How to use an Office XP Setup log file to troubleshoot Setup problems in Office XP (296603)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Office XP Professional
  • Microsoft Office XP Small Business
  • Microsoft Office XP Standard
  • Microsoft Office XP Students and Teachers
  • Microsoft Office XP Developer
  • Microsoft Access 2002
  • Microsoft Excel 2002
  • Microsoft FrontPage 2002
  • Microsoft Outlook 2002
  • Microsoft PowerPoint 2002
  • Microsoft Word 2002
This article was previously published under Q296603

IN THIS TASK

SUMMARY

This step-by-step article describes how to use the Microsoft Office XP installation log files to troubleshoot Office Setup issues.

Occasionally a problem occurs with Office Setup and you may not receive an error message. Whether or not you receive an error message, you may need to use an installation log file as one of your tools to determine the issue.

This article discusses a few techniques for interpreting the information in Office installation log files. The topics are listed in the order in which you want to use each technique. This article does not cover every situation that you may encounter, but it discusses several examples in which the Setup issue is resolved by interpreting a Setup log file.

Many articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base that relate to installation errors also include sections of log files that help you confirm that the article addresses the same issue that you are experiencing.

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How to Create a Log File

Office XP Setup automatically creates log files in your \Temp folder. The log files have names similar to the following: 
   Log file for           Log file name
   -----------------------------------------------------------------------

   Setup.exe              Office XP <edition> Setup(####).txt

   Windows Installer
   (System Files Update)  Office XP <edition> Setup(####)_Task(0001).txt

   Windows Installer
   (Office installation)  Office XP <edition> Setup(####)_Task(0002).txt
where <edition> is the edition of Office that you are installing. For example, these files may be:

Office XP Professional Setup(0001).txt
Office XP Professional Setup(0001)_Task(0001).txt
Office XP Professional Setup(0001)_Task(0002).txt

The #### characters in the log file names are numbers that begin with 0001. They increment by 1 each time that you run Setup. Therefore, the log file with the highest number is the log file for the most recent time that you ran Setup.

NOTE: You may have only a Windows Installer log file for the Office installation and not for the System Files Update installation. On most versions of Microsoft Windows, the System Files Update installation is not required, so no log file is created for it. In this situation, the Windows Installer log file for the Office installation has Task(0001) appended to the log file instead of Task(0002).

For more information about the System Files Update, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

286399 Description of the System Files Update

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How to Interpret Log Files

Depending on the problem that you are experiencing, you may need to view the Setup log file or the Windows Installer log file for either the System Files Update or the Office installation.

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Setup Log Files

The log file for Setup.exe is very short in comparison with the Windows Installer log file. This is because the number of tasks that Setup.exe performs is limited to tasks like the following:
  • Reading the Setup.ini file.
  • Parsing the command line for properties and switches that need to be passed to the Windows Installer. A common mistake is to include the following on a command line:

    Transform=path\transform file name.mst

    Using this on the command line does not produce an error during the installation, but the transform will not be applied to the installation. The correct command line should be:

    Transforms=path\transform file name.mst

    The Setup.exe log file contains the command line that you specified for the installation, so you must check the log file for typographical errors such as the one shown in the preceding example (the letter "s" is missing from the end of "Transform" in the first command line).
  • 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 for installed beta versions of Office XP.
  • Checking the version of the Tahoma and TahomaBD fonts.
  • Determining whether the System Files Update installation needs to be run before the Office installation. If yes, the necessary command line to install the System Files Update is passed to the Windows Installer.
One job of Setup.exe is to install the Windows Installer. If this process fails, Setup.exe cannot pass 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:
Installing this product requires the Windows Installer. An error occurred when installing or upgrading the Windows Installer on your system.
You may try manually updating the Windows Installer by double-clicking Instmsi(w).exe, and then re-running setup for this product.
In this case, you should look at the Setup log first (Office XP edition Setup(####).txt). If you receive this error message, you may see text similar to the following in the Setup log: 

Loading MSI Library....
D:\WINNT\System32\MSI.DLL
.. The Windows Installer is not present.
Reading settings file 
\\server\share\XP_Admin\FILES\SETUP\SETUP.INI
Located: \\server\share\XP_Admin\PROPLUS.MSI
Package to install: \\server\share\XP_Admin\PROPLUS.MSI
Checking for Windows Installer....
D:\WINNT\System32\MSI.DLL
.. The Windows Installer is not present.
Tahoma (TrueType) listed in \\server\share\XP_Admin\FILES\SETUP\SETUP.INI
 is Version 2.30
Tahoma (TrueType) is already on the system, no need to install newer font

Tahoma Bold (TrueType) listed in
 \\server\share\XP_Admin\FILES\SETUP\SETUP.INI is Version 2.30
Tahoma Bold (TrueType) is already on the system, no need to install newer
 font

File "...INSTMSIW.EXE" could not be located
Installing this product requires the Windows Installer. An error occurred
when installing or upgrading the Windows Installer on your system. You may
try manually updating the Windows Installer by double-clicking
InstMsiW.EXE, and then re-running setup for this product.
Install or upgrade of Windows Installer failed.
This action failed to locate Instmsiw.exe on the Office source location. There may be network problems or problems reading your computer's CD-ROM drive, or Instmsiw.exe may be missing or damaged.

If you suspect problems with the command-line properties and switches that 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

f:\Setup.exe companyname="my company" /qb

the following text is included in the Setup log: 

Launch Setup 
4/27/01 1:49:46 PM 
companyname="my company" /qb
Detected Windows Info:
  PlatformId = 2
  MajorVersion = 4
  MinorVersion = 0
Setup path: \\server\share\XP_Admin\SETUP.EXE
Adding property...companyname="my company"

Recognized command line switch: /qb
-and- 

Office-specific properties added: companyname="my company"
General properties added: LAUNCHEDFROMSETUP=1 SETUPEXEPATH=\\server\share\XP_Admin\ 
Writing Task:
D:\WINNT\System32\msiexec.exe
 /I \\server\share\XP_Admin\PROPLUS.MSI
 METRICSSOURCE="\\server\share\XP_Admin companyname=""my company"" /qb"
 companyname="my company" LAUNCHEDFROMSETUP=1 
SETUPEXEPATH=\\server\share\XP_Admin\  /qb
NOTE: Setup.exe does not actually use these command-line switches and properties; it just passes them to Msiexec.exe (the Windows Installer).

If the log file for Setup.exe ends in text similar to the following (return code: 1603) 

4/20/01 3:34:27 PM  Chained install return code: 1603
Shutting down chained setup processing.
Set Verbose logging for subsequent setup.


***** Setup exits 
4/20/01 3:34:27 PM 
(return = 1603)
there was a problem with the Windows Installer portion of the installation. In this case, you must review the Windows Installer log files for the System Files Update or the Office installation, or both.

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Windows Installer Log Files

The Windows Installer log files are significantly larger than the Setup log file and can appear to be unreadable at first. However, the following guidelines can help you narrow down the issue:
  • If you were required to install the System Files Update, begin with the Windows Installer log file for the System Files Update. If the log file contains the following text near the end of the log file, the installation of the System Files Update was successful.
    MSI (c) (A1:B9): Product: System Files Update -- Installation operation completed successfully.
  • If you receive an error message during Setup, search for the error number in the log file. For example, if you receive "Error 1327" during Setup, search for "1327" in the log. You may find text similar to the following:
    MSI (c) (41:90): Note: 1: 1327 2: C:\ 
Error 1327. Invalid Drive: C:\ 
MSI (c) (41:90): Product: System Files Update -- Error 1327. Invalid Drive: C:\ 

Action ended 15:34:26: CostFinalize. Return value 3.
    The key text in these log entries is "Invalid Drive", which confirms that you are encountering the issue described in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

    290356 You receive an "Error 1327. Invalid Drive: C:\. Installation ended prematurely" error message when you install Office XP System Files Update

    The problem in this case is that you used a utility like Disk Administrator to change the drive letter of the location where Windows is installed. Even though the drive letter was changed, some registry keys still refer to the original drive letter.

  • The key text in these log entries is "Invalid Drive", which confirms that you are encountering the issue described in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article: If the Microsoft Knowledge Base does not have an article that matches 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 "error 2737". The following text was located at or above the line with the 2737 error:
      
MSI (c) (B7:A7): Note: 1: 2737 2: CheckCAServer 3: 
c:\windows\TEMP\MSI82D6.TMP 4: CheckCAServer
Info 2898. An internal error has occurred. (Tahoma8   Tahoma   1            
)
Error 2737. An internal error has occurred. (CheckCAServer 
  
c:\windows\TEMP\MSI82D6.TMP   CheckCAServer            )
MSI (c) (B7:A7): Product: Microsoft Office XP Standard -- Error 2737. An 

internal error has occurred. (CheckCAServer   c:\windows\TEMP\MSI82D6.TMP
   
CheckCAServer            )

Action ended 9:58:55: CheckCAServer. Return value 3.
      Looking at this text, you see that Setup failed on the call to CheckCAServer. This is a fairly generic call, but there is a Knowledge Base article that contains this specific custom action and its associated error (2737). For more information about this issue, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

      301671 You receive an "Error 2737. An internal error has occurred" error message when you install Office XP on a computer that is running Windows 98

  • The key text in these log entries is "Invalid Drive", which confirms that you are encountering the issue described in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article: 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:
    
Info 2898. An internal error has occurred. Contact your Information
Technology department for assistance.

Info 2743. An internal error has occurred. Contact your Information
Technology department for assistance.

Info 2726. An internal error has occurred. Contact your Information
Technology department for assistance.
    For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    298029 Error message log file always contains "Info 2898: An internal error has occurred"

  • The key text in these log entries is "Invalid Drive", which confirms that you are encountering the issue described in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article: One thing to search for is the string "Note". In one case where Setup failed with a 2755 error, the actual resolution for the case was derived from the Note a few lines above the error:
    
MSI (s) (EC:BC): Note: 1: 2336 2: 5 3: C:\WINNT\Installer\ 
MSI (s) (EC:BC): MainEngineThread is returning 1632
MSI (c) (F8:F4): Note: 1: 2755 2: 1632 3: \\server\share\XP_Admin\PROPLUS.MSI 
Error 2755. An internal error has occurred. (1632   \\server\share\XP_Admin\PROPLUS.MSI
               ) Contact your
 Information Technology department for assistance.
    In the preceding example, the following two lines indicate a problem with permissions on the \Winnt\Installer folder: 
    MSI (s) (EC:BC): Note: 1: 2336 2: 5 3: C:\WINNT\Installer\ 
MSI (s) (EC:BC): MainEngineThread is returning 1632
    After the permissions were corrected on this folder, the 2755 error did not occur.

    NOTE: The preceding line that contains "1632" is the determining factor that this issue concerns permissions. For more information about error numbers on lines containing "MainEngineThread is returning", click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    290158 List of error codes and error messages for Windows Installer processes in Office 2003 products and Office XP products

    NOTE: In log entries that contain "Note", the four-digit number that follows "Note" can be mapped directly to the Windows Installer errors that are listed in the Knowledge Base articles cited earlier in this article.
    For more information about this case, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    297920 Setup appears to stop responding, followed by internal error 2336 or 2755

  • The key text in these log entries is "Invalid Drive", which confirms that you are encountering the issue described in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article: Another string to search for in the log file is "Return Value 3". If you do not have or remember an error number, but you locate "Return Value 3" in the log file, this is clearly the area where you should focus your troubleshooting. Any time an action is performed during Setup, the action is noted in the log files. When that action is finished, a return value is subsequently noted. If the return value is 1, the action was successful; however, if the action failed, the return value will be 3. 
    
Action start 9:56:45: SetW2kMill_WFP.
Action ended 9:56:45: SetW2kMill_WFP. Return value 1.
MSI (c) (B7:A7): Doing action: CheckCAServer
Action start 9:56:45: CheckCAServer.
MSI (c) (B7:A7): Creating MSIHANDLE (3) of type 790542 for thread -183129
MSI (c) (B7:A7): Closing MSIHANDLE (3) of type 790542 for thread -183129
MSI (c) (B7:A7): Note: 1: 2737 2: CheckCAServer 3: 
c:\windows\TEMP\MSI82D6.TMP 4: CheckCAServer
Info 2898. An internal error has occurred. (Tahoma8   Tahoma   1            
)
Error 2737. An internal error has occurred. (CheckCAServer   
c:\windows\TEMP\MSI82D6.TMP   CheckCAServer            )
MSI (c) (B7:A7): Product: Microsoft Office XP Standard -- Error 2737. An 
internal error has occurred. (CheckCAServer   c:\windows\TEMP\MSI82D6.TMP   
CheckCAServer            )

Action ended 9:58:55: CheckCAServer. Return value 3.
    In this case, the SetW2kMill_WFP action succeeds, because the return value is 1. However, the next action, CheckCAServer, fails because its return value is 3.
  • The key text in these log entries is "Invalid Drive", which confirms that you are encountering the issue described in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article: Sometimes when you review a log file, you do not find "Note", "Return Value 3", or an error number. Instead, you may see text similar to the following:
    
MSI (c) (A5:65): Looking for file transform: c:\test.mst
MSI (c) (A5:65): Note: 1: 2203 2: c:\test.mst 3: -2147287038 
MSI (c) (A5:65): Couldn't find cached transform c:\test.mst. Looking for it at the source.
MSI (c) (A5:65): Looking for file transform: \\server\share\XP_ADMIN\test.mst
MSI (c) (A5:65): Note: 1: 2203 2: \\server\share\XP_ADMIN\test.mst 3: -2147287038 
MSI (c) (A5:65): Note: 1: 2729 
1: 2203 2: \\server\share\XP_ADMIN\test.mst 3: -2147287038 
Error applying transforms.  Verify that the specified transform paths are valid.
\\server\share\XP_ADMIN\test.mst
MSI (c) (A5:65): MainEngineThread is returning 1624
    In this case, Setup is having a problem applying a transform, because the transform cannot be located on the specified path (C:\test.mst). Therefore, Setup also tries to locate the transform on the root of the Office source location. When the transform cannot be located in either place, the installation stops.
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Verbose Log Files

All of the techniques listed in the "Windows Installer Log Files" 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

    By default, the Windows Installer log files created by Office XP Setup are verbose logs. However, the logging options used for these verbose log files are not all of the options available to the Windows Installer. If you want to create a more detailed Windows Installer log file with all of the logging options, you can use the *v parameter combination for the /L switch. For more information about Setup logging options, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    296604 How to customize Office Setup logging options

    NOTE: You can create a verbose log file while performing an administrative installation of Office by using a command line similar to the following:

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

  • : You can create a verbose log file while performing an administrative installation of Office by using a command line similar to the following: 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 run Office Setup again with complete verbose logging turned on (with one additional option). To do this, start Office Setup by following these steps:

    1. On the Start menu, click Run.
    2. In the Open box, type the following command line, and then click OK:

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

      NOTE: Path is the full path to your Office source location.
    Typically, 19 lines of logging information are cached in memory before being written to the verbose log file. 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: 
    
ComponentRegister(ComponentId={CB533979-1B7E-47E6-B806-AFD6A3DF258C},
KeyPath=C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web
Components\10\1033\OWCDCH10.CHM,State=3,,Disk=1,SharedDllRefCount=0)
1: {90170409-6000-11D3-8CFE-0050048383C9} 2:
{CB533979-1B7E-47E6-B806-AFD6A3DF258C} 3: C:\Program Files\Common
Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Components\10\1033\OWCDCH10.CHM
    This indicates a problem with the registration (in the Windows registry) of the component (CB533979-1B7E-47E6-B806-AFD6A3DF258C), whose key path is OWCDCH10.CHM.

    The resolution for this particular issue is to repair the Windows registry before running Office Setup again.

    In another case, you may see text similar to the following in your log file: 
    
MSI (c) (EB:1F): Doing action: OPCRemove
Action start 11:42:57: OPCRemove.
MSI (c) (EB:1F): Creating MSIHANDLE (504) of type 790542 for thread -194273
    This indicates a problem with an Office Removal Wizard operation. It can occur when Office Setup is having a problem removing your earlier version of Microsoft Office. Try uninstalling the earlier version of Office, and then run Office XP Setup again.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 Clip Art
    • IE - Internet Explorer
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REFERENCES

For more information about how to troubleshoot Office Setup issues, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

309188 Office XP Setup stops responding on Windows Millennium Edition

309190 How to troubleshoot an Office XP installation on Windows 2000 that appears to stop

309191 Office stops during setup: Troubleshooting steps on Windows XP

For more information about how to troubleshoot the installation of an update for Office XP by using the log files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

308490 How to use log files to troubleshoot an update installation of Office XP

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Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:2/16/2006
Keywords:kbdta kbdtatshoot kbhowto kbHOWTOmaster kbtshoot KB296603
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