Solving Failed Microsoft Office Updates
February 19th, 2006
It has driven me crazy for weeks.
Microsoft Office Update KB892843 was released, and like every other critical update I rushed and tried to install it.
And for some reason – It failed. I rebooted and retried – Failed again. I cleaned all temp files, IE cache and other crap and rebooted.
Nothing.
It has never happened to me before and I didn’t know what to do.
Windows Automatic Update has driven me crazy for weeks, alarming me of an available critical Office update – And for some odd reason I simply could not install it.
I searched the Web and searched the groups – Nadda!
What I DID find was that MANY people were having problems installing this update – Security Update for Outlook 2003 (KB892843) simply seemed to be buggy and problematic, so I waited until MS fixes it.
Well, nothing happened.
Then, an additional critical Office update came out – Update for Outlook 2003 Junk Email Filter (KB911961).
Guess what? It also failed!
I decided that after weeks of annoyance I will get to the bottom of it!!!
1. I’ve discovered C:\WINDOWS\WindowsUpdate.log which logs every little detail regarding Windows update.
It was clearly visible that both updated were getting error 0×80070643.
2. With a little further research I’ve discovered LISTool - (Or Office 2003 Tool: Local Installation Source Tool)
This tool is a super-simple tool which allows you to delete and disable the local caching of installation files.
I ran it, deleted and disabled, and IT WORKED!
Both updates were finally, after weeks, installed successfully.
So if you’re having problems installing Microsoft Office updates – Download LISTool and use it to sort out your problems.
Quite a useful little tool – Funny it’s so obscure…
February 25th, 2006 at 15:14
how to use the LIS tool? When i download it and runn it i get the error: 0×80070002
I have problems installing the update: KB911961
It fails, manualy as via the windows and office update site. But i also cant use the lis tool. Maybe you got a solution? I have searched google but i found nothing.
February 26th, 2006 at 10:07
Nope, sorry – LIS works great for me.
Sounds like maybe you have some sort of a problem with the whole caching mechanism itself..
Maybe you should consider simply reinstalling Office..?
March 6th, 2006 at 6:26
Worked great for me to thanks for the post has been very annoying problem
March 6th, 2006 at 11:44
Thanks for the positive feedback.
I know -I- had to work hard to get to this solution.
March 20th, 2006 at 3:32
Thanx!
After I’ve repartitioned the drive the MSOCache directory was transfered to the different letter. This tool finaly repaired the registry, so it’s pointing to the right location now. Thank you very much.
March 20th, 2006 at 7:59
Thanks for posting this fix. I was getting really annoyed with the failed updates.
March 20th, 2006 at 13:13
Thank you! this sorted out this damn problem!
July 8th, 2006 at 21:28
It does not work!
July 29th, 2006 at 23:30
You receive an “Error 80070643″ error message when you try to update Office 2003 by using Software Update Services
View products that this article applies to.
Article ID : 903772
Last Review : February 10, 2006
Revision : 3.1
On This Page
SYMPTOMS
CAUSE
RESOLUTION
Method 1: Determine the status of the Office Source Engine service
Method 2: Repair the Ose.exe file
Method 3: Remove and then reinstall Office 2003
MORE INFORMATION
SYMPTOMS
When you try to update Microsoft Office 2003 by using Microsoft Software Update Services (SUS), you receive the following error message:
Error 80070643
Additionally, the WindowsUpdate.log file may contain errors that are similar to the following:
2005-07-11 10:44:01 1056 250 Handler : MSI transaction completed. MSI: 0×80070643, Handler: 0×8024200b, Source: No, Reboot: 0
2005-07-11 10:44:01 1056 250 Handler : WARNING: First failure for update {EF358F39-A507-45A8-9E84-D626D099E8BD}, transaction error = 0×8024200b, MSI result = 0×80070643, MSI action = StartCache
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CAUSE
Typically, this issue occurs if one of the following conditions is true:a^?? The Microsoft Office Source Engine (Ose.exe) is disabled.
a^?? The Ose.exe file is corrupted.
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RESOLUTION
To resolve this issue, use the following methods in the order that they are presented.
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Method 1: Determine the status of the Office Source Engine service
To determine the status of the Office Source Engine service, follow these steps:1. Click Start, click Run, type services.msc, and then click OK.
2. In the list of services, double-click Office Source Engine.
3. View the Startup type list.
4. If the startup type is set to Disabled, change the startup type to Manual. To do this, click Manual in the Startup type list, and then click OK.
5. Try to install the Office update again.
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Method 2: Repair the Ose.exe file
To repair the Ose.exe file, copy the Ose.exe file from the Office 2003 CD. To do this, follow these steps:1. Determine where the Ose.exe file is located. By default, the Ose.exe file is in the following location:
path:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Source Engine\
2. Insert the Office 2003 CD in the CD drive.
3. Right-click Start, and then click Explore.
4. Use Microsoft Windows Explorer to locate the following folder on the Office 2003 CD:
path:\Files\Setup
5. Right-click the Ose.exe file, and then click Copy.
6. Locate and then click to select the folder in which the Ose.exe file is located on the computer. For example, locate and then click to select the following folder:
path:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Source Engine
7. Right-click the Source Engine folder, and then click Paste.
8. If you are prompted to replace an existing file, click Yes.
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Method 3: Remove and then reinstall Office 2003
To remove and then reinstall Office 2003, follow these steps.
Note Because there are several versions of Microsoft Windows, the following steps may be different on your computer. If they are, see your product documentation to complete these steps. 1. Insert the Office 2003 CD in the CD drive.
2. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
3. Click Add or Remove Programs.
4. In the Currently installed programs list, click the version of Office 2003 that is installed, and then click Remove.
5. Click Yes when you are prompted to confirm that you want to remove Office 2003.
6. After Office 2003 is removed from the computer, click Add New Programs.
7. Click CD or Floppy.
8. In the Install Program From Floppy Disk or CD-ROM dialog box, make sure that the Office 2003 CD is in the CD drive. Then, click Next.
9. Click Finish. Then, follow the prompts to complete the installation of Office 2003.
10. Click OK when Office 2003 Setup is finished.
11. Remove the Office 2003 CD from the CD drive.
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MORE INFORMATION
When you install Office 2003 from the Office 2003 CD or from an image of the Office 2003 CD, Setup installs the Office Source Engine (Ose.exe) system service to copy the required installation files to the local computer. After Setup.exe reads the Setup settings file, Setup.exe performs the following actions:a^?? Determines the drive that has the most available space on the local computer
a^?? Verifies that the user has administrative rights
a^?? Installs the Office Source Engine
For more information about the Office Source Engine, see one of the following Microsoft Office 2003 Editions Resource Kit resources:a^?? In the printed version of the Office 2003 Editions Resource Kit, see page 23.
a^?? In the online version of the Office 2003 Editions Resource Kit, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011402031033.aspx (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011402031033.aspx)
October 24th, 2006 at 14:18
Finally, after much too much reading MS support stuff and much resulting tinkering, the problem is fixed – thanks for pointing me in the right direction. Such a simple fix too!
Cheers!
October 28th, 2006 at 20:01
I finally did it. Get a program called Regseeker and delete all instances of “9040110900063D11C8EF10054038389C” from the Registry. I hope you don’t have a different number. Once deleted, Office 2003 installs as before.
February 18th, 2007 at 11:39
Cheers!! finally got it to go.
The first stage of using LIS was unsuccessful, after further checking I noticed that the OSE was disabled. Changing the status to automatic from the services console enabled me to use the LIS and successfully run the updates.
Thanks guys!!
February 18th, 2007 at 20:23
Thanks Avi, worked great for me!
March 28th, 2007 at 1:52
my disc is gone and i have office 2003. office source engine is missing. i read and put it on automatic because i tried manually starting it up. from what i can tell the whole things path file is gone and has been deleted by one of my annoying little brothers and sister. the disc was broken by them and i have no idea what to do. i’ve got stuff i have to type up so can anyone tell me a solution.
August 1st, 2007 at 17:18
LISTool worked great for me, but in manner completely opposite your suggestion. I downloaded and installed LISTool, then instead of deleting and disabling, I enabled on MS-Office 2003, tried installing updates, and it worked! Thanks for pointing out LISTool.
August 7th, 2007 at 22:51
I finally found a fix that worked for me (things above did not). Tried Listool but got error message 0×80070002 when I tried to install. Using that error code I found this on Microsoft and it worked!!!
CAUSE
This problem occurs when some files in the update are missing, even though the update is downloaded and extracted successfully.
RESOLUTION
To resolve this problem, remove the download directory, and then visit the update locations again. To do this, follow these steps:1. Stop the Automatic Updates service. To do this, follow these steps:a. Click Start, click Run, type services.msc, and then click OK.
b. Right-click the Automatic Updates service, and then click Stop.
c. Minimize the Services snap-in.
2. Rename the SoftwareDistribution directory. To do this, follow these steps: a. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
b. Type cd %windir%, and then press ENTER.
c. Type ren SoftwareDistribution SDTemp, and then press ENTER
d. Type exit, and then press ENTER .
Note When you remove the %windir%\softwaredistribution folder, the history list is erased from the “Review your Updates” section of the Windows Update Web site. This action will not affect the currently installed updates on your computer. Subsequent updates will appear in the history list.
3. Start the Automatic Updates service. To do this, follow these steps:a. Maximize the Services snap-in.
b. Right-click the Automatic Updates service, and then click Start.
c. Close the Services snap-in window.
4. Visit the Windows Update Web site, the Microsoft Update Web site, or the WSUS server again, and then download an update.
5. If you still receive the same errors, verify that you have correctly performed steps 1 through 3.
6. If you still cannot install the update, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:
906602 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/906602/) How to troubleshoot Windows Update, Microsoft Update, and Windows Server Update Services installation issues
August 10th, 2007 at 1:53
Thanks – google pointed me to your blog and the VERY frustrating problem about failed Office updates has been easily and quickly sorted! Thanks for the info on the OSE.EXE file.
Cheers y’all!
October 23rd, 2007 at 0:41
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I wanted add your site to blogroll……
April 6th, 2008 at 22:03
LISTool also gave me an error, so… I went to into the folder (C:\MSOCache\All Users\) and removed all 3 folders that were there. When I ran Windows Update, ALL, not just one, but ALL 9 office based updates worked fine. I got the folder information from the LISTool help files!
Everything is OK without having to do MAJOR software actions.
Thanks for the post, it was extremely helpful.
Cheers and good luck!
April 23rd, 2008 at 18:53
@Benjamin: Me too. I can’t believe I didn’t think of that before. I have no idea how that service got disabled.
@Jon: Long term solution would be to buy a new Office 2003 disc and reinstall it. I’d be billing the cost of that purchase to your little siblings if I were you. I’d also install software to be able to lock your registry so that only you can change it. There is no way the kids should be allowed to mess around in there. A near term solution to get your papers done would be to download OpenOffice. It’s free, MS Office compatible and easy to use. Try it and you might not go back to MS.
September 6th, 2008 at 20:30
Worked great, thx.
September 21st, 2008 at 19:23
Avi,
I have been trying off and on for months to solve this problem, MS was no help, even the Knowledge base. Your tip worked great. Thanks! Now I am wondering why MS has not made this info more readily available. Bob
October 22nd, 2008 at 19:39
In my case it was some of the Windows Update DLL files that for some reason was no longer correct installed in the registry. I don’t know why this happened, I had suspicions before to certain applications that I installed, but today it happened again on a clean machine with only Windows and Office 2003 plus a few other hardware related driver installs.
Here is how i solved that problem:
Open the command window
Go to the c:\windows\system32 directore
For each of the dll files in c:\windows\system32
do the command
regsvr32 xxx
where xxx represents each of the files with a name starting with “wu” and also has the filetype “dll”.
Do the update again.
Olav