How can I stop 'Windows Installer' loading?

[RetroCosworth]

Hi all,

I've had this problem since yesterday. Whenever, I click on anything from the Microsoft Office it says 'Preparing to install' and can only be got rid of by cancelling.

How can I stop this popping up?

Cheers

Charlie

[powerrangersgirl]

Umm, not cancelling it might help

Something's wrong with the Office installation, and it wants to fix itself. Either let it run naturally, or go into Control Panel / Add Remove programs, and click repair on Office. Unless you do, its just going to keep doing it.

[RetroCosworth]

powerrangersgirl said:

Umm, not cancelling it might help

Something's wrong with the Office installation, and it wants to fix itself. Either let it run naturally, or go into Control Panel / Add Remove programs, and click repair on Office. Unless you do, its just going to keep doing it.

I don't think allowing it to do it makes any difference really.

Are you sure there is a repair button?

[Bongo Fury]

Try stopping and restarting the Windows Installer service.

Admin tools / services / windows installer.

[RetroCosworth]

Bongo Fury said:

Try stopping and restarting the Windows Installer service.

Admin tools / services / windows installer.

Tried, but with no luck.

[TonyToniTone]

Check to see if you have a folder called c:\msocache

If you don't have this folder, put in your office CD and it will repair then message will go away.

An alternative way to fixing the problem is to create a normal shortcut to your office application.

[patchst]

If the repair doesn't fix it you can run the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility and then reinstall office.

[Jonny_]

My work machine has done this for the past 18 months now.

I'm not allowed such privileges as admin rights and hence cannot just pop an Office disc in the drive and let it fix itself.

But neither can I bring myself to go through the IT muppets, where some dimwit in a call centre fails to understand the problem and then passes on his/her vaguely-written or just plain incorrect notes to another moron in a call centre, this time somewhere in India, from which some clot who can barely speak English will phone me at 7pm and wonder why I'm neither in front of my work computer nor very happy that they've phoned me while I'm eating my tea...

Nope, all in all I'm much happier with the error messages, everything seems to actually function within Office so it can't be anything serious!