Member Avatar for rhall75

Everytime I try to use a microsoft office program, such as word or excel. It asks for Office XP cd. Not only then but also when I try to do a search in windows. Which has nothing to do with Office. It has just started doing this and it has been installed and used for months now. When it asked for the office XP cd i place in the cd and it says it cant find the file it is looking to install. So I decided I would just uninstall and then reinstall office, but when I went to add/remove in the control panel and tried to remove it the same installer window pops up. How can I remove this program so the installer will stop popping up? Can I do it through the registy? Also could the problem be that when I put in the cd it is not the cd that I originaly used to install the program, but it is the same Office version? Either way I do not have the cd I originally used ....it was lost.... So any help on how to remove it would be great. By the way the OS is Windows 2000 pro.

Thanks,
Rob

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by FatCamel

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Generated

Short summary of the fault and the likely cause (ties back to the thread)
This is the classic Windows‑Installer symptom you and others in this thread described: Office asks for an Office XP CD (or a named .msi/.msp) even though Office was installed, and the uninstaller/repair also triggers the same prompt. That usually means the Windows Installer cache or registration is corrupt (the service can’t find the cached .msi/.msp it needs), so every repair/modify/uninstall asks for the original source. (learn.microsoft.com)

Immediate, safe checks and quick try (do these first)

  1. Note the exact filename the dialog asks for.
  2. From an elevated Command Prompt, re-register the Windows Installer and ensure the service is running:
    msiexec /unregister
msiexec /regserver
net start msiserver

    Re-registering is a supported troubleshooting step and often clears installer service problems. Back up data before deeper changes. (support.microsoft.com)

If re-registering doesn’t stop the prompts: repair/uninstall by product GUID
Find the product GUID/uninstall string in the registry under
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall (or the Installer\UserData tree) and try a repair or uninstall with msiexec. Examples:

msiexec /fa {PRODUCT-GUID}     <-- force-reinstall/repair
msiexec /x {PRODUCT-GUID}      <-- uninstall

Using msiexec this way avoids the GUI dialog and lets you capture a log (/L*V path\to\install.log) for diagnostics. (learn.microsoft.com)

If a specific .msp/.msi is missing (the dialog shows a cryptic cached filename)
You can recover by locating the original patch/installer (service pack or download), extracting the .msp/.msi and placing it into the Windows Installer cache (%windir%\Installer) with the expected cached name, or by updating the Installer registry mappings — Microsoft documents how to identify the missing package and re‑cache it. Do not guess names; follow the registry mapping steps and keep a full backup before editing. (learn.microsoft.com)

Cautions and last resorts
Some older fixes (the Windows Installer CleanUp utility) were widely suggested years ago in forums, but Microsoft retired that tool and does not recommend it; newer OSes get the Program Install and Uninstall troubleshooter instead. If the machine is running Windows 2000/XP and the above steps don’t work, consider backing up user data and doing a clean reinstall of Office (or the OS) or seek hands‑on help. (learn.microsoft.com)

Notes tied to this thread
This explanation fits what , and others reported (installer popping up for unrelated actions). The safest next step is the re‑register + msiexec repair/uninstall flow, and only attempt registry or cache edits after a complete backup.

Recommended Answers

All 6 Replies

Member Avatar for Gencu

I keep having the same reply.... mine happened when I tried to dowload a shareware. Now I can't seem to get rid of it. It keeps asking for MicrosoftMoney.msi. I've searched everywhere and I can't seem to find this. Any ideas?
Thanks!

Member Avatar for JohnO

Everytime I try to use a microsoft office program, such as word or excel. It asks for Office XP cd. Not only then but also when I try to do a search in windows. Which has nothing to do with Office. It has just started doing this and it has been installed and used for months now. When it asked for the office XP cd i place in the cd and it says it cant find the file it is looking to install. So I decided I would just uninstall and then reinstall office, but when I went to add/remove in the control panel and tried to remove it the same installer window pops up. How can I remove this program so the installer will stop popping up? Can I do it through the registy? Also could the problem be that when I put in the cd it is not the cd that I originaly used to install the program, but it is the same Office version? Either way I do not have the cd I originally used ....it was lost.... So any help on how to remove it would be great. By the way the OS is Windows 2000 pro.

Thanks,
Rob

Rob,
I have the same problem
do you have a fix?

Member Avatar for caperjack

Get and run Spybot and Ad-aware ,maybe even Hijackthis,and go to the hijack forum for help with the log ,

Member Avatar for JohnO

Thanks I tried that.
1st I replaced corrupted installer executable
2nd I used switches in excel to reset it.
This Fixed all the problems.

Member Avatar for alfish

Thanks I tried that.
1st I replaced corrupted installer executable
2nd I used switches in excel to reset it.
This Fixed all the problems.

Where did you get the new installer executable?

Member Avatar for FatCamel

I had a similar problem with photo gallery here is how I fixed the problem:

goto and download the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility select the program that is giving you the problem and click remove.
Good luck

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