At 21:35 15/01/2010 -0500, Audrey Bucher wrote:
I was using 2.4 on my laptop and it was working well. I heard about
the update to 3.1 and dl'd it. It wouldn't run. I had just upgraded
from Vista to Windows 7. I tried to uninstall 3.1 but am unable to do so.
I get the following message
The feature you are trying to use is on a network resource that is
unavailable. Click ok to try again or enter an alternate path to a
folder containing the installation package openofficeorg31.msi in
the box below. I am unable to find that file. I have deleted all
files containing OOo, but Open Office still shows up in the program
files but will not delete. I even tried uninstalling Network Magic
but that didn't help.
I am able to use a jump drive with the portable version of OO but I
would prefer to have it on the computer itself. I had no problem
with the upgrade on my desktop which is running XP.
Other error messages I get when trying to dl OO are:
The installed product does not match the installation source. Until
a matching source is provided or the installed product and source
are synchronized, this action can not be performed.
It's a fact about Windows that it needs the .msi file in order to
install *or (properly) remove* a product. Some applications (e.g.
Microsoft Office) salt away a hidden copy of the .msi file so that it
is available when you wish to remove the product. OpenOffice appears
not to do this. In any case, Windows remembers where the .msi file
was when installation took place and looks there to find it when you
ask it to remove the product. If it cannot find the .msi file, it
asks you to point it to where it is now available. In your case, it
appears that the drive or folder is no longer available: it may be a
shared network drive that is no longer connected, or an external hard
disk, or perhaps just a optical drive in which you no longer have the
original CD.
There should be an easy solution. If you kept the 3.1 download, run
it again to unpack it (no need to continue with the
installation). You will find the .msi file amongst the unpacked
files. Now remove the product in the normal way, browsing to the
.msi file when challenged for it. If necessary, download the
installation file again from the web site to do this - but take care
that it is exactly the same version that you download. You may still
have problems if you have been deleting files manually, as it
appears. If all else fails, run the installation process again to
create a clean installation and then perform the removal.
Incidentally, don't let anyone tell you - as sometimes happens - that
once you have installed OpenOffice you can safely delete the
installation files. You need this .msi file if you ever need to
repair or reinstall OpenOffice. You also need it if you upgrade
OpenOffice, since this process often involves removing a previous
version. The safe way to work is to unpack the installation file
somewhere it can live permanently - either out of sight on your local
drive or perhaps on a CD or external drive. If the installation file
unpacks to the desktop, move the resulting files elsewhere
immediately. Only then attempt the installation. Windows will then
remember where the .msi file is and was, and you will not see
problems later. If you saved these files to an external device, e.g.
a CD, you merely need to reinsert or reattach it when you need to
remove the product (or when challenged).
But you don't want to remove 3.1, do you? You want to install it
properly. I cannot guess what is happening here from what you say; I
hope someone else can. ("It wouldn't run" is a little vague.) Is
the problem connected to removing or replacing version 2.4 when it
was installed under a different operating system (Vista instead of
7)? I don't know. Have you tried removing version 2.4 separately first?
There also exists a brute-force technique for removing recalcitrant
Windows applications: use this as a last resort. Go to
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301/en and download and run the
Windows Installer CleanUp Utility. Select either or both of the
OpenOffice versions you have from the list it displays and see what
it will do. Then install 3.1 again.
I trust this helps.
Brian Barker
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