Your issue seems to be addressed by the following KB article
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=http://support.microsoft.com:
80/support/kb/articles/Q298/8/29.asp&NoWebContent=1
OFF2000: Error Starting Programs Due to Missing Installer Information
This article was previously published under Q298829
SYMPTOMS
When you start one of the Office programs listed at the beginning of this
article, the following error message appears:
This application must be installed to run. Please run Setup from the
location where you originally installed the application.
Also, if you try to repair your Office installation, the following error
message appears:
This action is only valid for products that are currently installed.
CAUSE
The error messages described in the "Symptoms" section of this article can
appear if the following key in the Windows registry does not contain a
32-character GUID subkey for the Office product you have installed:
Microsoft Windows 2000 or Microsoft Windows NT 4.0
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Classes\Installer\Products
Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98, or Microsoft Windows Millennium
Edition (Me)
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Installer\Products
RESOLUTION
To resolve this problem, use the appropriate method below.
Method 1: If you are using Windows Me
You may be able to resolve this problem by using the Registry Checker tool.
To do this, follow these steps:
On the Windows Start menu, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point
to System Tools, and then click System Information.
On the Tools menu, click Registry Checker.
If you receive the following error message
Windows encountered an error accessing the system registry. Windows will
restart the computer and repair the system registry for you.
click OK to restart your computer and then repeat steps 1 and 2.
If you do not receive this error message, compact and repair damage to the
internal data structure of the system registry. To do this, follow these
steps:
Close all programs that are running.
On the Windows Start menu, click Run.
In the Open box, type the following command
scanreg /fix
and then click OK.
If you are prompted to restart your computer, click Yes.
If Method 1 does not resolve the problem, or if you are not running Windows
Me, follow the procedure in Method 2.
Method 2: Re-install Office
Rerun Office Setup from your installation source, compact disc, or network
administrative installation point.
NOTE: If you performed a custom installation, you will not be able to
change the installation location for the Office installation. The Install
Office 2000 at box in the Installation Location dialog box will be
unavailable. The installation location setting will be the same location
specified in the original Office installation.
The information in this article applies to:
Microsoft Office 2000
Microsoft Access 2000
Microsoft Excel 2000
Microsoft PowerPoint 2000
Hope this helps,
Prashanth
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
