Word v.X quits after installing 10.1.5 office updater

[Jay]

I've been using Office v.X fine for a couple of years. Currently, I'm using
OSX 10.2.8 on a G4 PowerBook 867 mHZ with 512 MB ram.

Today, I installed the following Office updaters, in order: 10.1.2, 10.1.4
and 10.1.5.

Since then, I can't get Word to launch. It quite for "unexplained"
reasons. The other Office apps seem to work just fine.

Any idea how to correct this?

Thanks.

 

[Beth Rosengard]

Hi Jay,

Try repairing disk permissions: Go to Macintosh HD/Applications/Utilities.
Open up Disk Utility. Select your hard disk, then click the First Aid tab.
Click the button to "Repair Disk Permissions".

If that doesn't help, post back.

--
Beth Rosengard
Mac MVP

Mac Word FAQ: <http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/WordMac/index.htm>
Entourage Help Page: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org/toc.html>

 

[JMM]

Beth --

Thanks for writing back.

Tried "Repair Disk Permissions", which spent about fifteen minutes
making fixes, but unfortunately Word still quits on startup. Word
doesn't even get to the splash screen; the hard drive cranks for five
to ten seconds, the dock icon bounces and then I get the "Quit for
Unexplained Reasons" error box.

Any other thoughts on what I can try (short of reinstalling, which
requires me to first install an old Office 98 program, then update to
V.x with my update disk then reinstall all of the subsequent updates -
a complete nightmare)?

Thanks for your help.

-- Jay

 

[Beth Rosengard]

Hi Jay,

Quit on launch problems in Word are often due to font duplication or
corruption. There's a complete troubleshooting procedure here:
<http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=313535>

However, since your problem started with the updater, I tend to think it's
an installation problem. Before pursuing that possibility, though, try
logging out and back in again. That has helped some people with updater
problems.

If none of this helps, I think you're stuck with a removal/reinstall. I'm
pretty sure that you shouldn't have to reinstall Office 98 though. It
should be sufficient to just insert the installation CD so that your
computer can verify that you're legit.

If you do decide to do the uninstall/reinstall, be sure you remove Office 98
properly. You must use the removal tool from the mactopia.com download
site, *not* the one that's on the CD; it's out of date.

After that, you can follow the procedure below, which is certainly
time-consuming, but not quite nightmarish . You can make it somewhat
easier by downloading all the updaters in advance. In fact I keep all the
updaters for my version of Office (2001) permanently in my Downloads folder
in case I need them in the future.

The Remove Office tool is located in the Value Pack folder on the Office X
CD. Install it and run it. Now reinstall Office X using the installer on
the CD or do a Drag & Drop to the Applications folder. Also don't forget to
install any Value Pack items you need. When you've finished, you'll need to
download (<http://www.microsoft.com/mac/download/>) and install the Office X
10.1.2, 10.1.4 and 10.1.5 updaters.

For the most trouble-free installation, run Disk Utility First Aid to repair
permissions before each updater install and when you've completed them all.
To repair permissions go to Macintosh HD/Applications/Utilities; open up
Disk Utility; select your hard disk and click the First Aid tab and then the
button to "Repair Disk Permissions".

Before uninstalling Office, you might want to back up various files. See
here for backup suggestions: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org/backup.html>.

Hope something here helps.

--
Beth Rosengard
Mac MVP

Mac Word FAQ: <http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/WordMac/index.htm>
Entourage Help Page: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org/toc.html>