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Hello everyone! I have a question for those of you who are more technically inclined than I.
I have a newer Compaq computer at work with HP on it, I think it was a Vista/HP package deal, but I'm not sure.
My problem is that when I go to open any Microsoft office program, the windows installer pops up and it installs the program about 3 times before opening. I've looked at about 100 sites with people having the same problem. In my software package I have: Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook, Publisher, Accounting Express, and Access. I had Visio from an earlier installation (it was installed by its self) and had no problems at all with it, but after the Office 2007 package it too started acting up. Honestly the Visio bit of this whole situation is the most annoying because it starts installing Visio every time I look at a directory with a Visio file in it. I think it tries to install to display the file icons, which are just little pictures of the contents of the Visio files.
From what i gather, it boils down the Config.msi folder on my C drive and how the windows installer functions with Vista. Somewhere in the Vista updates there is a "fatal" combination of updates that make the Office installation not install correctly. During the Office installation it throws errors (error 1310 can not write to Config.msi or something close to that) about every 10 seconds throughout the whole installation.
Some people said that using the repair function inside Office would fix it, but it hasn't for me. Also they suggested repairing as the computer administrator, or uninstalling Office all together and reinstalling as the computer administrator. I have tried ALL of these, and none have worked so far. I also read somewhere that setting special permissions for the Config.msi folder its self might fix it, that has not worked either. I have done pretty much everything short of formatting the entire computer and starting over, with Office installed before any windows updates.
Also my computer doesn't recognize Office as even being a program, and instead opens files in Open Office. I can't stand open office, mine seems to be broke but not to the degree as Office. My Open Office doesn't scroll with my mouse's scroll wheel, and generally has very poor formatting and functionality. I am not bashing Open Office because I "could be a dedicated Windows noob", but because as far as I'm concerned its a drastically inferior set of programs.
So does anyone here on Voice know how to fix this problem? I've tried most of the tricks in the book from these forums and tech help pages.
Does anyone know how to fix it without starting over?
Tech Support?
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Posted By: Shadow Breed Posted on: May. 21, 2008 at 12:22 PM  8 Comments
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May. 21, 2008 at 12:49:53 PM
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[This is a reply to comment by www.MoronInCharge.com on May. 21, 2008 at 12:37:30 PM]
www.MoronInCharge.com
May. 21, 2008 at 12:37:30 PM I don't know a lot about Windows, so this is just a shot in the dark. I think the last thing you mentioned about your computer not even recognizing Office as a program might be a clue as to why the Windows Installer keeps popping up. If... View this Comment The way I've seen it described is that the Windows Installer uses the Config.msi folder for .rbf files (rollback files) and when you can't save files to the Config.msi folder it ruins the whole installation. I guess you could say I'm looking for a fix for that part of it. I've tried deleting the Config.msi folder (the roll back files are all it is used for and is completely safe to delete), but it didn't delete the folder! Instead it kept a ghost folder on the C drive that i had to go in through DOS and resent the attributes on it. Even then it didn't show up, but then a few days later there it was in the C drive. If I uncheck the "read only" option it just resents it to read only after i close the security tab. I tried updating my Windows Installer as well and it still seems to be having an issue. I'm guessing that from the rollback file problem there is a trickle down with it not being installed in the registry, which would make it not appear as a program on the computer. There is a Microsoft Office folder in my Programs directory though, and all the components show up in the start menu. When I try to open an Excel or Word document, it immediately tries to open in that horrible Open Office program - which does NOT support Office 2007 files, I might add. Office 2007 has a new format for things that includes an x at the end of the file extension (.docx, .xlsx, etc...) |
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May. 21, 2008 at 02:17:14 PM
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[This is a reply to comment by Shadow Breed on May. 21, 2008 at 12:49:53 PM]
Shadow Breed
May. 21, 2008 at 12:49:53 PM The way I've seen it described is that the Windows Installer uses the Config.msi folder for .rbf files (rollback files) and when you can't save files to the Config.msi folder it ruins the whole installation. I guess you could say I'm... View this Comment Well, you have gone far beyond my brute force approach in order to achieve a more eloquent and less painful solution. I simply do not have your detailed knowledge of Windows to take that path. My approach has the advantage of simplicity. Whatever software fluke is screwing up Office on your computer, it won't survive my nuclear option. |
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May. 21, 2008 at 02:47:55 PM
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[This is a reply to comment by www.MoronInCharge.com on May. 21, 2008 at 02:17:14 PM]
www.MoronInCharge.com
May. 21, 2008 at 02:17:14 PM Well, you have gone far beyond my brute force approach in order to achieve a more eloquent and less painful solution. I simply do not have your detailed knowledge of Windows to take that path. My approach has the advantage of... View this Comment As much as I would like to wipe everything, I don't have a Vista installation CD. I would rather have XP anyway, but I don't have one of those CDs here at the office that I can use. |
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May. 21, 2008 at 05:36:55 PM
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| Windows Sux... Mac Rules... is that what I'm seeing here? Yes, Windows Sucks... but so does Mac. Why? Because Mac is an abomination of what is FreeBSD, yes, Macs are based of FreeBSD (my favorite os)... And they butchered it. The Standard FreeBSD ports system don't work on it, you have to download the port system created for the Mac... and half the s*** don't work on it anyway. You're tied to their GUI, which in my opinion isn't all it's cracked up to be... w00t for Gnome! Anyway, use open office, the only downside is you have to jump through hoops to open up docx files... but only neophytes use docx anyway. I tried using the latest and greatest ms office (due to necessity because an unnamed graphics guy liked some of the new features *gag*), but anyway, I don't like it, it's too over-bloated. All I look for in a document creator is Headers, bullets and basic text s***, so all that fancy stuff is useless to me anyway. |
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May. 21, 2008 at 10:51:43 PM
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| Well I would have to say the my FreeObs and my Mac intterface thingy combined with teh PBS and FBI are watching my every DL so be carefu; not to F yourself int eh Process. I have no idea what the hell you people are talking about. |
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May. 22, 2008 at 08:23:33 AM
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[This is a reply to comment by Normalized Vector on May. 21, 2008 at 05:36:55 PM]
Normalized Vector
May. 21, 2008 at 05:36:55 PM Windows Sux... Mac Rules... is that what I'm seeing here? Yes, Windows Sucks... but so does Mac. Why? Because Mac is an abomination of what is FreeBSD, yes, Macs are based of FreeBSD (my favorite os)... And they butchered it. The Standard FreeBSD... View this Comment Well like I said, my Open Office isn't up to par either, some basic functions don't work like scrolling with the mouse wheel, and my formatting seems to mimic Office 95. I do like Microsoft Office, and yesterday after I posted this article it all of the sudden recognized Office as being on the computer. It still installs every time I open it though. All of the features work, and I can use the programs to their full capacity... its just a real time killer waiting for it to install every time I open something, and there are a lot of Visio files scattered all over the computer. I must add that I use Visio files more often than Word or Excel files, and Open Office does not even have a knock-off version of that program... |
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May. 23, 2008 at 11:04:16 PM
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[This is a reply to comment by Shadow Breed on May. 21, 2008 at 02:47:55 PM]
Shadow Breed
May. 21, 2008 at 02:47:55 PM As much as I would like to wipe everything, I don't have a Vista installation CD. I would rather have XP anyway, but I don't have one of those CDs here at the office that I can... View this Comment Windows XP Professional is robust, tried and true.
There are too many problems with Vista. I never go with the first or even the second release of an MS Op sys. With Vista it will be the third or fourth release - after you beta test customers have identified all the cracks and blemishes in it.
Vista is the acronym for Vishnu Krishna in Hindi. It was designed and implemented in Bangalore, and that is where you will have to go for repairs. Sorry about that. (Ever hear of the Bangalore Torpedo?)
And thanks for test driving it and getting the bugs out of it before MS drags the rest of us kicking and screaming over to the Dark Side.
May the Farce be with you young Luke.
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My guess is that you should backup all your program data, reformat your hard drive, reinstall Windows, and then reinstall Office (along with all your other programs). That's what I would do rather than muck around in the dark and stinky recesses of the Windows OS.
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