You receive an error message when you install an Office program or open an Office program or document (838687)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Office XP, All Editions
  • Microsoft Office Visio Professional 2003
  • Microsoft Office Visio Standard 2003
  • Microsoft Visio 2002 Professional
  • Microsoft Visio 2002 Standard
  • Microsoft Office Professional Edition 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
  • Microsoft Office Excel 2003
  • Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003
  • Microsoft Office Outlook 2003
  • Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
  • Microsoft Office Publisher 2003
  • Microsoft Office Word 2003
Important This article contains information about how to modify the registry. Make sure to back up the registry before you modify it. Make sure that you know how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up, restore, and modify the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows registry

SYMPTOMS

When you install a Microsoft Office program, you may receive one of the following error messages during or at the end of the installation process:
Error 1401: Setup cannot create Registry Key
Error 1402: Setup cannot open Registry Key
Error 1406: Setup cannot write the value to the registry key
The error message that you receive lists the registry subkey that is causing the error to occur.

After the installation, you may receive the following error message when you try to start your Office program:
Microsoft program has not been installed for the current user. Please run setup to install the application.
Note that program is the name of the Office program that you are trying to start.

CAUSE

This issue may occur if one of the following scenarios is true:
  • The user who is installing the program, or the user who is opening the program or file does not have sufficient permissions to modify sections of the registry that is required to perform the action. The permission for the Everyone group of the registry subkey noted in the error message is not set to Full Control.
  • There is a third-party application on the system that is denying the required access to the registry subkey. In most cases, this behavior is caused by WebRoot Spysweeper.
  • The non-administrative user accounts on the computer do not have permission to modify specific files that are used by the Office 2003 Setup program or the Office XP Setup program. These files are used by the Office 2003 Setup program or the Office XP Setup program to register different accounts for access to the Office programs. This issue may occur if a Group Policy high-security template was applied to the computer and if the high-security template restricts access to the following file:
    • Office 2003

      C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Office\Data\Opa11.dat

    • Office XP

      C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Office\Data\Data.dat

    If the non-administrative user accounts cannot modify this file, users cannot start any Office 2003 programs or Office XP programs on the computer. The Opa11.dat file and the Data.dat file are hardware specific. Additionally, these files are compiled during installation of Office.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, use one of the following methods.

Method 1

Set the permission for the Everyone group of the registry subkeys that are listed in the error message to Full Control.

Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.

In Microsoft Windows XP or in Windows Server 2003, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
  2. In Registry Editor, locate and then click the subkey that is listed by the error message.
  3. On the Edit menu, click Permissions.
  4. Under Group or user names, click Everyone.
    Note You must add the Everyone group if it is not available. To do this, follow these steps:
    1. In the Permission for Office dialog box, click Add.
    2. In the Select Users, Computers, or Groups dialog box, click Advanced.
    3. In the Select Users, Computers, or Groups dialog box, click Find Now.
    4. Under Name (RDN), click Everyone, and then click OK.
    5. In the Select Users, Computers, or Groups dialog box, click OK.
  5. Under Permissions for Everyone, click to select the Full Control check box.
  6. Click OK.
  7. Quit Registry Editor.
  8. Run the Setup program for your Office program.
In Microsoft Windows 2000, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, click Run, type regedt32 in the Open box, and then click OK.
  2. In Registry Editor, locate the specific hive, find the subkey that is listed by the error message, and then click Security.
  3. On the Security menu, click Permissions.
  4. Under Name, click Everyone.

    Note You must add the Everyone group if it is not available. To do this, follow these steps:
    1. In the Permission for Office dialog box, click Add.
    2. In the Select Users, Computers, or Groups dialog box, click the Everyone group, and then click Add.
    3. In the Select Users, Computers, or Groups dialog box, click OK.
  5. Under Permissions for Everyone, click to select the Full Control check box.
  6. Click OK.
  7. Quit Registry Editor.
  8. Run the Setup program for your Office program.
Note that if you receive one of these error messages for one registry subkey, you are likely to receive error messages for other registry locations because Setup and other programs access many registry keys during the installation and during the use of a program.

Method 2

Disable the third-party application. For example, to disable WebRoot Spysweeper, follow these steps:
  1. Right-click the WebRoot Spysweeper icon that is located in the notification area, at the far right of the taskbar.
  2. Left-click the Shut Down option.
  3. In the Office installation Error 1406 dialog box, click Retry.
  4. When the Office setup is completed, restart the computer, and then re-enable WebRoot Spysweeper.

Method 3

Take the system into a clean boot state, and then run Office setup. This disables the third-party applications. The third-party application that is denying access to the registry subkey can no longer deny access.

For more information about how to perform a clean boot in Windows XP, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

310353 How to perform a clean boot in Windows XP

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.

Method 4

To resolve this problem, follow these steps:
  1. Log on to the computer by using an Administrator user account.
  2. Start Microsoft Windows Explorer.
  3. On the Tools menu, click Folder Options.
  4. Click the View tab.
  5. Under Hidden files and folders, click Show hidden files and folders.
  6. Click to clear the Hide extensions for known file types check box, and then click OK.
  7. Open the following folder: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Office\Data\
  8. If you are running Office 2003, right-click Opa11.dat, and then click Properties. If you are running Office XP, right-click Data.dat, and then click Properties.
  9. Click the Security tab.
  10. Click Advanced.
  11. Click the Permissions tab.
  12. Click to select Everyone in the Permission entries list, and then click Edit.
  13. Click to select the Full Control check box.
  14. Click OK three times. If these steps do not resolve this issue, delete the Opa11.dat file or the Data.dat file from the following folder, and then restart an Office 2003 program or an Office XP program:

    C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Office\Data

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:9/21/2006
Keywords:kbsetup kbtshoot KB838687 kbAudEndUser kbAudITPRO
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