Word, Excel, and Powerpoint crash at startup

[bluenote]

Version: 2004
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger)
Processor: Power PC

I suddenly have a problem opening Word (and all other Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac programs) on my Power PC. Whenever I try to start a program, it crashes, and gives the message "Microsoft Word has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience" Following various post on this and other sites I have tried:

-Uninstalling all Office programs
-Re-installing the latest Java updates
-Cleaning out the cache using Tiger Cache Cleaner
-Cleaning System Font folder using Linotype FontExplorer
-Installed Mac OS X 10.4.11 Combo Update
-Repaired Disk permissions using Disk Utility

I have tried re-installing Office from a clean disk, but am unable to run the installation program, receiving the same type of error. I also am unable to run the programs directly from the installation disk.

This problem is driving me crazy. I'd really appreciate any help you can give me.

Thanks in advance.

 

[bluenote]

Thanks very much for your reply. To answer your questions:

1) Mine is in fact the student / teacher edition.

2) I am trying to re-install a copy with a different product key then was originally on the computer. That's because I lost the disk corresponding to the original. Both copies are legit.

3) I had already uninstalled the original version using the procedure described on <http://word.mvps.org/Mac/RemoveReinstall.html> before writing my post. I have never actually succeeded in re-installing anything, because the installation tool always crashes.

After receiving your reply, I tried performing another uninstall using the uninstall tool located on my new Office CD. This found two files that hadn't been removed (stupidly, I emptied the trash before writing down what they were). I then repaired disk permissions again.

However, I'm still unable to install the new version of Office from the CD (Office Set-up assistant crashes). I also tried running Word directly from CD, but this also crashes.

The error I receive looks the same as when I try to run the program directly from the CD. The start of the error report is below. Let me know if seeing the rest of the error report would help.

Thanks again.

Microsoft Error Reporting log version: 1.0

Error Signature:
Exception: EXC_BAD_ACCESS
Date/Time: 2008-11-16 08:12:06 -0500
Application Name: Office Setup Assistant
Application Version: 11.0.0.040322
Module Name: Microsoft Framework UI
Module Version: 11.2.0.050729
Module Offset: 0x0001e4a0
Extra app info: Reg=English Loc=0x0409

Thread 0 crashed:

# 1 0x0108cd40 in (Microsoft Framework UI + 0x0001e4a0)
# 2 0x0108cd3c in (Microsoft Framework UI + 0x0001e49c)
# 3 0x0108dbec in (Microsoft Framework UI + 0x0001f34c)
# 4 0x0106e8b8 in (Microsoft Framework UI + 0x00000018)
# 5 0x0128f8c8 in (Microsoft Framework UI + 0x00221028)
# 6 0x01147e70 in (Microsoft Framework UI + 0x000d95d0)
# 7 0x90be7dbc in _InitializeOneConnection + 0x000001F4 (CarbonCore + 0x0005cdbc)
# 8 0x90be7b8c in _InitializeConnections + 0x00000084 (CarbonCore + 0x0005cb8c)
# 9 0x90be4bf8 in _PrepareClosure + 0x00000168 (CarbonCore + 0x00059bf8)
# 10 0x90be38b4 in _PCFragPrepareClosureFromFile + 0x000001D0 (CarbonCore + 0x000588b4)
# 11 0x90be2184 in _GetDiskFragment + 0x0000011C (CarbonCore + 0x00057184)
# 12 0x00272a68 in ( + 0x00000000)
# 13 0x002722a4 in ( + 0x00000000)
# 14 0x000c3668 in ( + 0x00000000)
# 15 0x000c3f60 in ( + 0x00000000)