Outlook 2003 always tries to install

Hi,

I've been asked to install Outlook 2003 (just the office suite, really) on a few workstations at my office. I've done this and the program works fine in an administrator account.

But in every other limited user account, which they must remain, Outlook.exe simply launches the Outlook installer. It attempts to decompress some files and then errors out because some .cab isn't available. It writes nothing to the Application or System event logs for reference.

I tried this even though there's nothing in the event log:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/911682
Several of the permissions on the registry keys were not available for modification at all in a local administrator account. The "Allow" column was altogether blank. After making the suggested changes that were available, explorer.exe stopped loading after winlogon in ALL normal user accounts and I had to do a system restore from safe mode.

I've also tried using the .msi installation cleanup utility provided by Microsoft but that rendered the whole Office Suite useless and required system restore.


Can anyone please help me with this? Is it even possible to properly use Outlook 2003 on a limited user account like this? I'm about to cut my losses and install Thunderbird.

Thank you.


R

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Windows XP
Panda
Browsing is locked
Intranet - Local Domain
Specs - Strong enough to run Windows XP

 

When you installed Outlook on the non-administrative computers did you install while logged on as an administrator? Also, If you do log on as an administrator to one of the other workstations can you get outlook to work? Trying to determine if it's a permission issue or not.

 

I believe it is a permission error, yes.

Outlook was installed under the administrator account and when I log back into the machine using that account, Outlook opens right up.

 

Are you working in a Domain or a Workgroup? If you're in a domain it's likely a permission issue, if you're in a Workgroup it could be something else. It could be something simple like: During the install not making it available to other users. Also, when logged on with a limited user account right click the Outlook icon and figure out where the shortcut points. If it points to an area in program files then you should be good, if it points to an install file, then you've figured out your problem. If none of that works ill dig into the problem a bit more seriously.

 

Hey jkoele,

Thanks for helping me with this. Yes, these are domain accounts we're dealing with. I'm going to check where the shortcut points right now. I do not believe this was caused by the install options during install.

Thanks,

 

Hey jkoele,

I checked the machines and attempted to launch Outlook directly from the .exe in the Program Files directory. It launched the installer instead of the program.

I checked the installation options in both the typical and the custom installations and did not see an option to specify which users could access it.

So... I believe this is a permissions issue.

One of the MS fixes mentions changing the permissions for a couple things in the registry. But it actually kept the OS from loading explorer.exe and I had to do a system restore. I consider myself to be proficient at the least in the registry...

Also, this install error/issue I'm experiencing here does not write anything to the event log, which differentiates it from the issue in the support article. I have not been able to find anything on it. This MS article seemed the best possible solution to the problem.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/911682

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

R

 

Had one more idea before i start digging in. Give the user you are installing Outlook for Administrative rights before you install it. Then, after the install remove the privaleges back to what they were and see if that makes a difference. Worth a shot anyway...

 

Hey jkoele,

Problem solved.

I had to log in under the local restricted account and run the setup. When running, it asked for credentials to install. I entered my domain admin credentials and it installed just fine. I would have done it sooner but the domain creds are managed by another group externally :/

So... apparently... you can't install Outlook 2003 on an admin account on any XP machine and expect it to work correctly in a restricted account. That, to me, seems ridiculous. But at least it's working now.

Thanks for your help, man. It's appreciated.

R