Can't open Word 2008 in another user account

[Charles]

With Office 2008 12.1.5 (OS X 10.5.6, MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo 2.33 GHz),
if I log into a secondary user account and try to open Word, as soon as
I press Continue, I get the error message, "Microsoft Office Setup
Assistant has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for
the inconvenience."

In the same user account, Word 2004 works fine, and in my primary user
account, Word 2008 works fine too.

I have searched and found similar problems and solutions suggested but
none that seem to apply to this situation, and would appreciate any help.

Thank you,

Charles

P.S. Here is the first part of the error log:

Microsoft Error Reporting log version: 2.0

Error Signature:
Exception: EXC_BAD_ACCESS
Date/Time: 2008-12-25 15:32:05 -0800
Application Name: Microsoft Office Setup Assistant
Application Bundle ID: com.microsoft.setupassistant
Application Signature: MosA
Application Version: 12.1.5.081119
Crashed Module Name: EntourageLegacy
Crashed Module Version: unknown
Crashed Module Offset: 0x000ea4d2
Blame Module Name: EntourageLegacy
Blame Module Version: unknown
Blame Module Offset: 0x000ea4d2
Application LCID: 1033
Extra app info: Reg=English Loc=0x0409

 

[Diane Ross]

With Office 2008 12.1.5 (OS X 10.5.6, MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo 2.33 GHz),
if I log into a secondary user account and try to open Word, as soon as
I press Continue, I get the error message, "Microsoft Office Setup
Assistant has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for
the inconvenience."

Hmmm, this is a strange one. Verify your install.

Verify Office Files Were Modified
<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/error/verify.html>


--
Diane
(Note the Office newsgroup has not been showing up for users that use a
newsreader. This problem happened around Sept 24. Your questions are not
being ignored. We just can't see them.)

Ask your questions using Entourage's newsreader.
<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/support_options/subnews.html>)

 

[Charles]

Hmmm, this is a strange one. Verify your install.

Verify Office Files Were Modified
<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/error/verify.html>

You might be right, but if the install were bad, wouldn't I be having
the same problem in the primary user account?

Charles

 

[Diane Ross]

You might be right, but if the install were bad, wouldn't I be having
the same problem in the primary user account?

You would think so. That's why this is puzzling. It's a starting place to
start troubleshooting.

Just to be sure....You install Office in root Application folder.

Have you tested in another User's account? I'm not sure what could be wrong
with any User's account but testing against a known new User usually
eliminates most problems.

 

[Charles]

You would think so. That's why this is puzzling. It's a starting place to
start troubleshooting.

Just to be sure....You install Office in root Application folder.

Have you tested in another User's account? I'm not sure what could be wrong
with any User's account but testing against a known new User usually
eliminates most problems.

The mundane answer was to delete that User and create a new User
account, which worked fine, so thank you for suggesting that I go in
that direction.

Still odd that the deleted account didn't work, though, because it was
just a test account that I had hardly ever used and never remember
modifying.

Charles

 

[Diane Ross]

The mundane answer was to delete that User and create a new User
account, which worked fine, so thank you for suggesting that I go in
that direction.

Glad that worked for you.

Still odd that the deleted account didn't work, though, because it was
just a test account that I had hardly ever used and never remember
modifying.

No telling what happened. Unless it happens again, I wouldn't worry.

Seasonal Greetings!

--
Diane

(Note the Office newsgroup messages have not been showing up for users that
use a newsreader. This problem happened around Sept 24. Your questions are
not being ignored. We just can't see them.)

Ask your questions using Entourage's newsreader.
<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/support_options/subnews.html>)

 

[CyberTaz]

<snip>

Still odd that the deleted account didn't work, though, because it was
just a test account that I had hardly ever used and never remember
modifying.

Charles

<snip.

That may have been the problem - perhaps the Office Identity & other
user-specific items were so far out of synch with the main application
update level that it caused the configurator to choke... Just a guess

Glad Diane got you pointed in the right direction - she has a habit of doing
that

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[Charles]

That may have been the problem - perhaps the Office Identity & other
user-specific items were so far out of synch with the main application
update level that it caused the configurator to choke... Just a guess

Glad Diane got you pointed in the right direction - she has a habit of doing
that

I think you may be right about things being out of synch. In any event,
it is fixed so I am not complaining.

I am also grateful to Diane, but actually if I had followed her first
line of advice without questioning it I would have reinstalled
Office--and, necessarily, all the interim updaters--almost certainly to
no avail.

Charles

 

[Diane Ross]

I am also grateful to Diane, but actually if I had followed her first
line of advice without questioning it I would have reinstalled
Office--and, necessarily, all the interim updaters--almost certainly to
no avail.

Yours is the first case I have ever seen reported where a new test User's
account had problems like this. Not all cases have exact answers so
troubleshooting is a hit and miss, but if you can determine where the
problem is located you have a good chance of fixing it.

A few years I was working with a user and couldn't figure out why my
suggestions were not working. It was one of those problems where the
solution always worked. After going round and round with the user I found he
had modified my instructions and it was like pulling teeth to get him to
describe what changes he made. I threatened to turn him into Santa if he
didn't follow the directions exactly. Then it worked.

This is an excellent example of why free support has gone away.

 

[Charles]

Yours is the first case I have ever seen reported where a new test User's
account had problems like this.

In this instance, the User account was not new, just one that I had
rarely used except for testing.

The lesson I learned was that one of the first things to do when
troubleshooting--along other quick and easy basics such as restarting,
etc.--is to create a brand-new User account to test with. (A little like
unplugging and replugging an electrical cord, not just looking to see if
it's plugged in.)

What threw me here was that Word 2004 worked in that User account, so I
assumed that Word 2008 should work just as well. That is something I
will remember too as an unreliable indicator.

In any event, thank you again for your help, which I really appreciated.
You and the other MVPs deserve only the very highest praise for your
tireless efforts and knowledgeable contributions.

Charles