OFF2000: Error Message "Error applying transform" Using CD You Created

ID: Q232849

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Office 2000

SYMPTOMS

When you insert your Office compact disc (CD) or when you run Setup.exe from the CD, you may receive the following error:

Error applying transforms. Verify that the specified transform paths are valid.

Also, when you look at your Windows Installer log file, the path to the transform contains two backslashes (E:\\Custom.mst) along with the text of the above error.

NOTE: The Windows Installer log file will called <Office 2000 product> Setup(####)_MsiExec.txt and is located in your Temp folder, where <Office 2000 product> in the log file name is the version of Office you are installing.

CAUSE

You may receive the above error if all of the following are true:

You are using either Windows 95 or Windows 98.

You created a CD image of Office 2000 with a transform on the CD.

You modified the [MST] section of the Setup.ini on the root of the CD to include the transform without specifying a path(MST1=Custom.mst).

RESOLUTION

There are two methods to resolve this problem, use either of these methods:

Method 1: Run Setup from a Command-Line with Full Path to the Transform

To prevent this error, provide a full path to the transform on the CD. For example, if your CD-ROM drive is E and your transform (on the root of the CD) is called Custom.mst, follow these steps:

Click Start, and click Run.

In Open, type the following command-line and click OK:


E:\setup.exe transforms=E:\custom.mst

Method 2: Place the Office CD Contents In a Subfolder Before Creating the CD

If you don't want to use a command-line to specify the transform path, you can create a new CD with the contents of the Office CD one level deeper on the CD. For example, copy the contents of the Office CD into a folder called OffPrem. Then, use the OffPrem folder as the source for your CD. In this example, items like Data1.msi would no longer be on the root of the CD. Instead, they would be in the OffPrem folder.

If you use this method, you do not have to specify a path to the transform, even though it has been moved one level lower on the CD. As long as it is in the same folder as the Office package (.msi), you can specify just the transform name in the Setup.ini [MST] section (MST1=Custom.mst).

Additional query words: OFF2000


Keywords          : kberrmsg kbdta 
Version           : WINDOWS:2000
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: June 7, 1999