Solved Office 365 totally broken

TerryE

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Cincinnati, Ohio
When I logged on to my Windows 8 machine I received a prompt asking me to install an update for Office. I allowed it to run but now Office is totally broken:

- I cannot run any office programs: I just get an error message when I try

- I cannot uninstall or reinstall Office: I just get an error messge when I try. I was able to deactivate it from the Office "My Account" page but that made no difference in the uninstall/reinstall attempts.

So ... does anyone have any advice? I'm not hesitant to blow away the whole Windows 8 VM and start all over - heck, it might be faster, but obviously that should not be the normal recovery process. :(

Windows 8 RP, 32-bit, running on VMware Workstation on a Windows 7 x64 desktop.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 x64
Terry, I had gotten that same update. Nothing happened with my Office 2013. Sounds to me like you need to dump the baby out with the bath water though. YOU should be watching your installs and see if something occurred with it. BUT before you do that, use the restore feature in Windows 8RP, and go to a saved point before you installed Office, that way it should clear any files blocking you from installing it again. Also I would suggest you go to MSDN to get the MSO download, and go with a fresh downloaded version.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 pro Retail
Hi Mike,

Yeah, I shoulda paid attention but as this is just a sandbox system I really didn't ... shame on me. :eek:

I will try your suggestions.

Edit: Office is still totally broken after restore - I just get an error message to the effect of "oops, something went wrong" like I did previously. So, I am tossing out the whole works and starting over with a fresh install of Win8 RP. From what I have read at the Office 365 site this is a common issue. Next time I will do a VM snapshot before I try even installing Office. Sheesh ... :confused:
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 x64
Weird! I thought that would do it for you. Might be your best bet to try the MSO install RIGHT after the re-install of RP. Before you even do any updates.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 pro Retail
I may - but in any case NOT before I do a VM snapshot. In this case it's less time and effort to just wipe the slate clean and start all over. I had only made some minor system changes to the Win8 VM anyway and those can be redone easily. I didn't bother trying to save anything on the machine: I just deleted it and will start all over when I get a chance. In less than an hour I should be back in business with the OS and maybe even have Office installed again.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 x64
Resolution: I blew away the Windows 8 RP VM and built a new one. After I installed the Office 2013 (TechNet) preview I tried it out and all seems to be well. I have not seen any update notification yet but installation was smooth and easy.

I made a VM snapshot (VMware Workstation) before installing Office. Since it's working I may do another one before I install any Office updates.

The more I use Windows 8 the more comfortable I am with it, but I still don't like it very much. I've learned to remove or rearrange the start screen "blobs" and I can squash and close a Metro app in an instant. I pinned/unpinned some items on the start screen and discovered the shortcut to "all apps" that will come in handy. Slowly I'm "getting it" but I'm certainly not a big fan. (I "get" certain sports too but that doesn't mean I enjoy them.)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 x64
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