OFF2000: How to Use an Office 2000 Setup Log File to Troubleshoot Setup Problems

ID: Q237957

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Office 2000

SUMMARY

Occasionally a problem occurs with Office Setup, and an error message may or may not appear. In either case, you may need to use a Setup log file as one of your tools to narrow down the issue.

This article discusses a few techniques for interpreting the information contained in Setup log files. The topics are listed in logical order of when you want to attempt each technique. This article does not cover every situation you may encounter but does discuss several examples in which the Setup issue was resolved by interpreting a Setup log file.

MORE INFORMATION

Creating a Log File

By default, Office Setup creates two log files during the installation process, one for Setup.exe and one for the Windows Installer (Msiexec.exe). The log files are created in your \Temp folder and have names similar to the following:


Log file for                   Log file name
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Setup.exe           Office 2000 <edition> Setup(####).txt
Windows Installer   Office 2000 <edition> Setup(####)_MsiExec.txt

where <edition> is the edition of Office you are installing. For example, these files may be:

Office 2000 Premium Setup(0002).txt
Office 2000 Premium Setup(0002)_MsiExec.txt

The #### characters in the log file names are numbers beginning with 0002 and increment by 2 if you have to run Setup multiple times. So the log file with the highest number is the log file for the last time you ran Setup.

If you want to create a very detailed Windows Installer log file, you can use the verbose parameter v for the /L switch. If you create a verbose log, however, the default Setup log becomes an abbreviated version and the default Windows Installer log file is not created.

For more information about Setup logging options, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q230861 OFF2000: How to Customize Office Setup Logging Options

Interpreting Log Files

Depending on the problem you are experiencing, you may need to view the Setup log, the Windows Installer log, or a verbose log.

Setup Log Files

The log file for Setup.exe is very short compared with the Windows Installer log file. This is because the number of tasks performed by Setup.exe is limited to items like:

Reading the Setup.ini.

Parsing the command-line for properties and switches that need to be passed to the Windows Installer.

Verifying that the correct operating system and service pack are being used.

Checking the version of Msi.dll.

Starting Instmsi(w).exe to install the Windows Installer (if necessary).

Checking the version of Internet Explorer.

Checking the version of the Tahoma and TahomaBD fonts.

One job of Setup.exe is to install the Windows Installer. If this process fails, Setup.exe cannot hand over control to Msiexec.exe, the main Windows Installer executable. The following are some of the error messages you may receive during Setup when there is a problem installing the Windows Installer:

Installing this product requires the Windows Installer. An error occurred when installing or upgrading the Windows Installer.

-or-

The Windows installer on your system was updated. You need to reboot to complete this update. After your system restarts, re-run setup to continue Microsoft Office 2000 setup.

In this case, you should look at the Setup log first. If you receive either of these errors, you may see text similar to the following in the log, respectively:

Package to install:
E:\data1.msi
Loading MSI Library....
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MSI.DLL
.. failed, error = 1157
Pre-released IE 5 is not installed
E:\msi\instmsi.exe /q /r:n
E:\msi\instmsi.exe /q /r:n exit status = 1620

This call to Instmsi.exe failed because the line that follows a successful running of Instmsi.exe should be Loading MSI Library....

-or-

Trying to get version of G:\OFFICE2000\CD1_ADMIN_IMAGE\msi\instmsi.exe .. failed, error = 3

This action failed to get the version of Instmsi.exe on a network share. There may have been network problems, Instmsi.exe may be corrupted on the network share, or you may have a software conflict with Setup.

NOTE: If you do not have Msi.dll on your computer when you run Setup.exe, you will always see error = 1157 in the Setup log file. This can be ignored in most cases, as the next step in Setup is to run Instmsi.exe, which installs Msi.dll and the other Windows Installer files.

For more information about these issues, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q229819 OFF2000: Error Installing or Upgrading the Windows Installer

If you suspect problems with the command-line properties and switches you are using, these items will also be listed in the Setup log file. For example, if you use the following command line to run Setup:

f:\Setup.exe companyname="my company" /qb

the following text will be included in the Setup log:

Launch Setup
7/27/99
7:37:11 AM
companyname="my company" /qb
Adding property...companyname="my company"

Recognized command line switch: qb

-and-

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\msiexec.exe /qb /I F:\data1.msi /Lpiwae
"C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\Office 2000 Premium Setup(0002)_MsiExec.txt"
companyname="my company"
Launching MsiExec....
Successfully launched MsiExec....

NOTE: Setup.exe does not really use these command-line switches and properties, it just passes them on to Msiexec.exe (the Windows Installer).

If you don't see any problems/errors in the Setup log and the log ends with:

Successfully launched MsiExec....

then you need to take a look at the Windows Installer log.

Windows Installer Log

The log for the Windows Installer is significantly larger than the log for Setup and can appear to be unreadable at first. However, the following guidelines will help you narrow down the issue.

If you received an error message during Setup, search for the error number in the log file. For example, if you received Internal Error 2343 during Setup, search for 2343 in the log. You may find text similar to the following:

Action start 0:18:28: SetNotesDir.
MSI (c) (AF:BF): Note: 1: 2343
Internal Error 2343: Please contact product support for assistance.
MSI (c) (AF:BF): Product: Microsoft Office 2000 Premium -- Internal Error
2343: Please contact product support for assistance.

Action ended 0:18:31: SetNotesDir. Return value 3.
Action ended 0:18:31: INSTALL. Return value 3.
Action ended 0:18:31: ExecuteAction. Return value 3.
MSI (c) (AF:BF): Doing action: FatalError
Action start 0:18:31: FatalError.
Action 0:18:31: FatalError. Dialog created
Action ended 0:18:32: FatalError. Return value 2.
Action ended 0:18:32: INSTALL. Return value 3.

The key text in these log entries is SetNotesDir, which confirms you are encountering the issue described in the Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q228668, "OFF2000: 'Internal Error 2343' During Setup." The problem in this case is that you uninstalled Lotus Notes, and it left behind some registry entries that the Installer cannot resolve.

You may find an error number that does not match a known issue in the Microsoft Knowledge Base. In this case, please see the following articles for more information about Windows Installer errors:
Q228536 OFF2000: Listing of Windows Installer Errors (1000-1999)
Q229678 OFF2000: Listing of Windows Installer Errors (2000-2999)

If the Microsoft Knowledge Base does not have an article matching your specific error message, try the following steps to diagnose the issue:
1. Search the log file for the error number.
2. Read each line up from the line with the error number. Usually you encounter a line that failed with the ultimate result being a Setup error.
  
  For example, a log file was searched for 2735. The following text was located at/above the line with the 2735 error:
  
  Action start 19:07:09: AddLocalAlwaysInstalled.
  =====================================================
  Exception code: C0000006 IN_PAGE_ERROR
  Module: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MSI.DLL
  Function: 0x3f0a2a0c
  =====================================================
  
  Registers:
  EAX:00000046 EBX:8159728C ECX:100023C0 EDX:00000046 ESI:00E41FB8
  EDI:BFF7EEED
  CS:EIP:0137:3F0A2A0C SS:ESP:013F:0116FF64 EBP:0116FFC8
  DS:013F ES:013F FS:0E37 GS:0000
  Flags:00000246
  
  Call stack:
  Address Frame
  3F0A2A0C 0116FF60 0x3f0a2a0c
  -- 0x00000046 0x10013618 0x00000003 0x3F023355
  
  Internal Error 2735: Please contact product support for assistance.
  
  Looking at this text, you see that Setup failed on the call to AddLocalAlwaysInstalled. This is a fairly generic call, but the next line concerning Msi.dll is one that actually means the most. This is a key Windows Installer file, and it may mean the Windows Installer needs to be reinstalled.
  
  It may also mean that you are having a software conflict. In this case, you should make sure you turn off any anti-virus software you have running and all unnecessary applications that may be running in the background. Please see the following two Microsoft Knowledge Base articles for information on how to minimize problems during Setup:
  Q218873 OFF2000: Troubleshooting Office Kernel32.dll Errors Under Win 95
  Q218853 OFF2000: Troubleshooting Office Kernel32.dll Errors Under Win 98

All log files contain one or more errors that usually can be ignored. The following errors may appear in any log file and are typically not an indication of a Setup problem:

Internal Error 2898: Please contact product support for assistance.

Internal Error 2826: Please contact product support for assistance.

Internal Error 2726: Please contact product support for assistance.

For more information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q230879 OFF2000: ErrMsg Log File Always Contains 'Internal error 2898'

Sometimes, Setup fails but no error number appears. Instead, you receive a Setup error similar to the following:

Installation ended prematurely because of an error.

In a situation like this, you must be more thorough with your search of the log file:
- One thing to search for is the string Note. In one case where Setup generated the Installation ended prematurely because of an error message, the following text was located in a search for Note:
  
  MSI (s) (AF:C0): Note: 1: 2318 2: H:\data1.msi
  MSI (s) (AF:C0): MainEngineThread is returning 1603
  MSI (c) (BB:93): Back from server. Return value: 1603
  Action ended 19:53:03: ExecuteAction. Return value 3.
  MSI (c) (BB:93): Doing action: FatalError
  Action start 19:53:03: FatalError.
  
  There are actually many instances of Note in the log file. However, the third line down from this one contained the text Return value 3. If you see any line in the log file where the Return value is anything other than 1, you should focus on Setup activities in this area of the log.
  
  The other thing to remember about log entries containing Note is that the 4-digit number following Note can be mapped directly to the Windows Installer errors listed in the above Knowledge Base articles.
  
  For more information about this specific case, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  Q230895 OFF2000: Installation Ends Prematurely with Locked Down CD
- Another string to search for in the log file is FatalError. In the previous log file example (Note 2318), there was a line containing FatalError after the line with Return Value 3. This is clearly the area on which to focus for troubleshooting that particular Setup problem.
  
  However, there are times when FatalError does not follow a line with Return Value 3. In the following text taken from a log file, FatalError precedes Return Value 3:
  
  Action start 9:26:59: CARunCostIE5.
  Action ended 9:26:59: CARunCostIE5. Return value 3.
  Action start 9:26:59: FatalError.
  Action 9:26:59: FatalError. Dialog created
  Action ended 9:28:41: FatalError. Return value 2.
  Action ended 9:28:41: INSTALL. Return value 3.
  
  In this case, searching the log file for FatalError shows you that Office Setup is having a problem with a custom action (CARunCostIE5) that determines how much disk space Internet Explorer 5 will require. So you want to focus your troubleshooting on items like the following:
  - Is Internet Explorer 5 currently installed? If so, does a repair operation fix any problems?
  - Are you installing Office from a network drive? If so, are there any spaces in the path to the \IE5 folder in the root of the Office share? Does the \IE5 folder exist in the root of the Office share? Has the \IE5 folder been renamed? If so, rename it back to IE5.
  - Are you using a transform with custom Internet Explorer 5 settings? If so, does Setup work without the transform?

Sometimes when reviewing a log file, you do not find Note, FatalError, or an error number. Instead, you may see text similar to the following:

1: 2203 2: C:\\Desktop.mst 3: -2147024843 Error applying transforms. Verify that the specified transform paths are valid. C:\\Desktop.mst

In this case, Setup is having a problem applying a transform because it is using the path to the transform C:\\Desktop.mst. For more information about this issue, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q228639 OFF2000: 'Error Applying Transform' When Running Setup from a Hyperlink

Creating Verbose Logs

All of the techniques listed in the "Windows Installer Log" section can be used on verbose log files. However, verbose logging increases Setup times, so you should only use verbose logging if you are having Setup problems that cannot be diagnosed with a default log file.

Generating a verbose log.

If you want to create a very detailed Windows Installer log file, you can use the verbose parameter v for the /L switch. To do this, use the following command line to run Office Setup:
<path>\setup.exe /L*v C:\Verboselog.txt
The above command line creates the verbose log file Verboselog.txt on the root of your C drive. You can also specify any path and file name for this log file.

Diagnosing hangs with Setup.

At times, Office Setup hangs and you do not receive any error message. The best thing to do in this situation is restart your computer and re-run Office Setup with verbose logging turned on (with one additional option). To do this, start Office Setup by doing the following:
1. On the Start menu, click Run.
2. In the Open box, type the following command line and click OK:
  <path>\Setup.exe /L*v! C:\Verboselog.txt
  NOTE: <path> is the full path to your Office source location.
Normally, 19 lines of logging information is cached in memory before it is written to the verbose log file (in this case C:\Verboselog.txt). If you do not use the ! option for the /L (logging) switch, you may lose some or all of this cached information in the event Setup stops. If you use the ! option, the most you lose is one line, because the ! option forces Setup to write logging information to the log file one line at a time (there's no caching of information).

After you create the verbose log file, scroll to the end and look at the last one or two lines. These lines tell you what Setup was trying to do when it stopped. For example, you may see text similar to the following:

Action start 11:14:57: CaMMCQueryAction.
MSI (c) (51:65): Creating MSIHANDLE (143) of type 790542 for thread -91547

This indicates a problem with the custom action for MMCQueryAction, which does a check of .mmc files. Because ClipArt installs .mmc files, you should probably check any installed programs that install ClipArt before proceeding with Office Setup.

In another case, you may see text similar to the following in your log file:

MSI (c) (07:A5): Doing action: OPCRemove Action start 15:21:07: OPCRemove. MSI (c) (07:A5): Creating MSIHANDLE (36) of type 790542 for thread 165

This indicates a problem with an Office Removal Wizard operation. It can occur when Office 2000 Setup is having a problem removing your previous version of Microsoft Office. Try uninstalling the previous version of Office and then re-run Office 2000 Setup.

NOTE

OLCA - Outlook Custom Action

OPC - Office Removal Wizard

CAG, CaMMC - Associated with Clip Art

IE – Internet Explorer

Additional query words: OFF2000


Keywords          : kbdta 
Version           : WINDOWS:2000
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbinfo

Last Reviewed: August 3, 1999