Re: UNABLE TO CHECK FOR UPDATES ON THIS COMPUTER

From: Susan Ramlet (susan_at_mvps-dot-org)
Date: 02/12/04 

Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2004 09:37:06 -0600

Hi, Rita,

Running the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility should take care of the patch
package error, and then let you re-install Office and try to patch it.

- So, run it after downloading it; it's an executable file.
- Then re-install Office.
- Then try Office Update again.
- If it doesn't work, try the manual downloads. 

-- 
Susan Ramlet
MVP - Microsoft Office
----------------------------------------------
Please post replies to the newsgroup where all may benefit.
"ritabean" <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:de8601c3f0b2$1400d670$a101280a@phx.gbl...
hi susan, my 2nd reply..
i did attempt to download upgrades directly, bypassing
auto update.  the system kicks me off with an error
message: "Office Hotfix Installer encounter a problem..."
i did download the windows installer cleanup utility w/o
any improvement in the situation.  is there something i
need to DO with the utility once it is downloaded?
tx again, looking forward to you replies, rb
>-----Original Message-----
>Hi, David,
>
>There are some known issues with the Office Update site.
You could try
>going directly to each KB article, download the updates
manually and install
>them directly, that has been a successful workaround for
some folks.  Some
>people have also found the executables which were
downloaded from Office
>Update in their temp folders and run them from there.  Is
as if they
>downloaded okay but never actually ran.
>
>Here are some other things that have been suggested:
>
>1.     Deleting IE Cache.
>
>In cases where the temporary Internet explorer cache
folder is running out
>of allotted space, you may be not be able to download the
Office Update
>control. You can free up space by deleting the Temporary
Internet Files
>cache using the "Delete Files" button in the "General"
tab under "Tools |
>Internet options" menu.
>
>2.     Check IE's security settings.
>
>Ensure that your IE browser allows / prompts registering
of signed Active X
>controls. Follow the steps below to add
http://office.microsoft.com to the
>list of Trusted Sites so that the Office Update ActiveX
control can load
>successfully.
>
>a.      On the Tools menu, click Internet Options and
then click the
>Security tab.
>b.      In the list of Web content zones, click the
Trusted sites icon.
>c.      Click Sites.
>d.      Clear the Require Server verification (https) for
all sites in this
>zone check box .
>e.      In the Add this Website to the zone box, enter
the Internet address
>http://office.microsoft.com.
>f.      Click Add.
>g.      Click OK, and then click OK again.
>
>3.     Deleting Office Update detection folder.
>
>Also try deleting the C:\Program Files\OfficeUpdate11
folder which contains
>the detection catalog and downloaded patch files used by
the site.
>
>4.     Deleting ActiveX control.
>
>The Office Update ActiveX control can get into a bad
state in certain
>conditions and should be reinstalled. First close IE.
Then delete the file
>c:\Windows\opuc.dll for Windows 9X and Windows XP and
c:\Winnt\opuc.dll for
>Windows 2000.
>
>Try going back to
http://office.microsoft.com/OfficeUpdate/ to perform
>detection again.  If it still fails, follow the steps
below.
>
>
>5.     Temporarily turn off Personal Firewall, Download
Manager, Pop-up
>blockers and Web Acceleration products
>
>If there are Personal Firewall, Download Manager, Pop-up
blockers, or Web
>Accelerator products installed, temporarily turn off
these products and try
>detection again.  Popular products include:
>
>·         Get Right (Download Manager)
>·         Download Accelerator
>·         Zone Labs (Personal Firewall)
>·         Norton Personal Firewall
>·         McAfee Personal firewall
>
>And finally, if that doesn't work, here's something else
to try:
>
>1)  Use a utility to clean out the Windows Installer data,
>290301 - Description of the Windows Installer CleanUp
Utility:
>http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-
us;290301&Product=offx
>
>2)  Reinstall Office
>
>3)  Apply your updates
>
>
>If one of these solutions works for you, please post back.
>Thanks--
>
>-- 
>Susan Ramlet
>MVP - Microsoft Office
>----------------------------------------------
>Please post replies to the newsgroup where all may
benefit.
>
>
>"DAVID" <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in
message
>news:e45201c3f011$2e409300$a601280a@phx.gbl...
>>
>> I am using Windows XP Pro on my computer. I also have
>> Office 2002 installed. I tried updating Office 2002
today
>> and got the error Unable to check for updates on this
>> computer at 40 percent.
>>
>> The Office Update site is unable to check for updates on
>> this computer. This may be happening because of one of
>> the following reasons:
>>
>> You do not have administrative privileges for this
>> computer.
>> There is a network problem and the detection catalog
used
>> by the Office Update site failed to download. Go back to
>> the Downloads home page and try running detection again.
>> Windows Installer patch files (.MSP files) from
>> previously applied Office updates are missing from the
>> \Windows\Installer hidden directory on your computer.
MSP
>> files are stored on your computer after update
>> installation completes because they need to be
referenced
>> for future update operations. If the files are missing
>> you will not be able to apply Office updates. You may
>> also be unable to uninstall Office products as a result
>> of the same problem. Please contact Microsoft Product
>> Support for assistance.
>> You installed Office updates in the past and then
>> upgraded from Windows Installer version 1.0 to Windows
>> Installer version 1.1. For more information see the KB
>> article Windows Installer May Prompt for Install Source
>> if Unavailable.
>>
>> I tried a few days ago and got the same error as well.
>>
>> Can someone tell me how to correct this?
>>
>> Thank you for your time, consideration, and cooperation.
>> I hope to hear from you soon,
>>
>> David
>>
>>
>
>
>.
>