OFF2000: Error Message "Error opening installation log file" Using Environment Variable

ID: Q217560

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Office 2000

SYMPTOMS

When you run the Office Setup program, either of the following problems occur:

Setup does not run and no log file is generated.

The following error message appears:

Error opening installation log file. Verify that the specified log file location exists and is writable.

NOTE: This problem does not occur on Microsoft Windows NT.

CAUSE

These problems will occur when you do either of the following:

Setup does not run and no log file is generated.

This problem occurs when you run the Setup program in quiet mode and you use a system environment variable for the log file location as shown in the following example:


\\Server\Share\Setup.exe /qn /l* "%TEMP%\LogFile.txt"

The error, "Error opening installation log file" appears.

This problem occurs when you run the Setup program (with no quiet mode switch) and you use a system environment variable for the log file location as shown in the following example:


\\Server\Share\Setup.exe /l* "%TEMP%\LogFile.txt"

WORKAROUND

To use an environment variable such as %TEMP% on Windows 95 or later, specify these variables in the Setup.ini file instead of on the command-line. The log file location can be specified in the Path statement of the Logging section of the Setup.ini as in the following example:

[Logging]
Type=icewarmup
Path=%TEMP%
Template=Office %username%(*).txt

NOTE: Both the Office Setup and Windows Installer programs create their log files in the system Temp folder by default. If you leave the Path= statement in the Setup.ini, or do not specify a path when using the /l logging switch, the log file will be created in the system Temp folder.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

When running the Office Setup program, you can create a log file by adding the /l switch on the command-line. Unless you specify a log file name and location, Office will create two text log files, one for Setup.exe and one for the Windows Installer, by default. However, on Microsoft Windows 95 or later, if you specifiy the log file location using an environment variable such as %TEMP%, the Setup program will end. If you are running Setup in quiet mode, an error message will not appear.

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

Q230861 OFF2000: How To Customize Office Setup Logging Options

For more information about Setup switches for Microsoft Office 2000, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q202946 OFF2000: Setup Switches for Microsoft Office 2000

Additional query words: OFF2000


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

Last Reviewed: June 3, 1999