You receive a "This application must be installed to run" error message when you start Office 2000 programs because of missing subkey information (298829)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Office 2000
  • Microsoft Access 2000
  • Microsoft Excel 2000
  • Microsoft PowerPoint 2000
  • Microsoft Word 2000
  • Microsoft Outlook 2000
This article was previously published under Q298829

SYMPTOMS

When you start one of the Office programs listed at the beginning of this article, the following error message appears:
This application must be installed to run. Please run Setup from the location where you originally installed the application.
Also, if you try to repair your Office installation, the following error message appears:
This action is only valid for products that are currently installed.

CAUSE

The error messages described in the "Symptoms" section of this article can appear if the following key in the Windows registry does not contain a 32-character GUID subkey for the Office product you have installed:

Microsoft Windows 2000 or Microsoft Windows NT 4.0

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Classes\Installer\Products

Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98, or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me)

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Installer\Products

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, use the appropriate method below.

Method 1: If you are using Windows Me

You may be able to resolve this problem by using the Registry Checker tool. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. On the Windows Start menu, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click System Information.
  2. On the Tools menu, click Registry Checker.

    If you receive the following error message
    Windows encountered an error accessing the system registry. Windows will restart the computer and repair the system registry for you.
    click OK to restart your computer and then repeat steps 1 and 2.

    If you do not receive this error message, compact and repair damage to the internal data structure of the system registry. To do this, follow these steps:
    1. Close all programs that are running.
    2. On the Windows Start menu, click Run.
    3. In the Open box, type the following command

      scanreg /fix

      and then click OK.
    4. If you are prompted to restart your computer, click Yes.
If Method 1 does not resolve the problem, or if you are not running Windows Me, follow the procedure in Method 2.

Method 2: Re-install Office

Rerun Office Setup from your installation source, compact disc, or network administrative installation point.

NOTE: If you performed a custom installation, you will not be able to change the installation location for the Office installation. The Install Office 2000 at box in the Installation Location dialog box will be unavailable. The installation location setting will be the same location specified in the original Office installation.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:9/14/2004
Keywords:kbtshoot kbstartprogram kberrmsg kbprb KB298829
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