Office 2003 updates are offered to a user even if that user has installed those updates when you use WSUS to deploy software updates and hotfixes to computers that are in your organization (903775)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003
  • Microsoft Office Standard Edition 2003
  • Microsoft Office Students and Teachers Edition 2003
  • Microsoft Office Small Business Edition 2003
  • Microsoft Office Basic Edition 2003
  • Microsoft Office Excel 2003
  • Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003
  • Microsoft Office Outlook 2003
  • Microsoft Office OneNote 2003
  • Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
  • Microsoft Office Publisher 2003
  • Microsoft Office Word 2003
  • Microsoft Office Access 2003

SYMPTOMS

Consider the following situation. You use Microsoft Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) to deploy software updates and hotfixes to computers that are in your organization. However, the Automatic Updates feature on the client computer repeatedly prompts the user of that client computer to install certain Microsoft Office updates. This issue occurs even if the user has already installed those particular updates.

In this scenario, if the user installs those updates again by using one of the following methods, an Updates are ready for your computer icon later appears in the notification area:
  • The user uses the Automatic Updates feature to install the updates.
  • The user visits the Microsoft Update Web site to install the updates.
If the user clicks this icon to view the available updates, the same updates are again offered for installation.

CAUSE

This issue occurs if the computer has both a per-user installation of a Microsoft Office product and a per-computer installation of that same Office product. In this situation, only the per-user installation of the Office product is updated when an Office update is installed.

The per-computer installation of the Office product is not updated. Therefore, the Automatic Updates feature detects that the Office product still requires the particular update or updates.

Note Generally, computers do not have both a per-user installation of an Office product and a per-computer installation of that same Office product.

WORKAROUND

To work around this issue, update the per-computer Office product installation by running the Office Update installation in the context of a user who does not have a per-user installation of that Office product. To do this, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Use the local Administrator account

  1. Log on to the computer by using the local Administrator account.
  2. Visit the Microsoft Update Web site, and then install the Office updates on the computer.

Method 2: Use the Install updates and shut down option

If the computer is running Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, and then click Shut Down.
  2. In the What do you want the computer to do? list, click Install updates and shut down, and then click OK.

    Note The Install updates and shut down option is only available if an update is currently downloaded by the Automatic Updates feature and if this update is scheduled to be installed.
Note When you install updates during the shutdown process, the updates are installed in the context of the LOCALSYSTEM account. Therefore, the per-computer Office product installation is successfully updated.

Method 3: Schedule update installations

Configure the Automatic Updates feature to schedule the installation of updates. When you do this, the updates are installed in the context of the LOCALSYSTEM account. Therefore, the per-computer Office product installation is successfully updated.

To configure Automatic Updates to schedule the installation of updates, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, click Run, type wuaucpl.cpl in the Open box, and then click OK.
  2. In the Automatic Updates dialog box that appears, click Automatic (recommended), and then click OK.
Note In a domain environment, the options on the Automatic Updates tab may be unavailable. This behavior occurs if a Group Policy object is configured to set the Automatic Updates options.

MORE INFORMATION

Microsoft Update does not support the detection of per-user Office installations. However, Microsoft Update does update the per-user Office installation when the update installation program runs in the particular user's context.

However, in this situation, Microsoft Update does not update the per-computer Office installation. Because the per-computer Office installation is not updated, the update or updates are again detected as required updates.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:2/10/2006
Keywords:kbprb KB903775 kbAudITPRO
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