Error 1401, 1402 or 1406 when you install an Office program or open an Office program or document

Symptoms

When you install a Microsoft Office program, you may receive one of the following error messages during or at the end of the installation process:

"Error 1401: Setup cannot create Registry Key"

"Error 1402: Setup cannot open Registry Key"

"Error 1406: Setup cannot write the value to the registry key"

The error message that you receive lists the registry subkey that is causing the error to occur.

After the installation, you may receive the following error message when you try to start your Office program:

Microsoft program has not been installed for the current user. Please run setup to install the application.

Note

The program placeholder represents the name of the Office program that you are trying to start.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, use one of the following methods.

Method 1

Set the permission for the Everyone group of the registry subkeys that are listed in the error message to Full Control.

Method 2

Disable the third-party application. For example, to disable WebRoot Spy sweeper, follow these steps:

  1. Right-click the WebRoot Spy sweeper icon that is located in the notification area, at the far right of the taskbar.
  2. Left-click the **Shut Down option.
  3. In the **Office installation Error 1406 dialog box, click Retry.
  4. When the Office setup is completed, restart the computer, and then re-enable WebRoot Spy sweeper.

Method 3

Take the system into a "clean boot" state, and then run Office setup. This disables the third-party applications. The third-party application that is denying access to the registry subkey can no longer deny access. For more information about how to take the system into a "clean boot" state, view How to perform a clean boot in Windows.

Method 4

Some activation problems indicate that the license file is corrupted. If the license file is corrupted, you cannot resolve the problem by removing and then reinstalling the Office product. The license file is not removed when you remove the Office product. Additionally, the license file is not overwritten when you reinstall the Office product. If the license file is corrupted, use one of the following methods to delete the license file.

Note

This method applies only to Office 2007, Office 2003 and Office XP. Office 2010 does not use the OPA licensing file.

Delete the license file manually

Easy fix 50302

For Windows 7 or Windows Vista

  1. Log on to the computer by using an Administrator user account.

  2. Start Microsoft Windows Explorer.

  3. On the Organize menu, click Folder and search options.

  4. Click the View tab.

  5. Under Hidden files and folders, click Show hidden files, folders, and drives.

  6. Click to clear the Hide extensions for known file types check box.

  7. Click to clear the Hide protected operating system file (Recommended) check box, and then click OK.

  8. On the Warning dialog box, click Yes.

  9. Open the following folder: C:\Users\All Users\Microsoft\Office\Data\

  10. If you are running Office 2007, right-click Opa12.dat or if you are running Office 2003, right-click Data.dat, and then click Properties.

  11. Click the Security tab.

  12. Click Advanced.

  13. Click the Permissions tab.

  14. Click to select Everyone in the Permission entries list, and then click Edit.

  15. Click to select the Full Control check box.

  16. Click OK four times. If these steps do not resolve this issue, delete the Opa12.dat, the Opa11.dat file or the Data.dat file from the following folder, and then restart an Office 2007 program, an Office 2003 program or an Office XP program

    C:\Users\All Users\Microsoft\Office\Data

For Windows XP or Windows Server 2003

  1. Log on to the computer by using an Administrator user account.

  2. Start Microsoft Windows Explorer.

  3. On the Tools menu, click Folder Options.

  4. Click the View tab.

  5. Under Hidden files and folders, click Show hidden files and folders.

  6. Click to clear the Hide extensions for known file types check box, and then click OK.

  7. Open the following folder: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Office\Data\

  8. If you are running Office 2007, right-click Opa12.dat, and then click Properties. If you are running Office 2003, right-click Opa11.dat, and then click Properties. If you are running Office XP, right-click Data.dat, and then click Properties.

  9. Click the Security tab.

  10. Click Advanced.

  11. Click the Permissions tab.

  12. Click to select Everyone in the Permission entries list, and then click Edit.

  13. Click to select the Full Control check box.

  14. Click OK three times. If these steps do not resolve this issue, delete the Opa11.dat file or the Data.dat file from the following folder, and then restart an Office 2003 program or an Office XP program:

    C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Office\Data

This issue may occur if one of the following scenarios is true:

  • The user who is installing the program, or the user who is opening the program or file does not have sufficient permissions to modify sections of the registry that is required to perform the action. The permission for the Everyone group of the registry subkey noted in the error message is not set to Full Control.
  • There is a third-party application on the system that is denying the required access to the registry subkey. In most cases, this behavior is caused by WebRoot Spy sweeper.
  • The nonadministrative user accounts on the computer do not have permission to modify specific files that are used by the Office 2003 Setup program or the Office XP Setup program. These files are used by the Office 2003 Setup program or the Office XP Setup program to register different accounts for access to the Office programs. This issue may occur if a Group Policy high-security template was applied to the computer and if the high-security template restricts access to the following file:
    • For Windows XP or Windows Server 2003
      • Office 2007 C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Office\Data\Opa12.dat
      • Office 2003 C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Office\Data\Opa11.dat
      • Office XP C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Office\Data\Data.dat
    • For Windows Vista or Windows 7
      • Office 2007 C:\Users\All Users\Microsoft\Office\Data\Opa12.dat
      • Office 2003 C:\Users\All Users\Microsoft\Office\Data\Opa11.dat
      • Office XP C:\Users\All Users\Microsoft\Office\Data\Data.dat

If the non-administrative user accounts cannot modify this file, users cannot start any Office 2007 programs, 2003 programs, or Office XP programs on the computer. The Opa12.dat, the Opa11.dat file and the Data.dat file are hardware-specific. Additionally, these files are compiled during installation of Office.