Problem with installing updates on Office Pro 2003

[skt]

OS- XP Pro
SP2 installed
Office update SP1 installed

I am able to download the updates for Office, but they will not install.
I have repaired program with disk.
I have rebooted and tried to install again, no joy.
I have shut down my firewall and Nortons during install time, no luck.

Any ideas?
TIA

[Spock]

If Walts or millisa were here, they would know the answer off the top of their head. I will have to research and get back to you.

[iissmart]

Do you get any error messages? Does the program just close instantly without a trace? Does the installation bar get stuck?

Have you tried completely uninstalling Office, rebooting, then reinstalling Office?

[skt]

No error number, just the message in red letters:
Installation unable to complete (or something like that)
The window stays open, no problems there.

I have not tried to completely uninstall, its the main program I work with, and not sure how good I am at backing it up, all my most important info is in Outlook. I do of course back up all my hard drives, but I've never had to recover.

This happened btw, right after I downloaded the trial version of OneNote, which is another program I don't want to live without.

What exactly do I have to do to make sure Office is backed up?

[iissmart]

I don't really use Outlook or OneNote, so I don't know how to back them up specifically, sorry. Let's hope someone else here knows something helpful...

[Spock]

To export all your Outlook data to a file, click on File\Import and Export... and select "Export to a File".

Click on the "Next" button and follow the bouncing ball. [;)]

Having said that, I have never restored from Outlook. I have restored from Outlook Express and it worked, so I see no reason why Outlook wouldn't.

All your other data, word processing documents, spreadsheets, databases, etc, should be in data folders separate from MS Office, so you shouldn't have any troubles with it. If your data is in one or more of the MS Office folders, you will then need to back that up as well if you are planning to remove it all or reformat your HD.

Give me a chance to look for some information for you before you do all that. Here is a MS article on OL98: (CW) How to Back Up, Restore, or Move Outlook Data that may help with Outlook.

A OneNote FAQ may prove helpful. It mentions that you must have SP1 installed for it to work with MS Office. Did you install the Service Pack?

I found 10 information links about OneNote and its interaction with various other packages you may want to take a look at.

I also found MS Office Links that may prove helpful.

There is one article about OFF2000: You Cannot Update Office to SP2 Without Installing the Outlook Security Update that may be what your problem is.

I hope one or more of the above links helps. [:?]

If not, try to write down the exact error code so I can narrow the search some more.

[skt]

There is no error code.......good news is I have backed everything up and rechecked it a zillion times, I know for sure I have it all backed up!

Using Acronis backup, then put it all on Freecom external hard drive to be extra sure.

Now I'm going to those sites you recomend.

I do have SP2 for windows and SP1 for Office installed.

Have this same problem on my laptop, exactly, so must need a reinstall or I will just skip this last update.

[Tarmithius]

If you are still having this problem, Microsoft has acknowledged that there was an issue with Office XP post-SP3 and Windows XP SP2. There is a write up and a fix at the MS Site.

Knowledge Bulletin 888404