Office 2003 Error, "This patch package ..."

[Luis Ced]

I'm running windows XP Pro, just upgraded my hd and used
the maxtor utility to ghost the old drive into the new
one. All seemed OK, but when I try to run Word or Outlook
2003, the installer starts to run then gives me the
following error:

This patch package could not be opened. Verify that the
patch package exists and that you can access it, or
contact the application vendor to verify that this is a
valid windows Installer patch package.

I looked at M$ faqs and tried the fix, which was run the
installer from the CD. Received the same error. Tried to
run the setup program from the CD, same thing. All my
other programs are running OK, such as Oracle, Visual
Studio, Visio. The OS appears OK, but keeps installing
the same patch (Windows Media).

 

[Rod]

I have had this exact problem before. I had to call MS and speak to a tech. He emailed a zip file to me titled ZAPIT. He waited as I executed it and then I was able remove/reinstall Office.