MS Office keeps wanting to install a 'new feature'

[martinlest]

MS office keeps wanting to install a 'new feature' when I open up a Word or Excel document (the only Office applications I use on my Windows 7 PC). It will be OK for a day or two, then I will get the 'Office needs to install a new feature' (or similar) box .. This happens so often that I have copied the MS Office installation CD to my hard drive so that it can do it automatically: that way it's less of an annoyance.

Even so, does anyone know why this keeps happening? I've tried reinstalling Office (XP version, 2002) afresh, but that doesn't help. I have also installed an MS hotfix re. Microsoft Agent.



Ideas appreciated, thanks,

Martin

[macropod]

Martin,

It sounds like whoever did the Office installation on your PC did a fairly minimal one, with the option to install the remaining features on first use. This can be changed via the Programs and Features applet in the Windows Control Panel.

[martinlest]

No, I installed it, full programme. Reinstalled - same problem. Never had it on my XP PC

[Kaneto]

You don't happen to have another version of an Office product installed, such as a stand-alone copy of Outlook or Word? I've seen your issue come up on computers that had multiple versions of Office installed. Each time you opened a different version, it had to copy "shared" files that couldn't really be shared between the two installations.

-SW

[macropod]

Hi Martin,

Even a standard installation doesn't install all the features for most Office applications. You need a custom installation for that.

[martinlest]

No, I only have one version of Office installed. It's a fairly new PC and it doesn't have all that much software on it.

The 'installing new feature' window comes up as soon as I double-click on the word.exe/excel.exe icon (or a shortcut to an Office file). I am not calling on any feature that wasn't there the last time I opened up Office. Once a feature has been installed, it should stay there, no? It seems like Office is losing some feature or other between times I use it (or as I am using it). It would be helpful if I knew what feature it was installing each time.

M.

[macropod]

Hi Martin,

It sounds rather like your original installation didn't run to completion, and there's some corruption that keeps it from doing so. I'd suggest unistalling again, then using a product like CCleaner to clear out the residual registry entries and user templates before doing a fresh installation. Mind you, Office 2002 was never known as being one of MS's better products - it was always somewhat buggy.

[Colin Legg]

Here are some google results which include some of the suggestions already posted on the thread -

[1]
http://www.tek-tips.com/viewthread.c...7496&page=1911

Perhaps when you did the initial installation you left (or set) a bunch of optional Office components/features at "install on demand."

[2]
http://thedailyreviewer.com/windowsa...-day-105156408

There are several things that can cause this, including
a corrupted installation (you can run Repair/Reinstall
from the Microsoft Office XP choice in Add/Remove Programs
in the Windows control panel), or having Office programs
installed from more than one version (i.e. 97/2000/XP/2003)
which can cause the MS Installer to run when starting different
edition apps.

You can copy your CD to your hard drive if the latter is the
case.

[3]
http://www.eggheadcafe.com/software/...nstall-cd.aspx

Yes it is to do with Updates and applies to all Microsoft Office
Updates except that with effect from Office 2003, the installation
creates a MSOCache (a hidden folder) in which all the necessary
installation files are kept for updates and for "Detect & Repair"
purposes. With Office 2000, this "technology" was not around and
so people decided to create backups of their CDs and keep next to
their system for anybody to help themselves. This was too much
for Microsoft to stomach and so the new technique was implemented
in Office 2003 et seq!

[martinlest]

Thanks a lot for the information. I think, having reinstalled Office twice already - second time cleaning out the registry too first - I had better admit defeat. I'll have a look through the links you posted Colin, but if there's no easy solution I am just going to have to leave it. Now I have the Office setup on my hard drive it only takes the programme 5 seconds or so to do whatever it is it is doing - but I would have liked to have found out exactly what the problem is (what the programme is installing each time). No matter - I'll probably just have to live with it!

Will post back if I do by any chance get to the bottom of it,

Martin