An Office hotfix may not install or update files (888404)

SYMPTOMS

When you install a Microsoft Office XP hotfix or a Microsoft Office 2003 hotfix on a Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2)-based computer, the hotfix may not install or update files.

Notes

There may be no error messages or indications in the event log file that show that the hotfix did not install. Instead, the event log file and the verbose log file may indicate that the hotfix installed correctly.
When you install an Office XP post-SP3 hotfix on a computer that is running Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1) or earlier versions, the hotfix installs correctly and updates files.
This problem occurs with most Office XP post-SP3 and Office 2003 hotfixes. Some Office XP post-SP3 hotfixes and Office 2003 hotfixes do install and update files as expected. There may be no way to tell whether the hotfix did install correctly other than by determining the version of the installed files.
This can affect Project and Visio hotfixes also.

RESOLUTION

A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Only apply it to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next Windows XP service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services telephone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites to install this hotfix.

Restart information

You do not have to restart your computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any later hotfixes.

Additional hotfix notes

After you install this Windows XP SP2 hotfix, you may need to remove and reinstall the Office XP post-SP3 hotfixes that you installed on your computer. Doing so will ensure that the hotfixes are installed properly and that the files have been updated.

Hotfix file information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

   Date         Time   Version             Size  File name
   -------------------------------------------------------
   06-Nov-2004  01:02  3.0.3790.2550  2,804,224  Msi.dll