On Windows XP SP2 I have run across this error a few times. Typically it is an unhandled exception in C:\Windows\msiexec.exe when trying to open Outlook for the first time. Detect and Repair Outlook (or other Microsoft Office applications returns the same error. No Office Updates will install.
I never determined the exact cause of the error but the following steps solved it.
- Download all versions of the .NET framework from www.microsoft.com/downloads
(at the time this post was written they were 1.0, 1.1, 2.0 and 3.0)
- Install 1.0 then 1.1 then 2.0 then 3.0 - each time choosing reinstall or repair.
- Reboot the machine
- Repair Outlook or Office
- Install Windows Updates and Office Updates (optional but recommended)
- Test
I believe this is corruption in the .NET framework somewhere along the way that breaks the C++Runtime Library.
Here are the downloads:
1.0 http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=d7158dee-a83f-4e21-b05a-009d06457787&DisplayLang=en
1.1 http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=262d25e3-f589-4842-8157-034d1e7cf3a3&DisplayLang=en
2.0 http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0856eacb-4362-4b0d-8edd-aab15c5e04f5&DisplayLang=en
3.0 http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=10cc340b-f857-4a14-83f5-25634c3bf043&DisplayLang=en
posted @ Saturday, May 05, 2007 12:12 AM