OFF: Error Messages When You Try to Run Office Setup on Windows XP (310777)



The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Office 2003, All Editions
  • Microsoft Office XP (Setup)
  • Microsoft Office 2000 (Setup), when used with:
    • the operating system: Microsoft Windows XP

This article was previously published under Q310777

SYMPTOMS

When you try to install Office or use an Office feature that is not installed, you may receive one of the following error messages
Error 1706. Setup Cannot find the required files. Check your connection to the network, or CD-ROM drive. For other potential solutions to this problem, see C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\1033\setup.hlp
-or-
In order to install Office, you must either be an Administrator or have program approved by an Administrator. Contact your administrator for more information.
where program is the name of the Office product that you are installing.

When you run the Setup program in an attempt to uninstall Office, you receive the following error message:
The system administrator has set policies to prevent this installation.
This behavior occurs even when the Office CD-ROM is in the CD-ROM drive or DVD-ROM drive.

For additional information about this behavior, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

308116 User Without Administrator Rights Cannot Install Software

CAUSE

This behavior can occur when you try to install or uninstall Office or an Office feature on a computer that is running Microsoft Windows XP. Under Windows XP, limited users or restricted users cannot install Office without administrator rights.

WORKAROUND

To install Office, use either of the following methods, as appropriate.

Use the "Install/Run Program As Other User" Option

You cannot install Office if you do not have administrator rights on this computer. If you know the password to an administrative account, you can use that account to install the program. The Install Program as Other User option allows you to install Office by using the logon account of another user who has administrator rights.

In Windows XP, a restricted user is prompted with an Install Program as Other User message when the CD-ROM autorun is processed. Alternately, you can manually invoke the Run Program as Other User option by holding SHIFT when you right-click Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel. For additional information about installing a program as another user, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

225035 Secondary Logon (Run As): Starting Programs and Tools in Local Administrative Context

Log On by Using the Administrator Account

A user who is logged on as an administrator can install programs to the local computer.

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:9/24/2003
Keywords:kbprb KB310777