This is one of those problems that drove me crazy for a month, and it is only because of Google that I got the answer. Frankly, I’m not sure how any of us could do what we do without Google.
I’ve had two different clients with the same problem. When they go to launch Excel 2003, a window pops up saying “Preparing to Install…” and then the Office 2003 installer launches. However, it doesn’t complete, and even “Detect and Repair” doesn’t fix the problem. Here is the answer:
Create an empty folder named “XLStart” here: “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11″.
That is it. So simple, and yet you can pull your hair out (and I can’t afford to lose any more). Never again will I have to download SWI just to find out the $#%!@$ license key.
Well, at least not for that.