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I just got done trying to uninstall Office 2007 Beta 2 on my WinXP Home system, since I just received my Office 2007 retail software. When I tried to uninstall, it gave me a "Error 1402, cannot open registry key UNKNOWN/.xlb/PersistantHandler" blah blah blah message. It rolled back the uninstalling it had already done and quit.

I googled this error and found a couple of things, but nothing specifically related to my situation. Finally, I just used my noggin and with my safety goggles on, I opened up the registry.

I searched for ".xlb" (without the quotes), and it came up with an entry in HKLM/Software/Classes/.xlb . I went up to "Edit" and then "Permissions," and found that somehow, the Administrators had lost control of that entry. So I clicked on "Full Control" for the Administrators, and clicked Ok. I went through the rest of the .x entries and did the same with them, just to make sure that would take care of the problem.

And wah-lah. Office 2007 Beta 2 is now uninstalled successfully. I hope that helps someone else.

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Short expert note — was correct to focus on registry ACLs. Error 1402 means the Office MSI could not open a registry subkey (usually because the installer account — often SYSTEM — or Administrators lacks the needed ACLs, or a third‑party product is blocking access). Restoring proper ownership/permissions on the exact key named in the error is the usual, lowest‑risk fix. (learn.microsoft.com)

Safe, practical workflow (summary):

  1. Create a System Restore point and export the specific registry key(s) that the installer named. (This ensures a straight rollback path.) (support.microsoft.com)
  2. In Regedit find the key reported by setup (the installer often points to a file‑extension handler such as a PersistentHandler subkey). If owner/ACLs are wrong, change Owner to the Administrators group, check “Replace owner on subcontainers and objects,” then grant Administrators (and SYSTEM) Full Control and propagate to children. Re-run the uninstall. (Microsoft documents this permission‑change approach for 1401/1402/1406 errors.) (learn.microsoft.com)

When many keys are affected or manual fixes are impractical:

  • The SubInACL method (Microsoft tool + a reset script) is commonly used to repair ACLs across HKLM, HKCR and HKCU quickly; Aaron Stebner’s guide includes a ready reset.cmd pattern and notes caveats. Run it from an elevated prompt and review its log. (learn.microsoft.com)

Example (do not run without backups):

secedit /configure /cfg %windir%\inf\defltbase.inf /db defltbase.sdb /verbose

(or, for broader ACL repair on older XP installs, use the SubInACL reset script shown in Stebner’s post). The secedit approach has been used successfully for 1402 situations but should be used with caution and backup. (learn.microsoft.com)

Notes and cautions: the Microsoft manual‑uninstall/cleanup path mentioned by is useful when an uninstall already partially completed; it’s less useful when setup fails and rolls back because of ACLs. After fixing permissions and finishing the uninstall/install, revert any overly broad ACL changes (avoid leaving Everyone = Full Control).

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Member Avatar for johnny_zone

Have you tried the manual running of uninstaller? You can find that here http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928218/?

I did notice that article earlier, but that describes if you've already uninstalled the beta version, and the uninstall didn't delete those files that got left behind. In my case, the uninstall of the Beta 2 wouldn't actually proceed. It would get to the end, give the 1402 error, and rollback the changes it did. But once I gave the Administrators group permission to change those registry entries, the uninstall of Beta 2 went through just fine.

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