How to use an Office 2000 Setup log file to troubleshoot Office Setup problems (237957)

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How to Create a Log File

By default, Office Setup creates two log files during the installation process, one for Setup.exe and one for the Windows Installer (Msiexec.exe). The log files are created in your \Temp folder and have names similar to the following:

Log file for           Log file name
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Setup.exe              Office 2000 <edition> Setup(####).txt
Windows Installer      Office 2000 <edition> Setup(####)_MsiExec.txt
				

where <edition> is the edition of Office you are installing. For example, these files may be: The #### characters in the log file names are numbers beginning with 0002. They increment by 2 if you have to run Setup multiple times. So the log file with the highest number is the log file for the last time you ran Setup.

If you want to create a very detailed Windows Installer log file, you can use the verbose parameter v for the /L switch. If you create a verbose log, however, the default Setup log becomes an abbreviated version, and the default Windows Installer log file is not created.

For additional information about Setup logging options, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

How to Interpret Log Files

Depending on the problem you are experiencing, you may need to view the Setup log, the Windows Installer log, or a verbose log.

Setup Log Files

The log file for Setup.exe is very short compared with the Windows Installer log file. This is because the number of tasks performed by Setup.exe is limited to items like:

• Reading the Setup.ini file.
• Parsing the command line for properties and switches that need to be passed to the Windows Installer.
• Verifying that the correct operating system and service pack are being used.
• Checking the version of the Msi.dll file.
• Starting Instmsi(w).exe to install the Windows Installer (if necessary).
• Checking the version of Internet Explorer.
• Checking the version of the Tahoma and TahomaBD fonts.

One job of Setup.exe is to install the Windows Installer. If this process fails, Setup.exe cannot hand over control to Msiexec.exe, the main Windows Installer executable. The following are some of the error messages that may appear during Setup when there is a problem installing the Windows Installer: -or- In this case, you should look at the Setup log first. If you receive either of these error messages, you may see text similar to the following in the log, respectively:

Package to install:
E:\data1.msi
Loading MSI Library....
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MSI.DLL
.. failed, error = 1157
Pre-released IE 5 is not installed
E:\msi\instmsi.exe /q /r:n
E:\msi\instmsi.exe /q /r:n exit status = 1620
				

This call to Instmsi.exe failed because the line that follows a successful running of Instmsi.exe should be

Loading MSI Library....

-or-

Trying to get version of G:\OFFICE2000\CD1_ADMIN_IMAGE\msi\instmsi.exe
.. failed, error = 3
				

This action failed to get the version of Instmsi.exe on a network share. There may be network problems, Instmsi.exe may be corrupted on the network share, or you may have a software conflict with Setup.

To see a list of standard actions of the Windows Installer and their descriptions, please browse to the following Web site: Note If you do not have the Msi.dll file on your computer when you run Setup.exe, you always see "error = 1157" in the Setup log file. This can be ignored in most cases, because the next step in Setup is to run Instmsi.exe, which installs Msi.dll and the other Windows Installer files.

For additional information about these issues, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: If you suspect problems with the command-line properties and switches you are using, these items are also listed in the Setup log file. For example, if you use the following command line to run Setup: the following text is included in the Setup log:

Launch Setup
7/27/99
7:37:11 AM
companyname="my company" /qb
Adding property...companyname="my company"

Recognized command line switch: qb
				

-and-

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\msiexec.exe  /qb /I F:\data1.msi /Lpiwae
"C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\Office 2000 Premium Setup(0002)_MsiExec.txt"
companyname="my company"
Launching MsiExec....
Successfully launched MsiExec....
				

Note Setup.exe does not really use these command-line switches and properties; it just passes them on to Msiexec.exe (the Windows Installer).

If you do not see any problems or errors in the Setup log and the log ends with:

Successfully launched MsiExec....

then you need to take a look at the Windows Installer log.

Windows Installer Log

The log for the Windows Installer is significantly larger than the log for Setup and can appear to be unreadable at first. However, the following guidelines can help you narrow down the issue.

• If you receive an error message during Setup, search for the error number in the log file. For example, if you receive "Internal Error 2343" during Setup, search for "2343" in the log. You may find text similar to the following:

  Action start 0:18:28: SetNotesDir.
  MSI (c) (AF:BF): Note: 1: 2343
  Internal Error 2343: Please contact product support for assistance.
  MSI (c) (AF:BF): Product: Microsoft Office 2000 Premium -- Internal Error
  2343: Please contact product support for assistance.
  
  
  Action ended 0:18:31: SetNotesDir. Return value 3.
  Action ended 0:18:31: INSTALL. Return value 3.
  Action ended 0:18:31: ExecuteAction. Return value 3.
  MSI (c) (AF:BF): Doing action: FatalError
  Action start 0:18:31: FatalError.
  Action 0:18:31: FatalError. Dialog created
  Action ended 0:18:32: FatalError. Return value 2.
  Action ended 0:18:32: INSTALL. Return value 3.
  						

  The key text in these log entries is "SetNotesDir", which confirms that you are encountering the issue described in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

  228668 OFF2000: Internal Error 2343 During Setup

  The problem in this case is that you uninstalled Lotus Notes, and it left behind some registry entries that the Installer cannot resolve.
  
  Note You may find an error number that does not match a known issue in the Microsoft Knowledge Base.
• If the Microsoft Knowledge Base does not have an article matching your specific error message, try the following steps to diagnose the issue:
  1. Search the log file for the error number.
  2. Read each line up from the line with the error number. Usually you encounter a line that failed, with the ultimate result being a Setup error.
     
     For example, a log file was searched for "2735". The following text was located at/above the line with the 2735 error:

     Action start 19:07:09: AddLocalAlwaysInstalled.
     =====================================================
     Exception code: C0000006 IN_PAGE_ERROR
     Module: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MSI.DLL
     Function: 0x3f0a2a0c
     =====================================================
     
     
     Registers:
     EAX:00000046  EBX:8159728C  ECX:100023C0  EDX:00000046  ESI:00E41FB8
     EDI:BFF7EEED
     CS:EIP:0137:3F0A2A0C SS:ESP:013F:0116FF64  EBP:0116FFC8
     DS:013F  ES:013F  FS:0E37  GS:0000
     Flags:00000246
     
     
     Call stack:
     Address   Frame
     3F0A2A0C  0116FF60 0x3f0a2a0c
      -- 0x00000046 0x10013618 0x00000003 0x3F023355
     
     
     Internal Error 2735: Please contact product support for assistance.
     								

     Looking at this text, you see that Setup failed on the call to AddLocalAlwaysInstalled. This is a fairly generic call, but the next line concerning the Msi.dll file is one that actually means the most. This is a key Windows Installer file, and it may mean that the Windows Installer needs to be reinstalled.
     
     It may also mean that you are having a software conflict. Make sure to turn off any antivirus software that is running and all unnecessary applications that may be running in the background. Please see the following two Microsoft Knowledge Base articles for information about how to minimize problems during Setup:

     218873 Troubleshooting Office 2000 Kernel32.dll errors under Windows 95

     218853 OFF2000: Troubleshooting Office Kernel32.dll Errors Under Windows 98

• All log files contain one or more errors that usually can be ignored. The following errors may appear in any log file and typically do not indicate a Setup problem:

  Internal Error 2898: Please contact product support for assistance.
  
  Internal Error 2826: Please contact product support for assistance.
  
  Internal Error 2726: Please contact product support for assistance.
  						

  For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  230879 OFF2000: Error Message Log File Always Contains "Internal Error 2898: Please Contact Product Support for Assistance"

  
  
• Sometimes Setup fails but no error number appears. Instead you receive a Setup error message similar to the following:
  Installation ended prematurely because of an error.
  In a situation like this, you must search the log file more thoroughly:
  • One thing to search for is the string "Note". In one case where Setup generated the "Installation ended prematurely because of an error" message, the following text was located in a search for "Note":

    MSI (s) (AF:C0): Note: 1: 2318 2: H:\data1.msi
    MSI (s) (AF:C0): MainEngineThread is returning 1603
    MSI (c) (BB:93): Back from server. Return value: 1603
    Action ended 19:53:03: ExecuteAction. Return value 3.
    MSI (c) (BB:93): Doing action: FatalError
    Action start 19:53:03: FatalError.
    								

    There are actually many instances of "Note" in the log file. However, the third line down from "Note" in this one contains the text "Return value 3". If you see any line in the log file where the "Return value" is anything other than 1, you should focus on Setup activities in this area of the log.
    
    The other thing to remember about log entries containing "Note" is that the four-digit number following "Note" can be mapped directly to the Windows Installer errors listed in the Knowledge Base articles cited earlier in this article. For additional information about this specific case, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    230895 OFF2000: "Installation Ended Prematurely Because of an Error" When You Run Office Setup

  • Another string to search for in the log file is "FatalError". In the previous log file example (Note 2318), a line contains "FatalError" after the line with "Return Value 3". This is clearly the area where you should focus your troubleshooting for that particular Setup problem.
    
    However, there are times when "FatalError" does not follow a line with "Return Value 3". In the following text taken from a log file, "FatalError" precedes "Return Value 3":

    Action start 9:26:59: CARunCostIE5.
    Action ended 9:26:59: CARunCostIE5. Return value 3.
    Action start 9:26:59: FatalError.
    Action 9:26:59: FatalError. Dialog created
    Action ended 9:28:41: FatalError. Return value 2.
    Action ended 9:28:41: INSTALL. Return value 3.
    								

    In this case, searching the log file for "FatalError" shows you that Office Setup is having a problem with a custom action (CARunCostIE5) that determines how much disk space Internet Explorer 5 requires. So you want to focus your troubleshooting on items like the following:
    • Is Internet Explorer 5 installed? If so, does a repair operation fix any problems?
    • Are you installing Office from a network drive? If so, are there any spaces in the path to the \IE5 folder in the root of the Office share? Does the \IE5 folder exist in the root of the Office share? Has the \IE5 folder been renamed? If so, rename it back to IE5.
    • Are you using a transform with custom Internet Explorer 5 settings? If so, does Setup work without the transform?
    For more information about this specific issue, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    238319 OFF2000: "Installation Ended Prematurely Because of an Error" Message When Setup Cannot Find IE5 Folder

• Sometimes when reviewing a log file, you do not find "Note", "FatalError", or an error number. Instead you may see text similar to the following:

  1: 2203 2: C:\\Desktop.mst 3: -2147024843 
  Error applying transforms.  Verify that the specified transform paths are valid.
  C:\\Desktop.mst
  						

  In this case, Setup is having a problem applying a transform because it is using the path to the transform C:\\Desktop.mst. For more information about this issue, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  228639 OFF2000: "Error Applying Transforms" Message When You Run Setup from a Hyperlink

Verbose Log Files

All of the techniques listed in the "Windows Installer Log" section can be used on verbose log files. However, verbose logging increases Setup times, so you should only use verbose logging if you are having Setup problems that cannot be diagnosed with a default log file.

• Generating a Verbose Log File
  
  If you want to create a very detailed Windows Installer log file, you can use the verbose parameter v for the /L switch. To do this, use the following command line to run Office Setup:

  path\setup.exe /L*v C:\Verboselog.txt

  The above command line creates the verbose log file Verboselog.txt on the root of your C: drive. You can also specify any path and file name for this log file.
• Diagnosing When Setup Stops Responding
  
  At times, Office Setup stops responding (hangs), and you do not receive any error message. The best thing to do in this situation is to restart your computer, and re-run Office Setup with verbose logging turned on (with one additional option). To do this, start Office Setup by doing the following:
  1. On the Start menu, click Run.
  2. In the Open box, type the following command line and click OK:

     path\Setup.exe /L*v! C:\Verboselog.txt

     Note In this example, path is the full path to your Office source location.
  Normally, 19 lines of logging information are cached in memory before being written to the verbose log file (in this case, C:\Verboselog.txt). If you do not use the ! option for the /L (logging) switch, you may lose some or all of this cached information if Setup stops. If you use the ! option, the most you lose is one line, because the ! option forces Setup to write logging information to the log file one line at a time (there is no caching of information).
  
  After you create the verbose log file, scroll to the end and look at the last one or two lines. These lines tell you what Setup was trying to do when it stopped. For example, you may see text similar to the following:

  Action start 11:14:57: CaMMCQueryAction.
  MSI (c) (51:65): Creating MSIHANDLE (143) of type 790542 for thread -91547
  						

  This indicates a problem with the custom action for MMCQueryAction, which checks .mmc files. Because ClipArt installs .mmc files, you should check any installed programs that install ClipArt before you proceed with Office Setup.
  
  In another case, you may see text similar to the following in your log file:

  MSI (c) (07:A5): Doing action: OPCRemove
  Action start 15:21:07: OPCRemove.
  MSI (c) (07:A5): Creating MSIHANDLE (36) of type 790542 for thread 165
  						

  This indicates a problem with an Office Removal Wizard operation. It can occur when Office 2000 Setup is having a problem removing your previous version of Microsoft Office. Try uninstalling the previous version of Office, and then re-run Office 2000 Setup.Note Office Setup uses the following prefixes for custom actions. If the log file indicates a problem with a custom action, these prefixes give a good indication of where to start your troubleshooting.
  • OLCA - Outlook Custom Action
  • OPC - Office Removal Wizard
  • CAG, CaMMC - Associated with ClipArt
  • IE - Internet Explorer