MS OFfice 2003 worked fine the other day. Today, when it launches, it opens completely. But when I go to open a file, the install wizard pops on. It gives me a message error 25090 sysetem error 2147023838 and some mumbo jumbo about reading the Office Source Engine which is not helpful.



I tried setting all the property permissions, but even as an admin, there seems to be a missing security tab. I have no clue how these settings got changed since I'm the only one on the computer.

I don't want to have to reinstall ms word 2003. Could a registry checker have deleted something or a defrag files done something?

This is from MS Knowledge Base. It sounds like several people must have tried to install some part of Office. You can avoid this by NOT using the default installation parameters. MAKE SURE everyone that is administering the program is doing the same thing and installing ALL features to Hard Disk. The other thing I would bet happened is that someone just wanted to use email and didn't understand the difference between setting up a profile and setting up Office as an application/ program. So, if you read below, you just have to fake it out and act as if you are going to install it, then quit the install. This is an annoyance issue for sure.

"Error 25090" error message when you start an Office 2003 program
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Article ID : 827467
Last Review : January 10, 2006
Revision : 1.3
SYMPTOMS
When you try to start a Microsoft Office 2003 program, you may receive the following error message or an error message that is similar to the following:
Error 25090. Office Setup encountered a problem with the Office Source Engine, system error: -2147023836. Please open SETUP.CHM and look for "Office Source Engine" for information on how to resolve this problem.
CAUSE
This behavior occurs when the following conditions are true: • Two people installed Office 2003 on the same computer.
• Both installations were completed by using the AllUsers="" parameter to set the installation for the installing user account only.
• When both people were prompted to remove files that were copied locally at the end of Setup, both people did not remove the files.
• One of the two people removed Office 2003.

RESOLUTION
To resolve this behavior, start the Setup program for Office 2003. To do this, follow these steps: 1. Insert the Microsoft Office 2003 CD in your CD drive or DVD drive.
2. If the Setup program does not start automatically, locate the Setup.exe file on the CD, and then double-click the file to start Setup.
3. After the Setup window appears, cancel Setup, and then respond to the prompts to exit Setup.
Note You do not have to complete the Setup program. Setup fixes the error condition when it is first invoked.

I already read that post about faking the install - that didn't work. I ended up having to install 2002 instead of 2003 because I couldn't find the reg key. I couldn't get into "ABOUT WORD" to get it because of the stupid wizard. I don't keep my disk in the orginal cases either. My MS WOrks suite 2003 has a 2002 MS word. Odd, huh? After a reboot, I was able to get into the older version. I really wish there had been a way to keep 2003. I haven't actually uninstalled it.