Error message when you try to install an update for an Office 2008 for Mac program: "Cannot locate correct volume"

When you try to install an update for a Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac program, the update is not installed. Additionally, you receive the following error message:

This problem may occur if any of the following conditions are true:

• Office 2008 is not on a partition that has a bootable version of the operating system greater than 10.4.9
• Office 2008 is installed in a folder that is greater than two levels deep (for example, /Applications/Productivity/)
• The Microsoft Office 2008 folder or any Office 2008 application has been renamed
• Certain files that the updater uses to find a valid copy of Office have been deleted or changed
• The temporary folder that was used by a previous version of Office has not been deleted
• The installed version of Office 2008 is the same version or a later version than the program that you are installing (that is, you cannot apply the version 12.1.7 update to an Office installation that is already at version 12.1.7 or a later version)
• The Microsoft Office 2008 folder was modified by using a third-party tool

To resolve this problem, use one or more of the following methods that are appropriate for your situation.

Method 1: Restore the Microsoft Office 2008 folder to the Applications folder

To move the Microsoft Office 2008 folder back to the Applications folder, follow these steps:

1. Exit the updater.
2. Move the Microsoft Office 2008 folder back to the Applications folder.
3. If the name of the Microsoft Office 2008 folder was changed, rename the folder to Microsoft Office 2008.
4. Restart the updater.

If these steps do not resolve the problem, go to method 2.

Method 2: Drag the Microsoft Office 2008 folder to the Trash, and then reinstall Office 2008 from your original installation disk

Office Installer installs Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac in the Applications folder. If you move the Microsoft Office 2008 folder to another location on your computer or if you rename or change any of the files in the Microsoft Office 2008 folder, you may not be able to install product updates.

To correct this problem so that you can install product updates, drag the Microsoft Office 2008 folder to the Trash, and then reinstall Office 2008 from your original installation disk.

If these steps do not resolve the problem, go to method 3.

Method 3: Manually remove Office 2008 for Mac, reinstall Office, and then install the Office updates

We recommend that you follow these steps to remove Office 2008:

1. In the Finder, select /Applications/Microsoft Office 2008, and then click Move to Trash on the File menu.
2. Select /Users/username/Library/Preferences/Microsoft/Office 2008/Microsoft Office 2008 settings.plist, and then click Move to Trash on the File menu.
3. On the Apple menu, click Restart.

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, about the performance or reliability of these products.