You receive a "Please wait while Windows configures Microsoft Office XP Pro" error message when you upgrade to Office 2003 or Office 2007

Article ID: 825941 - View products that this article applies to.
Notice
If you were directed to this article to solve a problem by using the Windows Installer Cleanup utility, please contact your software manufacturer for installation support on the product, or see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article for steps to troubleshoot uninstallation issues with products that use Windows Installer:
2438651 How to troubleshoot problems that may occur when you install, uninstall, or upgrade a program on a Windows-based computer
(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2438651/ )

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SYMPTOMS

You upgrade from Microsoft Office XP to Microsoft Office 2003 or to Microsoft Office 2007. When you click a shortcut to an Office program from the Start menu Most Recently Used (MRU) list, you may receive one of the following error messages:
Please wait while Windows configures Microsoft Office XP Pro....
This action is only valid for products that are currently installed
However, if you click the new Office 2003 shortcut on the All Programs menu, the Office 2003 product starts correctly.

Note You may also receive this error message if you removed the earlier version of Microsoft Office by using some manual form of removal, such as the Windows installer CleanUp Utility, before you installed Office 2007 or Office 2003. In this case, the original Start menu shortcuts for the removed version of Office remain. However, when you click them, you receive the error message that was mentioned earlier.

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CAUSE

This problem occurs if the Office XP shortcuts have been moved to a different location than the All Programs menu, where they are installed by default. For example, after you install Office XP you create a new subfolder (perhaps named Microsoft Office Apps) and move the Office XP shortcuts to the new subfolder.

When a program is used, a shortcut is created on the Most Recently Used (MRU) area of the Start menu. The shortcut on the MRU links to the shortcut in the new subfolder (Microsoft Office Apps in this example). When you upgrade to Office 2003 or Office 2007, Setup assumes shortcuts for previous Office versions will be located on the All Programs menu. Therefore, Setup does not find the shortcuts in the custom subfolder. Additionally, Setup does not update the shortcuts on the MRU. The shortcuts on the MRU list will still point to the previous version of the Office program.

This problem does not occur when you use the Classic version of the Start menu because the Classic Start menu does not have an MRU list.
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WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, use the new Office 2003 shortcuts on the All Programs menu. The shortcuts on the MRU list will change to point to the Office 2003 version of the programs.
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STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.
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MORE INFORMATION

To change your Start menu to the Classic version, follow these steps:
  1. Right-click Start, and then click Properties.
  2. On the Start Menu tab, click Classic Start menu.
  3. Click OK.
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Properties

Article ID: 825941 - Last Review: February 18, 2011 - Revision: 5.1
APPLIES TO
  • Microsoft Office Outlook 2003
  • Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
  • Microsoft Office Publisher 2003
  • Microsoft Office Small Business Edition 2003
  • Microsoft Office Basic Edition 2003
  • Microsoft Office Access 2003
  • Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003
Keywords: 
kbmsicuu2 kbprb kberrmsg kbupgrade kbsetup kbnofix KB825941
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