"This installation package could not be opened" error message when you try to run Office 2003 Setup (828380)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003
  • Microsoft Office Excel 2003
  • Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003
  • Microsoft Office Outlook 2003
  • Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
  • Microsoft Office Publisher 2003
  • Microsoft Office Word 2003
  • Microsoft Office Standard Edition 2003
  • Microsoft Office Student and Teachers Edition 2003
  • Microsoft Office Small Business Edition 2003
  • Microsoft Office Basic Edition 2003
  • Microsoft Office Access 2003
For a Microsoft Office XP version of this article, see 290525.

For a Microsoft Office 2000 version of this article, see 236597.

SYMPTOMS

When you try to run Microsoft Office 2003 Setup, you may receive one of the following error messages:
This installation package could not be opened. Verify that the package exists and that you can access it, or contact the application vendor to verify that this is a valid Windows Installer package.
This installation package could not be opened. Contact the application vendor to verify that this is a valid Windows Installer package.

CAUSE

This problem may occur if the locally cached Microsoft Windows Installer package (*.msi) file is damaged or corrupted.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, follow the appropriate steps.

If You Already Installed Office 2003

Important If Office 2003 is not yet installed on your computer, do not follow these steps to resolve this problem. Instead, see the "If You Are Trying to Install Office 2003" section later in this article. If you already have Office 2003 installed, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, and then click Run.
  2. In the Open box, type the following command line, and then click OK: path\Setup.exe /fv version.msi

    Where path in this command line is the path of your Office Setup files on your installation CD, and version is the version title of the Windows Installer file that corresponds to the version of Office that you are installing, for example, type d:\Setup.exe /fv pro11.msi.

If You Are Trying to Install Office 2003

If Office 2003 is not yet installed on your computer, do not use the previous steps to resolve this problem. Instead, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
  2. Double-click Folder Options.
  3. On the View tab, under Hidden files and folders, click Show hidden files and folders.
  4. Open the \Windows\Installer folder on your computer's hard disk.
  5. Right-click any file that has an .msi extension, and then click Properties.

    The Subject box on the Summary tab contains the name of the product that installed the Windows Installer file.
  6. Repeat step 5 for each Windows Installer file in the \Installer folder, and then delete the Windows Installer file for the version of Office that you are trying to install.
For additional information about this issue, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

229819 OFF2000: Error Message When You Install or Upgrade the Windows Installer

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:8/29/2006
Keywords:kberrmsg kbprb KB828380
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