Please help Resolve Office 2013 and 2010 Conflict

Bruciek

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Jun 1, 2014
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Hi, all. I hope you can help me.

1. I was previously working on a 32-bit Compaq computer that ran Windows XP, and I used Microsoft Office Student and Teacher Edition 2003 for my work.

2. I bought a new computer, a 64-bit Dell running Windows 7 Professional, which came equipped with Microsoft Office Home and Business 2010.

3. Because I prefer the MS Word program on Office 2003 to 2010, I installed that on my new computer with the proper keycode. (During setup, I chose only to install the old Word 2003 -- not the old Outlook, Excel or Powerpoint programs.)

4. Installation was successful. The Office 2010 files reside in the Programs directory; the Office 2003 files reside in the Programs (x86) directory.

5. I then instructed Windows 7 to open .doc and .docx files with the 2003 Office Word program.

6. The problem is: Whenever I choose Word 2003 from the Program menu (or click on an actual doc file), I receive the msinstall message, "Please wait while Windows configures Microsoft Office Standard Edition" for about ten seconds. Then Word 2003 opens. I checked the Windows Event Viewer, which indicates that during this hang, either Word 2003 or Word 2010 is apparently looking for components it can't find.

7. Curiously, if I navigate directly to the Office 2003 folder (called OFFICE 11) and double-click directly on the Winword.exe file, Word comes up immediately. It's only when I double-click on an actual file (or invoke Word 2003 from the Program menu) that I get the msintsall configuration message.

I have currently uninstalled the Word 2003 program and the 2010 programs are working fine. But I'd really like to reinstall Word 2003 and have it work properly, without the configuration message. I hope you can help.

Two additional notes:
1) I just noticed that my Windows folder named c:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\microsoft shared currently has four folders in it named OFFICE 11, OFFICE12, OFFICE 14 and OFFICE15. I renamed them all, just as an experiment, and it doesn’t seem to affect anything.
2) I have read on other blogs that in order to have both 2010 and 2003 operate on the same system, the 2003 program should be installed first. I'd like to try to verify that before I go through the long uninstall/reinstall process (again!).

Many thanks.
 

Bruciek

Reputable
Jun 1, 2014
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4,510
Thanks, Phillip. I solved the problem!


By trial and error, I eventually went to the folder in which Office 2003 resided, copied the WINWORD.EXE file (not a shortcut, but the program file itself), then pasted it in the root directory (C:\\), gave it a new name (simply Word.exe), and pointed all shortcuts to that. Suddenly, Word began opening from all places without the maddening msinstall configuring message.

Additionally, I downloaded the Microsoft conversion compatibility packs (here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=3) and installed them in Word 2003, so that the program could recognize .docx files. I then went to my system’s Default Programs utility, and associated both .doc and .docx files with Word 2003 (NOT the version in folder where the program Resides, but the special Word.exe version I copied into root directory. Now, when I double-click any Word document (.doc or .docx), anywhere on my computer, it opens beautifully, with no configuration messages