Windows Installer Cleanup Utility for Windows Installer 2.0 +

[Steve Ashurst]

I am unable to run updates or make changes to Office 2000,
getting various messages including "This patch package
could not be opened. Contact the application vendor to
verify that this is a valid Windows Installer patch
package."

This site (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?
scid=kb;en-us;295823&Product=ofw2k) says that the
Microsoft Windows Installer Cleanup Utility will clear
this up, but it is not supported if you have Windows
Installer 2.0 or greater installed, which I do on my Win
ME machine. I am very reluctant to run something that
isn't supported, as I don't want to have to reformat,
etc., if things get screwed up.

Does anyone know where to go to find the fix for this?
Thanks in advance.

 

[Joyce]

The following includes a fix that was graciously emailed
to me and worked for me.
Good luck,

Joyce

THIS IS MY ORIGINAL POST/PROBLEM THANKS TO
(e-mail address removed), I WAS ABLE TO OVERCOME THE
FOLLOWING: When I check for Office XP updates, I get
the following
alert:

"Internet Explorer could not open the Internet Site
http://office.microsoft.com/home/office.aspx?
assetid=FX010404541033"

The Scan activity bar only reaches 40%. I do have
administrative privileges and there is no problem with my
Internet connection.


I then go to the Office Download Catalog and download the
updates. When the computer tries to install the updates,
a Report Error Dialog Box comes up. The updates will not
install


I tried to remove Office XP, or repair Office XP, or
reinstall Office XP, I get the following Alert:

"This patch package could not be opened. Verify that the
patch package exists and that you can access it, or
contact the application vendor to verify that this is a
valid Windows Installer patch package."

I have used Check Disk, Norton System works, system
restore, and Windows XP Repair, to no avail. I am trying
to avoid completing reformatting my hard drive.

Please help me.

I have a Dell Dimension 4500. It came with Office XP
Small Business Edition installed. I have applied all of
the Windows XP critical updates, that applies to my
system. I have called Dell and they cannot help me.

Thank You
THE "FIX" I just got off the phone with Microsoft
to fix these same problems
described above.

They had me first delete all keys called "patches".
Regedit procedure
was to make a backup copy of the registry then use
Find "Keys" (Values
and Data deselected), "Match whole string only"
for "Patches". I
deleted each instance (I think there were three).

I then was able to go into the Office Update site and it
would
recognize the need for 5 patches. It downloaded them and
installed but
the installation failed. The MS tech said "that was
normal because I
already had those patches installed." I reran Office
Update and it
said I still needed those five patches.

The MS tech said just ignore those five patches and I
would have to
live with it.

I then went into Add/Remove and was able now to remove MS
Office
completely.

I reinstalled from the CD successfully and was able to
load SP1, SP2
and then the five troublesome patches successfully.
THANK BILL BARRETT FOR THE FIX "THANKS BILL" Bill
S.

 

[Pat E.]

I tried this fix and it worked for me as well. After the
registry hack, I had to install Office XP and then SP1,
SP2 and the updates, but everything appears to be working
fine now.

I used a combination of two "fixes," the one mentioned
here and another which referenced knowledge base article
812490, which was written for Plus! and was posted
elsewhere on these newsgroups. Basically, both "fixes"
take you to the same place: the Office XP patches folder
in the registry.

Please follow the directions in 812490, except search for
the registry key with "Office XP," rather than "Microsoft
Plus" listed in the right panel. This is the key you'll be
deleting. Below the key are all the patches that have been
applied and they'll be deleted along with this key.

First I exported this registry key to a file so I could
restore it if necessary. Then I proceeded to delete the
key, restart Windows and reinstall Office XP. The fact
that I was able to install it was heartening; since before
this "fix," I was unable to repair or uninstall Office XP
("This patch package could not be opened...") Also, I was
getting the Office Update error (stopping at 40% and
getting the list of possible reasons, and also the
error "Hotfix has encountered a problem" (when trying to
install the office update after downloading it to a temp
folder).

Now everything works and I was able to update Office XP. I
haven't tried using other components of my system since I
applied the fix, but since the patches only applied to
Office XP, I'm fairly certain that nothing else will be
affected. Of course, I'm no expert and can't be sure of
anything at this point! However, I'm very hopeful.

What I wonder is how this problem began. I haven't visited
Office Updates for a few months, but most of the folks
writing about this problem in the newsgroups have had the
problem for a few weeks. Is it possible that some of the
Windows update security patches could have caused the
problems in the registry sections pertaining to Office
Update?

Hope this helps someone else. I saw this fix a week or so
ago and was reluctant to try it until someone else had
gotten a good result. Someone has, and I also read about
the other "fix" (which, as I said, was basically the
same), so I figured I had little to lose if I was very
careful.

This time it paid off. Thanks to whomever first posted
this. It was first mentioned on a thread from Sept. 20.

Good luck to all.

Pat