Description of the Publisher 2007 hotfix package (Publisher.msp): June 30,
2009
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/972566/

In another post on the general group a user tried to apply the hotfix
without installing SP2 first and was unsuccessful.

Anyway, I am sure this is clear as mud, but if I were you I would try
installing the SP2 and the hotfix, and then there will be no need for the
KB969693 patch. If you do, please report back and let us know if that is the
case.

DavidF

 

[webmaster GCR]

David,

Your suggestions didn't help. I installed SP2, then applied the hotfix.
After every step I rebooted to be sure the updates were fully worked around.
In both situations (first after SP2 and later after the Hotfix) my
Publisher-files could not be opened. After experiencing this, I was not very
interested in updating to KB969693, considering my first experience herewith.
The Hotfix could be deleted through the Update-program of Vista. The SP2
could only be deleted by downloading a specific tool (KB954914).
All in all nothing wiser but more sadder (at the cost of a lot of extra
useless work).
It gives me reason to say that neither SP2 nor KB969693 are good for your
health. It also supports my idea that IE8 is equally bad for your website.
If anyone knows a really working solution, I am in for it.

 

[DavidF]

Thanks for the feedback. Sorry I don't have a good answer for you. Hopefully
MSFT will...

DavidF