Windows Installer keeps popping up when I open MS products (Office 2007 programs, IE, etc.). It says, “Preparing to install…” and then goes away after a few seconds. Some programs (like IE) it pops up more than once before going away. All these programs do load fine, just the irritating Windows Installer keeps popping up. This all started when I decided to remove programs I no longer use. I did use System Restore to restore to before the uninstalls, but that didn’t fix the problem. The programs that this affects were not included in the programs I removed/restored. I have and use RegCure (purchased this first). It makes no difference. I also have Max Registry Cleaner, same thing - makes no difference. I was going to download the file from MS to fix (clean?) this problem (sorry, can’t remember the name of the file), but it is not to be used with Office 2007, which I have. Oh! And to top it off, my Office 2007 help files are now not working. Can you help, please? Thank you!
Troubleshooting a Windows Installer error pop-up
Uninstall and Reinstall Office
Many windows installer errors stem from registry problems - Click here to download regcure and cure all registry problems, before going any further.
As complicated as this problem sounds, I am going to suggest a simple solution - remove Microsoft Office completely and then reinstall. It sounds like there was a problem during your removal of programs, but at this point I think that a clean install is the best course of action. First things first though, make sure that you create back up files of all your Office documents before you remove the programs, just in case. Make back up files to a removable device, like a CD or a USB flash drive, and then take the steps below to reinstall your Office suite.
How to Uninstall Office
First, use Windows Add/Remove to delete all the Office programs that are still on your system, the same way that you did to remove the programs that you didn't want before. To do this, the steps are slightly different for Vista and XP or earlier operating systems. If you are running Vista:
- Click the Start button, then enter programs and features in the dialog box to open, and select Enter.
- From the application list that appears, select the 2007 Office listing and then select Uninstall/Change from the toolbar.
For Windows XP and earlier systems:
- Click the Start button, then Run, and then enter control appwiz.cpl in the dialog box to open, and select Enter.
- From the application list that appears, select the 2007 Office listing and then select Remove.
Make Sure that the Program is Completely Removed
- The key to making sure that your uninstall is clean, and that your computer is in good shape for your reinstall, is to completely remove all the registry keys and other residual code that might be stuck on your system. And you might still have problems with bits of applications unless the programs are properly removed. To troubleshoot your uninstall, you should run RegCure at this point to make sure that the program has been completely uninstalled.
Reinstall Office
Now that you have removed the program from your computer, you can reinstall it and, if all goes well, the clean install will solve all your problems. Here is a link to the Microsoft Support Page that details the steps to remove the unwanted Office programs and personally configure your Office Settings.
Kate Dubensky | November 26th, 2008
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do not have MIcrosoft office 2007 in application list.
So, Office is NOT showing up in your Add and Remove Programs (or Programs and Features) list? If it's installed properly, it should be there. If you have the Home and Student version, it should be listed as "Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007" rather than "Microsoft Office 2007." If it's not installed properly, which could be the case if you are experiencing a similar installer error, let us know a few more details and we'll see what else we can try.